I think it is safe to say that whenever someone hears the word: “Homework”, it brings feelings of dread. Students hate doing it, and a lot of teachers hate grading it. So why have teachers been assigning homework since the education system started? Does it actually help students improve their test scores and overall knowledge of the subject?
First, let’s go a little into the history of homework. A common
misconception about homework is that it was invented by Italian educator, Roberto Nevilis. If you google “who invented homework,” Nevilis’ name will come up, and he gets most of, if not all the credit for the idea. However, no one truly knows when or where the idea of homework was invented.
There are records about the idea of homework dating all the way back to ancient Rome. Ancient education systems were hardly refined back then, and most of their schooling was at home so it’s kind of an uncertain source. When homework was popularized in the early 1900s, it was intended as a punishment for students who misbehaved or didn’t show understanding of the subject. But as time went on, it became the norm for educators to give students homework to better grasp the material taught in class.
To better understand the importance of homework, I asked a few people some questions about the topic, hoping to conclude if homework is actually helpful.
When asked: “Is homework necessary to understand a topic,” senior at HHS, Rhys Venable, had this to say: “It really depends on the student and the class. Some people can grasp concepts easily while others may need more practice with them. The pacing of classes might also affect the necessity of homework. For more advanced classes like Calculus, we only spend 35-45 minutes learning a new concept. We need more time to apply it, and that’s where homework comes in.”
Homework’s effectiveness is different for everyone. Some people’s brains process information faster than others, and some take more advanced classes than others. That might push too much into their mental health. Senior Chris Cox said “Homework does stress me out, especially if I think I’ve forgotten to do it and I have to complete a whole assignment or fear lowering my grade. As well as having a job, it’s sometimes difficult to get it all done.”
The consensus I found was that homework causes stress, that’s a given. However, it’s about how you manage your time that can lower or almost remove the stress entirely. Chris says that “Study groups are helpful because it’s overall a more fun environment. It also gives the incentive to hang out afterward.” Different people have different ways of minimizing stress, Mrs. Hoetzlein, Government and Women’s History teacher at HHS says that “if kids are not adept at managing their time well, homework will become burdensome. Some people lose track of time or get easily distracted, so I think it’s best to put your phone away for an hour and focus on the task at hand. This will eventually improve your focus and you will get more things done in a shorter timeframe.”
Math teacher at HHS, Mr. Martin, said, “It’s all about getting better at the skills taught in class.” Homework is designed to help you review material for the tests and quarterly assessments. At HHS, the grades are split 60% tests/quizzes, 30% assignments and homework, and 10% for a county assessment. Homework may be for 30% of your grade, but it is a preparation tool that you should be taking advantage of, even if it’s frustrating to do. “One of the best ways to learn is through mistakes” says Mr. Martin. “If mistakes are being made, you need to correct them before you take a quiz or benchmark”. Finding your weaknesses early and improving on them before it’s too late is the best way to improve your test scores and keep your grade from plummeting.
Out of the 22 people I asked at HHS, none of them said homework should be outrightly banned. Now 22 people out of the hundreds of students and staff at HHS may not be the best representation of our population, but I am confident that even though most people hate homework, we can all respect its importance for our understanding of concepts.
Sources:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/who-invented-homework/
