Should homework be given to school students?

By Syifa Nadhira 

We all are well familiar with the word ‘homework’. After eight hours of school every day, students spend three or four hours more at home completing homework. It is such a great pressure for students to finish all the things. Parents are also involved with their children in getting the homework done. Some students love doing homework and many others hate doing that. However, homework still exists in many schools, but I believe that homework shouldn’t be given to school students. There are three reasons why homework is unnecessary for students.

First, too much homework can negatively affect the students. Many students say that they are stressed out because of homework. Stress becomes more apparent as students get into higher grade levels. It is a fact that high-achieving students with too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems, such as headache, stomach problems or even exhaustion. Also, many students say that homework becomes their primary source of stress. In addition, homework won’t help students to build critical thinking skills because the students are stressed out already. They will simply copy their friend’s work. It is such a negative effect for students. The thing that students need to keep in mind that health is the priority. Students will not be able to do anything if they’re sick. Achieving higher grade level without being stressed out is more than anything.

Second, homework takes away from students’ leisure time. Students need free time after eight hours of school to refresh their mind. The free time allows children to relax and explore the world they are leaving in. The free time also gives them valuable skills they wouldn’t learn in a classroom, such as riding a bike, socializing with friends or family, or doing their hobbies. In addition, by having a free time, the students will be able to have some spaces for themselves at least to rest. Most of the schools have a lot of agendas with the students. It will be worse if the students also have lots of activities outside of the school, like taking additional course or joining the community. That means the students will have a half of a day outside and it drains their energy. Additionally, if their family asks for having a quality time together, they wouldn’t have time for themselves. So, free time is important because by having the free time especially ‘me time’, it will turn back their energy. Therefore, they will be ready to start the routine again with the full energy.

Finally, homework is not always effective for students. Homework in many schools have a minimal effect since students pursue unrelated assignments instead of solidifying what they have already learned. Many experts agree that heavy homework loads have the capacity to do more harm than good for students. Teachers often give students too much homework not to reinforce the classroom learning, but for the students to spend their leisure time. In addition, homework is given only to see how for the students understand the materials not to give additional experience or knowledge.

Then, homework isn’t always effective since students will lose their power. It is because students ask their parents, tutors or even copy their friends, the homework assignment is ineffective for its original purpose. Students learn ideas better in the classroom than when they try to apply them at home, where they fight to fulfil due dates or win over their teachers. Having a lot of homework, students are under a lot of strain due to the abundance of homework obligations. Therefore, if students have a lot of homework with no clear purpose and ineffective way, students will be uninterested and discouraged to study more and less focused due to these problems.

Several people argue that giving homework is necessary for the students. They claim that giving homework helps to improve students’ achievement, which means the students will have beneficial skills, like time management and organization to self-motivation and autonomous learning. However, not all students can be an autonomous learner. It will be better if before students are burn-out because of homework, teachers need to train the students to be aware of autonomous learning in an effective way.

In conclusion, giving homework is unnecessary for students. There are many disadvantages of giving homework and it will negatively affect the students physically and psychologically. Students can improve their achievement without having homework, as long as the teachers guide them in the best way of teaching.

Should homework be given to school students?

Syifa Nadhira – English Teacher of SMA IT Insan Mandiri Cibubur