Guest Post

The Homework Catapult Launches Whom – Your Child or You?

In the 21st century, teenagers spend twice the time on homework as their counterparts did a decade back. A homework-heavy era ensures that the kids bring school home with them. Research shows even kindergartners spend twenty-five minutes every night on their homework.

What does this mean for you? Researchers advocate the need for lesser time commitment on homework while kids are at home and more on family and playtime. The findings, though, are debatable, and implications are greater than you may think.

The Current Scenario

The burden of homework is not only impacting the children, they are draining the parents and teachers too. The daily workload is influencing some of the schools to rethink the entire homework system.

A review citing the need for rethinking and redesigning the homework is on the rise. It is getting support not only from the education fraternity but the parents as well.

The different tasks on various subjects may include and are not limited to Applied Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geography, English, Environmental science, .etc.

It calls for the need for specialization, which the parent often lacks. It also means that they have no choice but to seek homework help from outside. The guidance for completing the homework by online portals may serve as the right tool for your child and you.

The teachers are stress-ridden because of the need to check both the classwork and the homework in time. They have to complete the syllabus of the subject within the stipulated number of teaching hours too.

This system is creating undue pressure on the teaching staff and the faculty members. Some psychologists suggest that the fear of not delivering on time often leads to agonizing moments among them. It impacts their natural ability to impart knowledge, which is why they are there in the first place.

Need For a Change of Policy

Few schools in the district of Columbia have been instrumental in conducting meetings with the teachers, parents, and education reformists. They propose to come out with a policy that allows students to spend more time with their families or play.

It is also important to note that there are teachers who have been at the job for more than a few decades. These lot of educationists have always believed that homework is one of the foundation pillars to confer knowledge. A set of parents expect that the schools should continue to give regular volumes of work to their students.

The crucial part to note here is the impact of the homework on the students. There is an inert need among the children to be competitive which may have passed on by their parents or friends. It is already taking a toll on them. The added burden of homework wipes out the chance of having a good childhood, either be it to play or to have fun.

Studies suggest that more than 3/4th of the students today feel stressed at some point or the other. Anxiety and depression have become very common among students. Parents are facing the heat too, with having to juggle between workload and child’s homework routine.

Impact on Social Classes

Homework is often considered to be a tool to make children remember a topic and understand its applications. But that does not mean that homework’s importance should change basis the socio-economic classes.

Instances of teachers putting more stress on the need for homework exist, especially in the low-income districts. But in reality, it is inconvenient for the children of such communities to complete their homework on time.

The reason here is not the absence of proper guidance at home but the dearth of time. These children often have to put in more than thirty hours of work a week or have to look after their younger siblings. It turns out to be a burden to complete the homework after managing such activities.

The Solution

The reforms changing the homework scenario also need to account for how much homework is apt for various age groups. Another noteworthy dimension to consider here is the kind of work that they need to do.

Homework becoming a part of the system to bestow knowledge has its reasons that you can not ignore completely. Striking a harmony between the need and volume of homework is very critical.

The remedial solution for this dilemma for both the children and parents who are inundating with homework is to assign lees of it.

Students and teachers may discuss the need for further studies of the topic beyond the classroom hours. It may start with a no-homework approach and transit to an as-deemed-necessary approach based on the requirement.