Is Homework Harmful or Helpful? Let Us Shed Some Light!

Various authoritative sources like Statistic Brain share an average amount of time students spend on homework per night equals 3 hours. It is unacceptable! The report adds more than 10% of schoolteachers use their authority to assign more than an hour of exercises per single subject. It makes students feel exhausted. So, is homework harmful or helpful?

We will try to figure out whether assignments to do at home are useless or beneficial. Would you like to prove why homework is futile? Or do you support the idea of assigning someone to do my homework? Keep reading to find out some information in favor of or against each side. 

Pros and Cons of Homework

Articles about whether homework is harmful or helpful like this should help defend students' points either for or against.

Why Homework Is Helpful

Let's first discuss the pros about homework that benefit students learning out of the classroom. We will cover several factors to show why homework is helpful:

1. Review of studied material. When doing exercises at home, a student reviews the material learned in class and additional content provided. It can help get some new insights.
2. Better understanding. Doing homework allows students to get a better experience and deepen their knowledge.
3. Practice. Usually, such a task bases on information given in class. Students can practice more to improve their skills.
4. Improved learning habits and research skills. Doing assignments on one's own helps build learning as well as research skills.
5. Reinforces learning. Homework presupposes additional education and research, which contributes to broader knowledge.
6. Feedback received. Teachers usually give students feedback on completed work, helping them identify their strong and weak sides.
7. Improved time management. When you have some tasks to do during the day, you have to make appropriate plans to cope with all that work.
8. Improved academic achievements. Additional research and reviewing of material improves understanding and allows to receive higher grades for tests.
9. Excellent problem-solving skills. Indeed, homework is not always that easy. Coping with tons of educational materials and tasks improves one's analytical skills.
10. Opportunity to gain new skills. A student can do in-depth research on the topic and find some recent issues of interest.
11. Minimum of parental control. When teachers give tasks to do, they usually check them. Thus, parents are relieved of this responsibility.
12. More independence & freedom. If students have some material to cover at home, they feel more independent in terms of deadlines and resources to use.
13. Ability to set priorities. When students have several tasks with similar deadlines within the same week, they can prioritize them in order of importance.
14. Increased responsibility. Students should understand that they are responsible for their learning. Therefore, if you have issues with your studies, you should pay more attention to the process.
15. Remote learning. When students cannot attend school or college due to some reasons, studying can be done remotely. 

Why Homework Is Bad

The above points show positive issues. But definitely, it has cons. Here are the facts proving homework can be harmful:

1. A statement about academic advantages is an absolute myth. TIMSS proved in their study that 4th-grade kids in regions that set below-average amounts of homework tasks tend to succeed more than their overwhelmed peers. It was tested on math and science assignments. Japan is the country with one of the best academic achievements. They shared no more than 3% of students have more than 3 hours of home tasks per evening. Other countries with excellent academic results do not support heavy loads and lots of homework. Greek students have the worst scores being overloaded with tasks.
2. Higher levels of stress are guaranteed! Spending 8 hours or more in an educational institution just to come back home and do more exercises is not the best idea. The mental health of an average child is under threat. Being more emotional and sensitive, a kid quickly gets overwhelmed by the number of homework assignments. Add problems with family, conflicts with friends, first girlfriend or boyfriend – and you will get a formula for a mentally unstable child! Eventually, students lose motivation to do homework.
3. School & college homework is irrelevant in 60% of situations. What teachers explain in class and assign to do at home are 2 different things. Each time they post a task distinct from topics covered in the course, a child may face an obstacle while doing homework. They might even think they are not smart enough to cope with it. 
4. A student may lack interest in specific fields of study. Many students know what they will do in life and their careers since their initial years in the educational institution. Lack of interest makes students succeed in some areas and fail other classes. Such an issue can turn into a real challenge. It is not fair from the beginning, but having to do homework on those subjects one hates is the worst crime!
5. The absence of free time is the worst nightmare. Many children share their sufferings about Freddy Krueger and lack of time, and it appears that they fear the last one more! They name overwhelming assignments among primary reasons they do not catch up with various life-important activities.
6. There is no objective evidence proving it is helpful. Home assignments are generally considered beneficial. In fact, no reported information or data is proving it is so. Thus, there is no confirmation of positive relation between homework and improved grades. 

Is Homework Harmful or Helpful: Debate

After weighing all pros & cons, it is possible to answer our question, "Is homework harmful or helpful?". The most popular solution is to achieve a balance in any debate, and this one is not an exception. We gave a hint above. The amount of homework depends on the academic level of every student. The scientists have concluded the best time spent on homework assignments for different age groups are as follows:

• Elementary school – 30-40 minutes;
• Middle school – no more than 90 minutes;
• Junior-high-aged students – no more than 2 hours and a half

Other experts who managed to achieve balance offer a bit different approach. Try multiplying the student's grade by 10 to define the corresponding number of homework minutes per night. It means that a kid from the 6th grade should not be assigned more than an hour of homework tasks per evening. Individual needs and skills matter as well. Sometimes, it just makes sense to learn how to do homework faster.

The core outtakes of the article are:

• Keep in mind the primary goal of homework. It helps come up with rote memorization. It also allows getting a more profound knowledge via elaboration and improvement of already existing skills
• Relate the homework assignments to your study goals to gain a better learning experience
• Make it possible to explore several concepts deeper than the rest of the terms
• Give feedback on time. Every student has a right to realize what they did at an acceptable level and what to improve. Quizzes & tests are some of those evaluation tools. Home tasks assist in defining strengths and weaknesses faster
• Ask for online assistance. When you are overloaded with home assignments, it is good to look for homework help websites to avoid stress.
• The participation of parents must be restricted to facilitate the accomplishment of tasks. Parents helping with homework is a common thing these days. But there is no way family members will do the job instead of a kid. Parents who do not enhance learning – leave the kids alone!
• Home assignments should be based on material discussed in class. It should not transform into self-education.
• Students should receive an adequate amount of homework they can cover within the time available daily. 

General Tips for Doing Homework

 
We should face the fact that regardless of all the drawbacks, students are still given a lot of homework. We have prepared some general tips that will help you manage all your tasks faster:

1. Start early and leave yourself enough time
2. Create a schedule
3. Prioritize the assignments
4. Do hard tasks first
5. Resort to homework help services if you feel you cannot cope with it
6. Take breaks
7. Try to avoid studying the whole night
8. Create a reward system for yourself 

Conclusion

The "Is homework harmful or helpful?" question is indeed very debatable. There are many good sides and bad sides too. Hopefully, this article has provided enough information to consider. We believe that there should be a precise balance between studying at school and amount of homework students complete. Every learner should have enough time to pursue their own needs and desires apart from doing assignments at home. 

In case tasks are overwhelming you, consider asking for professional homework help online. Our services will help you relieve your headaches from writing assignments. Come on, give it a shot, and you'll never regret it!