At its best, homework can help improve on a student’s general performance and enhance traits like self-discipline and independent problem solving. However, this well intentioned practice can turn sour if it’s not handled the right way. The question, therefore, is not whether or not we should give homework, rather, the effectiveness of the amount of homework we give. The goal of any homework given should be to enhance learning by reinforcing concepts and increasing retention of factual knowledge; anything that achieves the opposite or fails to achieve this beats the intended purpose. This being said, what really matters? Is it the quality or quantity of homework? My experience has taught me that more work doesn’t necessarily mean more learning. Sometimes we assign homework because we feel like it’s the studious thing to do. Unfortunately, if the work is busywork, or if the student is already overwhelmed by homework from the rest of the other subjects he/she is doing, or if they don’t know how to do it correctly in the first place, no learning will occur. On the contrary, when you limit how much homework you give and/or how long the assignments are, then you can expect the students to do quality work on what you do assign. Furthermore, homework can be overwhelming to students if it is too long. The tough thing about homework is that the time it takes students to complete it is immensely dissimilar. What takes a sharp kid five to 10 minutes can take a struggling kid 45 minutes or even an hour. So, imagine how a struggling student feels when he looks at a two-sided page of 30 math problems that he doesn’t understand. The sheer volume of work is incredibly intimidating and often causes him to give up before he even tries. Such a student may resort to shortcuts in their study and get by through cheating to spend more time doing the things they want to do. Another argument is that because homework is completed “in a black hole” — in a place where teachers don’t see it happening, and rarely hear specifically about how the process went — it is impossible to assess its value. Teachers have no way of knowing how students completed their homework or whether or not they’ve actually learned anything from it. This leaves teachers unaware of each student’s true educational level or progress. Based on these arguments, teachers should consider quality rather than the quantity of the homework we give. Instead of a hundred low-order- thinking questions, give one high-order-thinking tasks that will promote critical thinking among learners. You can also provide an alternative or two to allow learners to choose what to answer. Even better, you can vary the product so learners can present their assignments using varied formats and means if possible. Lastly, teachers should collaboratively set due dates that do not conflict such that the learners are given enough time for each subject or course. Conclusively, there is certainly no advocacy for the abolishing of homework here; simply that the amount and quality of a child’s extracurricular work after school be re-examined. Learning should be fun, not mundane and cumbersome. Homework should only be given if it’s purposeful and in moderation.
