Gabrielle Buffaloe
Ms. Asuncion
English 9H, Block 3
February 12, 2016
Should homework be
given in schools?
The
thing every student hates most: homework. Teachers say it helps kids learn, but
to students it just feels like extra work. School already takes up seven hours
of the day, add in time for extracurricular activities and there’s barely any
time to get homework done. This busy schedule leaves no time to be spent with
family. Also, with a busy schedule and hours of school work every night most
kids have to stay up late to complete assignments, causing sleep deprivation
and stress. Finally, most assignments do not help students understand content
more and are just assigned as busy work. In most situations homework causes
more harm than good.
Most
people say that today’s generation has too little human interaction. Most
teenagers are constantly on their cellphones, but homework might be doing the
same thing. Too much homework can keep kids sitting alone for hours, limiting
time with friends and family. “Family studies at
the University of Michigan, show that family time is extremely important to
achievement and behavior. Studies on family meals, suggest that students
who have dinner with their family have better academic scores and behavioral
outcomes” (Clifford, paragraph 11). According to the quote, giving less
homework and allowing more time to be spent with families could even improve
grades.
Most students stay up late in order to complete
assignments. This is bad for their health and will make children be less
focused in class the next day. According to Dr. Craig Canapari, an average
teenager needs eight and a half to nine hours of sleep a night. Most teens are
not getting enough sleep; they are instead staying up late and stressing over
school work. According to a survey done by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of
Public Health, “Homework was a leading cause of
stress, with 24 percent of parents saying it's an issue” (Neighmond, paragraph
7). All of the stress and sleep deprivation can lower grades and cause health
issues.
Most assignments do not even help students understand the
lessons better. Some teachers just assign busy work because they feel as if
they have to assign homework every night. Assigning busy work just causes
students to lose sleep, and reduces time spent with families with little
intellectual benefit. There is no link to the amount of homework a student has
their learning. In fact, “a 2006 study by Yankelovick found that reading achievement
declined when students were assigned too much homework” (Clifford, paragraph 9).
Homework
limits time spent with families, causing stress and sleep deprivation, and most
homework does not even improve learning. Lessening or removing homework might
improve grades, while also improving health and social skills. While there may
be some slight academic value to homework, most of it causes more harm than
good.
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