Would it be a good idea to scrap homework given to students completely? Well , I was once a student and am currently a parent who is actively involved in her kid's academic journey, so I find this topic quite relatable and interesting. I will tell you that there are one thousand and one reasons why homework given to students is very important, but hold on, there are some concerns based on my experience so far..
To start with, school schedules are very demanding. First, the students have to wake up as early as 5 am or thereabouts to get ready for school and then spend 9 hours in the school, for my kids anyways; I don't know about others. Coming home late, they still have loads of homework from different teachers to face at home. To be sincere, this can be frustrating at times on the part of the students, and sometimes, I understand their grudges whenever homework is mentioned. They want to experience other activities at home aside from learning. They want to play at the field, engage in their hobbies, and bond more with their families, and even engage in other skills that are not book-related, but here is the catch...
How about schools looking closely into the gravity of homework given to these learners on a daily basis? How about giving them this homework in moderation? That way, they will be able to quickly attend to their homework and have time to engage in other of their favorite activities. Life is all about balance; it's much sweeter and more enjoyable that way. I have heard several times that "everything should have a limit", but it seems that most schools of this era haven't come across that statement.
Last night, my son was writing homework from the time he returned from school and refreshed until 10:36pm before he went to bed. The boy was obviously exhausted and mentally drained! My little baby of 3 years came home too with a mountain of homework, and I know no rest as a parent, guiding, getting involved, and making sure that they are doing the right thing, coupled with other chores I needed to attend to; it's not a joke! School just resumed, and some teachers have started showing themselves. The PTA I attended last term ended almost in a riot. Parents were agitating over the too much homework given to these learners and pleaded for adjustment so that students wouldn't experience so much burnout and also have enough time to rest and get ready for the next day's school activities; yet, the issue of too much homework is still currently active over here.
I understand that some of these students wouldn't study their books if you failed to engage them in homework. Homework is the only avenue you can use to indirectly force some students to study their books; if not, passing their exams will be a struggle. There are some of these students whose parents aren't always available to ensure they are studying; in their case, homework should motivate them to do the needful. Also, students tend to forget easily if they are not engaged with homework after school. In the part of parents, I love to know what my kids are learning in school through their homework and be involved to guide and correct them. Sometimes, my kids don't get it right during the lesson session in school due to one reason or the other, but when I explain it better to them at home, it becomes clearer—it's a win-win.
While I will advocate for homework given to learners to continue and never be scrapped due to how important it is in their learning journey, it is important that schools/teachers should observe moderation. Let there be a balanced structure where both parents and students will still attend to the homework for more quality learning and still have time to do other things.
This is my response to the #HiveLearners community contest on the topic titled, No More Homework.
Images were taken from canva