Homework+Essay

Homework, a word most school-going kids and teens dread. Homework is a part of growing up, a given, a necessity…right? Many people, parents and teachers alike, are beginning to abolish or greatly reduce homework. In this essay, I will be exploring the pros and cons of homework, while adding my opinion in the mix.

Many experts say that homework has numerous negative effects on children, such as anxiety, stress, and suicidal thoughts or actions. Donna Cushlanis, a secretary for the Galloway School District near Atlantic City, NJ, has seen the effect homework has on her second grade son. Cushlanis’ son burst into tears half-way through his math problems, which has taken up to an hour. “How many times do you have to add seven plus two?” said Cushlanis, ”I have no problem with homework but that put us both over the edge. I got to the point that this is enough.”

Research has been conducted on whether homework has an effect on how well kids test. Harris Cooper, a professor of neuroscience and psychology, stated, “Homework in small doses can reinforce basic skills and help young children develop study habits. There is minimal relationship between how much homework young kids do and how well they test.” I completely agree with Cooper. Homework in grade school can teach kids responsibility and help develop a good work ethic, but in middle school and high school, most learning is done at home.

While some say that homework is a negative, many people view homework as a positive necessity. “I think people confuse homework with rigor,” stated Donna Taylor, a principal in Brooklyn. I agree with Taylor. Many people view a load of work as just simple busy work, when I could be furthering one’s understanding of a subject. However, some workloads are excessive and unnecessary. Homework in moderation can be a positive thing.

“Most of our kids can’t spell without spell check or add unless it comes up on the computer,” said Karol Ball, a mother of two teenage sons. Ball continued, “If we coddle them while they are younger, what happens to them when the get into the real world?” Ball makes a very good point. In the real world, if you are assigned a task that you fail to complete or complete it incorrectly, you get fired and replaced. We can’t let our children expect a light workload in the real work.

I believe that homework, in moderation, is a good thing. It can reinforce and refresh us of what we learned in class. However, I completely disagree with busy work, and excessive amounts of homework. When kids get stressed over homework, it is generally massive amounts of busy work, just repetitive worksheets, but if kids are assigned a moderate amount of critical thinking assignments, they generally can handle it.

Some people believe that homework should be completely removed from schools, while many people say that we should increase homework. I think that we need to come to compromise to cut down on buy work and put more critical thinking assignments in to the curriculum.