HomeWork

Uggghhh! That dreaded word! Just the thought of it makes me feel tired...

Did you ever wonder why we have homework? Did you ever wonder who came up with the idea of homework? Did you ever want to just go back in time with a shovel and bash the guy over the head who invented HomeWork? (I did)....

I believe HomeWork can be helpful because it tests us on what we actually know without a teachers help, so it can identify our weaknesses more easily (therefore we can work more on our weaknesses). On the other hand, too much HomeWork can lead to major stress and no effort.

I believe that HomeWork should be given out in the smallest quantities as possible, only focusing on EXACTLY the lessons one has learned that day. So it's more or less a review.

What is the point of giving kids 100 pounds of homework anyway? Especially when the kid does all the work and the teacher just glances at the paper to make sure there is some writing on it, then checks it off! Golly! For all the teacher knows the kid could have just written down lyrics to a song, while some other poor student actually took time to do the useless assignment, which in the end never applies to anything anyway!

HomeWork should only be given out if it actually APPLIES to something useful! As in the homework questions are SIMILAR to questions on a test!

Another point is - in math- i find myself doing about 5 problems in a row that are ALL THE SAME!
The same set up, but different numbers! Geez! You'd think if you got it the first two times it would be enough!

Take a look at this little piece I came across:

Best Answer - Chosen By Voters

Homework is work assigned by a teacher, school or other educational institution, to be completed by the student at home or while not attending class. The term is generally used to refer to primary or secondary school assignments as opposed to college-level coursework.

Many students find homework to be an undue burden, while schools and teachers generally insist that it is necessary to practice new skills and to better learn material.

Rather than doing their own work, some students plagiarize or shirk their requirements (for example, by using Cliffs Notes instead of reading a book). If they are caught, punishments can range from a warning to expulsion from the institution, depending upon the school's policies and the severity of the infraction. See school discipline.

In recent years, there has been some backlash about the amount of homework assigned. Some statistics show that homework has nearly doubled for children since their grandparents' time. In some cases, several hours of work may be assigned every day, leading to incomplete or mediocre work and overstressed students. The worst cases may actually cause children to develop mental problems. In response to such concerns, some schools have instituted policies lessening the homework load and requiring teachers to coordinate when assigning large, long-term projects.

Like most educational-related work, homework can become a bigger burden as circumstances change. One of the worst and most dramatic increases of student workload was during the Cold War. For a period of time, the United States government was pushing large amounts of science and mathematics on children in hopes of having greater technological skills at America's command.

Students who fail to do their homework employ a various range of excuses, the most clichéd being "The dog ate it". In cartoons, main characters actually have their homework eaten on various occasion, but the teacher fails to believe them, leading on a wild goose chase to actually prove it.

Some public and private schools use a homework hotline which states the homework for the day. It can either be a telephone number that can be called up, or it may be a website that a student can go to.

Source(s):
Wikipedia