Historical of homework

Homework assignments date back to ancient Rome. During the first century AD, Pliny, a young oratory teacher, invented homework assignments. Pliny requested his followers to engage in at-home tasks. The purpose of the activities was to develop the speaking skills of a student in an informal setting. The results were impressive, and other tutors began to use homework assignments.

The tail end of the 19th century is replete with significant changes in the education sector. Of these changes are the frequency and type of homework given by a teacher, which have affected education quality. School going children started taking their schoolwork home from the beginning of the 20th century when education underwent a radical change. According to numerous reports, homework is a way of expanding the mind. According to the psychologist, the mind is like a muscle, and with appropriate mental exercise, we can reinforce. The purpose was to develop speaking skills in an informal atmosphere.

When homework got invented

Because Roberto Nevilis invented the homework assignment, notable improvement in the education system from 1905 is evidence. Teachers who subscribe to traditional views on learning believe that homework is a crucial component for efficient education activities. The homework assignment seeks to develop the learner’s creative imagination, individuality, independence, and initiative. The success of teaching depends on the effectiveness of homework preparation. However, planning homework is the difficult part for teachers. While designing homework assignments for children, educators should remember that educational material uptake goes through application, formulation, fastening, comprehension, and perception.

The primary purpose of homework

The main purpose of assigning homework tasks is to master the studied material. Homework plays an essential role in boosting the quality of learner’s knowledge in a basic school setup. According to Roberto Nevilis, homework assignments allow students to interact with all sources of information, plan the course of work, select optimal hours, learn without outside assistance, and work without a hurry. An academic assignment’s value is in consolidating and expanding the necessary skills and fixing memory material. Therefore, homework’s major objective is to form students’ research skills, the formation of the capability to extract information, master educational skills, and learning for strong-willed efforts.

Kinds of homework

Currently, educators use the following types of homework assignments in their learning process.

• Experiments and observation
• Preparation of report on studied material
• Performing creative works
• Performing written exercises
• Performing oral exercises
• Understanding content under study based on the textbook

With a mix of the above types of homework, students can perceive information and understand it.

Role of homework assignments in boosting the quality of education

To ease the learning process, educators should improve the organization and material of homework assignments on subjects. There are several forms of homework, which aims to boost the quality of learner’s knowledge, improve the learning process, and retain acquired knowledge. The assimilation of information and techniques of activity is essential. Fundamental consolidation and perception of knowledge in class should support subsequent thinking and application of new knowledge. Homework assignments should never get used as means to control students.

Where there is no motivation, you are most likely going to perform poorly or else delay with your assignment. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are ever motivated as you work on your homework. Otherwise, you may end up doing a lot of work in vain. Your energy levels will go down as you progress and therefore, it can be difficult to deliver during such times. Ensure that you are not incapacitated by poor working environments if you want to be successful.

How do I get motivated to do homework?

Now that you realize the importance of staying motivated for doing homework, you should look for ways to do it. There are several options that you can apply as listed below:

• Reward yourself for each milestone. This is very important. Set some rewards for yourself. It could be anything like candies to help you feel accomplished as you progress on with your assignment. There is a lot to be accomplished and therefore, you need to feel appreciated for all the work you are doing. You can do it yourself.
• Work with a like-minded person. Partner with someone who is also doing homework like you. Their company will help you stay motivated and complete your assignments in good time.
• Start with easy-to-do- assignments. Don’t start with complex assignments. They may eat into your precious time and also discourage you from completing the work. Simpler tasks motivate you as you progress with your homework to even tackle the most difficult ones.
• Set goals to be met. Work with personal goals in mind. What do you want to achieve as a person at the end of the homework? Think about how this homework translates to your success. That way, you will stay motivated to do it.
• Work from a comfortable and quiet room. Avoid distractions at all costs. Get started by getting a quiet space to work from. This will enhance your focus and concentration on doing your assignments. 
• Take snacks and breaks in-between. You need to rest because these assignments are taking much of your energy. Ensure you grab something to eat and that you take time to rest as you progress. This will help you regain energy and be in a better position to complete your assignments.

Final Remarks

You have to be deliberate in doing your homework. There is a lot that you can do to make yourself comfortable and motivated throughout the work. Make sure that you stay focused and determined throughout. It will keep you throughout the process of doing your assignments. 

Even though Finland is not the leader in the world’s education sector following the 2008 recession, it has had a significant contribution to learning around the globe. The country continues to set an exemplary education system that has helped its people. They have been a great example to emulate. Students from Finland have performed exceedingly well and this sparked a lot of interest from other countries. International tests have seen Finland students at the top leading other students from different parts of the world.

Secrets of Finland’s Education system 

Different countries continue to borrow from each other on grounds of education. For example, the concept of doing homework for students was borrowed from ancient Rome where it was invented. Therefore, any unique idea believed to be making a difference in the education system has found its way to many other parts around the globe. Today, many countries want to know what Finland is doing right and what they are doing wrong.

Education in Finland has taken a somewhat special approach that is believed to bear results for its people. It is not entirely a new concept but it is one that has born results for them. They have implemented a child-centered education system based on research and evidence. Most importantly, these learning institutions and organizations are run by highly qualified professionals in the field of teaching.

What we can learn from Finland’s Education System 

Experts say that they have seen tomorrow’s school in Finland. It is a game-changer and the results have been evident over the years. Here are some of the key ideas that have been engraved in their education system:

• The education system is not managed like a business entity. The idea of heated competition does not exist in this country. It is believed that these traditional measurement-based accountability and pay determined by performance have decreased the quality of education elsewhere and therefore not practised in Finland.
• Education in Finland is based on trust, collaboration, and collegial responsibilities between learning institutions.
• Teaching is not seen as a technical and temporary craft that can be done by anyone. Professionalization of every aspect is vital in this country.
• Most importantly, education quality in Finland is not based entirely on numeracy tests and literacy scores. They take a whole-child development approach and enhance equity of education results alongside physical education and art as well.

Conclusion 

Finland’s education system entails an all-round child-centred holistic strategy that promotes the welfare of all. These are top practices that can be applied anywhere around the world and not in Finland alone.

A recent study found that kids in the elementary school received almost three times the average recommended homework. The study conducted in Rhode Island consisted of more than 1100 parents having school-aged kids in 2015. They found that 1st and 2nd graders received approximately 28 – 29 minutes in homework equivalence each night. Those kids in kindergarten received roughly 25 minutes each night of homework. However, the NPTA and NEA suggest that kindergarteners should not receive any homework at all as it doesn’t have a significant impact on their education.

All this homework consequently leads to stress for the whole family and not just the kids. It gets worse in families where parents have limited education and lack the confidence to communicate with their kids about school work. Most likely, these types of parents choose to opt-out of the homework conundrum and advise their kids not to finish their assignments. The reason for this is that kids actively engage in after-school chores and activities and alleviates stress for their children.

Consequences for students in high school

 According to research in 2013, homework also has adverse effects on high school students and may negatively affect their health. According to the research, high-performing students who spend most of their evenings doing homework develop stress, problems with their physical health, lack of balance in life, and alienation from society. A suggestion from this research is that giving students homework for more than two hours may have counterproductive results. However, the researchers claimed to do homework for an average of 3 hours or more daily.

More than 70% of students who took part in the research confessed to being under constant stress from schoolwork. 56 % of these students claim that homework was the primary cause of stress. Another result of the study is that students don’t meet their developmental needs or cultivate critical life skills due to too much homework accorded to them.

Homework quality matters more than quantity

There’s a great debate still ongoing regarding the number of homework students should receive and its impact in the long run. What everyone agrees, though, is that quality is always superior when it comes to homework. It’s not only enough for teachers to follow the 10-minute per-grade rule, but they should also ensure they give effective and realistic assignments to kids. The goal of homework is adding value to a learner and being beneficial to a kid. Teachers, on their part, should focus on assigning kids homework that will boost their skills and cultivate their learning and development in life as a whole.

Conclusion

Homework has its advantages and disadvantages. To reduce stress among learners and other associated negative results from too much homework, it is essential to note the points from the above article.

In the nineteen hundreds, a lot of education theorists railed against the negative impact of homework on their kids’ mental and physical health. These caused California to stop teachers from assigning homework to children who were below fifteen years of age. In the 1950s, when there were a lot of technological improvements with the Soviet Union, the public decided that their kids should be given homework. 

In this current time today, from fifth graders running down to kindergarten are being given a range of about 2.5 hours to 3 hours of homework in a week. From 6th graders to 8th graders, they have an average of about 3.2 hours of homework in a week per teacher, and 9th to 12th graders have an average of about three and half hours of homework in a week per teacher. Now that for high kids have about five teachers, and this makes them average about seventeen and half hours of homework per week. 

Now, does homework result in good?

First, we will start with them;

Advantages:

• Homework improves the achievement of the students.

Research shows that homework improves students’ achievement by enhancing the grades for students, the results of the tests, and a higher chance of attending college.

• Homework develops skills in life and also good habits of studying. 

Everybody knows that when you keep on practicing, you will become perfect. Students mostly can only remember fifty percent of the information being given in class. So for one to have more than fifty percent, one has to do homework. 

• Homework helps parents to look into what their kids are doing in school.

Let us appreciate the work given to kids to do at home, and parents can know the progress of their kids in school. It also bonds the parents and children. It provides a chance for the parents to understand the weaknesses and strengths of their kids in school. 

Disadvantages:

• Excess homework is dangerous.

A study was carried out on the students in high school in California, and it was found out that about fifty-nine percent of them had excess homework, and about eighty-two percent of the students said that the homework would give them a lot of stress.

• Homework disadvantaged kids from the low-income family background

Forty-one percent of the kids in the United States of America come from families that are of low-income. They have limited or no resources that the kid needs to have their homework done, such as access to computers, pens, a quiet place, pencils, books, and someone like a parent to help them when doing their homework. 

• There is no evidence to show that homework helps kids. Homework might only be advantageous to kids who are in higher grades.

Conclusion

As much homework is good for the child to excel academically, we should not ignore the other side homework that it also gives children a lot of stress. 

Is it that after a few years, those very kids who graduated make homework longer? Denise Pope said that doing homework for about three hours a night was the average time taken for a student to use when doing homework. Some kids would even do more homework than usual, and they would even do homework for even about five hours. The incidents also happened in schools that had policies to limit the amount of homework that was given to kids. 

During this research, a total of about four thousand and three hundred students were sampled from ten private and public schools that were high performing in the higher middle class in the communities of California.

This study was intended to find the relationship between their engagement, the well being of the students, and the amount of homework that they were given in their schools. And also to find out how homework can be the main stressing factor to kids. 

Is it better to allow students to screw up?

The outcomes of this research were very worrying. It showed that too much homework causes physical health problems, very high-stress levels, and balance is lost in kid’s lives. About fifty-six percent of the kids said that homework is the leading cause of stress in their lives. 

Denise observed that there was a clear crystal connection between stress in students and physical effects like ulcers, migraines, and other problems of the stomach, deprivation of sleep and exhaustion, and loss of weight.

As it has recently turned out, the amount of homework that the students are now being given is exceptionally very stable ever since 1984,

So what is happening to students who are from affluent families?

Denise and her colleagues put most of their focus on the higher middle classes, in privileged schools, this is because it is in these kinds of communities that quality and value of the homework assignments is not questioningly and is deeply established. Here the kids describe homework as the main force that dominates their day.

Some parents wanted their kids to have less homework, and other parents wanted their kids to have more homework. There were also those parents who would give their kids some homework at home, that is, if the teachers did not give their kids any homework. Some other parents were also complaining about the situation that they had not seen their children in an entire holiday just because their children had assignments that were not finished, and they had to finish them. 

While some students were complaining about the stress that the homework gives to them, others complained that they were just typically adolescent. 

Conclusion

Homework can be a good thing when it is used in the right way, and in the right, I mean giving it to students in small quantities; this gives students a lot of time to refresh their minds because they have gotten done with their homework.