The debate about whether or not homework is beneficial keeps heightening, with experts giving varied views for or against the practice. The debate focus has mostly been on the amount to tasks assigned students. Those against home tasks at night emphasize that too much of it is counterproductive and overburdens students. California had to ban it in entirety in the 1990s due to concerns by theorists that it affects the mental and physical states of children.

Nonetheless, proponents of the act think otherwise. To them, homework improves students’ skills, creativity, and independent learning. Also, parents can monitor the progress in their children’s education.

So we ask, in your view, is homework beneficial? Before you decide on your answer, let us take you through some pros and cons of school assignments. With this, you can make an informed decision about the practice.

Pros and cons of homework

Pros

• Research has proven that homework enhances the education of students and achievement. Through this, they can strive for more with improved grades and entering college. Also, it makes them critical thinkers, ensures discipline, self-reliance, and improves time management.
• Homework helps students to continue the learning process and develops study habit while at home. There is no doubt that practice makes perfect, and it is easy to remember things done repeatedly. Most students are slow learners and unable to retain things learned in the classroom. Through homework, they can relearn and have a grasp on the subject matter.
• The home tasks provide the opportunity for parents to access the performance of their children and contribute to it. They can know the strength and weaknesses of the kids and find ways to help them. Also, parents get to know what kids are taught in school and see where they fall short.

Cons 

• Counter research also shows that too much homework is counterproductive and affects the health of children. Some students suffer sleep deprivation, high-stress level, weight loss, and exhaustion, among others. They later end up using drugs and other stimulants to help them contain the adverse effects on their life.
• Some homework demands extra equipment, research, and other resources, and this becomes a problem for students from low-income families. In the US, about 41% of kids fall in the above category making it difficult to do their home tasks. Secondly, some of these children help their parents at work or take care of younger siblings after school. As a result, they become exhausted, and having to do about two hours of homework can be challenging.
• Homework has been touted to be very beneficial to students. However, there is no evidence that it helps in the development of kids. According to experts opposed to home tasks, the practice is detrimental to kids’ development. According to Temple University professor Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., homework is not an effective way of having kids to learn and apply new things.

Conclusion

Having gone through the above discussions, what is your decision now? Do you think homework is beneficial? Are you for or against homework? Weighing the pros and cons, should take-home assignments should be scrapped, reduced, or maintained as it is now?