In the 21st century, many students think homework should be banned. It has become an arduous and inevitable task for them. They think so because they feel homework takes up a large part of their lives. Students spend countless hours working on math problems, literary essays, and scientific reports.
This topic has been a debate for decades, and there are still many people who think that homework is still necessary. However, questions about its actual impact on academic achievement are growing, with concerns that it may not significantly improve learning outcomes.
For others, the homework is “crushing the kids” or even “killing the parents.” The current education system’s heavy reliance on homework is being questioned, as it may not adequately prepare students for a diverse and fulfilling existence. There’s a growing movement towards banning homework, highlighting its potential to improve personal time, sleep, health, and relationships.
All this while also addressing the flaws in the education system that contribute to these issues. They were right because, without homework, the lives of students and parents would be much better.
1. There’s too much homework for the students
Homework is often debated for its impact on academic success, with arguments on whether it contributes to or hinders it. But too much homework can also hinder success. Students are not always able to meet other needs, such as being physically and socially active. This happens because you spend too much time doing homework.
In response to this debate, the National Education Association and the National Parent-Teacher Association have agreed on the “10-minute rule” as the standard amount of time students should spend doing homework. So students have to spend 10 minutes a night per grade level doing homework.
However, a study by the University of Phoenix shows the opposite of the rule. It shows that students from grade 9 to grade 12 are assigned 210 minutes a night. It happens because students are facing an increasing amount of homework and spending almost twice as much time doing homework.
Assigning homework has broader implications, affecting not just academic achievement but also students’ physical and mental health, work-life balance, and social interactions.
Students will feel more comfortable and face less stress and pressure to complete assignments if there is less homework or no homework at all, leading to a greater sense of accomplishment.
2. Students spend all day at school
Most students in Taiwan start school at 8 am or even before that, and school ends around 5 pm or so. They devote about 9 hours each day to their education. Moreover, there are many extracurricular activities that they have to do to compete and survive in society, such as going to school, learning musical instruments, playing sports, and many other activities. So they may even spend more than 10 hours a day on school-related activities, which is a very long time.
3. Students become stressed due to homework
A Stanford University survey shows that about 56 percent of students consider homework a significant source of stress. This includes college students, who often face additional pressures from their academic workload, exacerbating stress, burnout, and negatively impacting their well-being. While only less than 1 percent of students said, homework was not a cause of stress.
The survey also shows that more than 80 percent of students showed symptoms of stress, such as headaches, fatigue, lack of sleep, weight loss, and stomach problems. All of these things they get thanks to too much homework. Furthermore, homework disrupts families, creating tension and reducing valuable time that could be spent on family bonding and relaxation.
Of course, it shows that no homework does not cause stress. The students don’t need to spend most of their time sitting in front of their desks and worrying about their assignments if there is no homework. So the students consider not having a job as an absolute paradise.
4. There’s no real benefit of homework
Does the notion that homework improve academic achievement truly hold up, especially when considering its effectiveness in enhancing academic performance? Many teachers believe that if they give their students more homework, the students will improve faster and remember what they have learned. But in reality, it is not so. Students will become even lazier studying at home if they get a lot of homework. This raises questions about the effectiveness of homework in improving academic achievement, considering its association with family stress, sleep behavior, depression symptoms in adolescents, and its link to stress and substance use among high school youth. Repetitive homework tasks further contribute to these negative outcomes, interfering with sleep and health, and casting doubt on the real benefits of homework for students’ well-being.
Homework that takes too much time will be directly proportional to the decline in the academic performance of each student. Even though homework is a big trigger for getting higher grades, the opposite is true. Leaves many students wondering who invented homework and why?
5. There’s not enough time for students due to a lot of homework
Students have limited time to meet their developmental needs and other important life skills. This happens because they spend too much time on homework. They become individuals who tend to avoid participating in activities outside of school, such as sports, musical instruments, and more.
Moreover, this excessive focus on homework hampers the development of essential life skills like communication, teamwork, and empathy, which are crucial for personal and professional success.
The worse thing can happen if students spend all their time doing homework non-stop. They may not have time at all to learn important skills such as being independent, learning to cook, managing time, or even socializing with others.
Many students end up being forced to choose homework instead of discovering and developing other talents or skills. It’s possible that if there’s no homework, they can learn many things such as dancing, playing video games, and painting and at the same time be able to adjust to society when they grow up.
6. No family time
Currently, the main problem for most parents is the limited time to spend with their children. Because when the children come home, they immediately do their homework.
So there is almost no time to enjoy the endless shows on DirecTV stream plans with their families because they are too tired to do their tasks. Family time is important and watching documentaries is education making it quality time.
It also makes them miss some important moments such as family time, evenings together, weekend outings, and more. Therefore, it is clear that more free time can be spent with their families without homework.
7. Abnormal sleep cycle
The students tend to have abnormal sleep patterns because they are tied to a lot of homework. This ultimately results in the deterioration of their sleep quality. For example, they may finish one of their homework by two in the morning. It kept happening and repeated on the following nights. They always pass out and then wake up late at night to do their homework again. So that it becomes a bad habit in the daily life of the students. Additionally, the extension of the school day, coupled with the pressure of completing homework, exacerbates sleep issues, leaving little room for rest and recovery.
A Chinese study conducted in 2010 found a link between excessive homework and sleep disturbances. Children will have better routines and more stable sleep schedules if they have less homework. That way, students can have a more regular and quality sleep schedule if the main cause of the strange student sleep routine is removed.
There’s too much homework for elementary school students
The homework they receive only makes elementary students more disinterested and away from studying, makes them less successful in and out of school, and limits their childhood memories by interfering with weekends, holidays, family mealtimes, children’s bedtime, playtime, and leisure time.
Most students consider homework a burden and unnecessary. Finally, they feel less motivated by having a lot of homework rather than experiencing interesting school life. On the topic, read the discussion about the meaning of homework spelled backwards “krowemoh” in Latin.
Moreover, the undue pressure of homework does not positively impact students’ test scores, which are crucial for academic evaluations, highlighting the inefficacy of excessive homework in enhancing academic achievement. In middle school, this excessive workload contributes significantly to anxiety and stress, further questioning the utility of homework in these educational stages.
Therefore, homework should be banned from school immediately.
