In recent years there has been much debate about the advantages and disadvantages of sending homework to children after school. A greater amount of housework increases the effectiveness of education? There are opinions for all tastes. Next, I will explain the arguments of both those in favor and against sending home lessons for children.
The latest data from the World Health Organization has said that 7 out of 10 students are stressed. This value refers to the average of 6.5 hours a day that students spend doing home lessons.
At present, there are numerous investigations carried out in this field. These studies focus on three fundamental questions: What is the purpose of the task for the children? More quantity translates into higher quality? An increase in parental involvement equals an increase in their performance?
An excessive number of housework for children increases their stress levels.
Why do teachers send home duties to children?
Understanding teachers' purpose of sending extra tasks for children is crucial to explain their usefulness. Depending on them, the debate can be approached from two perspectives: tasks to complement what has been learned or to comply with the daily content hours.
The first aspect considers that, to consolidate their learning and the mechanics of new knowledge, children need to practice, and homework is the best way to exercise these skills. This individual effort is essential for the child to be at a critical stage of his or her language development, such as the acquisition of reading and writing skills. In this case, training is the only way to guarantee an effective acquisition of knowledge and continuous progress and improvement.
A second position is one that considers the task as a continuation of what has been seen that day in class. That is, exercises to finish and understand well what was not possible to finish in the classroom.
Various agencies rate this second variant as a failure of the education system. That is, the teachers, not having sufficient resources, are forced to overload the students with the tasks that must be done at school.
When to do the home lesson?
The most convenient would be for the children to do housework during school hours. So that they could dedicate the afternoon to other types of sports, cultural or recreational, since they are as important as the school. We must remember that the richer the children's encouragement is, the more we can contribute as adults to their integral personal development.
However, having to do homework after school requires children to learn to organize and plan their work. Which is also very beneficial. To little, the repetition of that routine stimulates the internalization of values as effort, perseverance and personal involvement.
Is dedicating more time to housekeeping always better?
Time is relative. In general, it is not appropriate to increase the duties of children to the point of loading them. As beneficial as it may seem to us, the superstition can be counterproductive not only in the school environment, but in all the intra and interpersonal aspects of the school.
It should be borne in mind that as the age of the children increases, the time devoted to the study also increases. For minors, a maximum of half an hour per day would be enough. This time would be optimal to review the knowledge acquired during the day.
It is also appropriate to set a time limit for its completion. Thus, children do not waste time with distractions and excuses and increase their control of attention.
Does greater participation of parents equal a better performance?
Not necessarily. It is convenient for parents to be close to children, if they have any questions, I do not know to organize or need correction. But it is not beneficial to sit at the table with them and accompany them during the completion of tasks.
Homework is the responsibility of the children, not the parents. It is the child who has to learn to work autonomously and to commit to their responsibilities.
In conclusion, doing housework is beneficial for children in terms of acquiring responsibility. Therefore, it is not only the good performance they have in the task itself, but the discipline they acquire little by little from early childhood.
It is important that, since they are small, they are accustomed to accepting small positions and learning to organize. The duties of children are the only way to learn to assume their obligations, through experience and practice.
