Can Homework be too much?

A few years ago, the amount of homework given to students had been discussed. Parents wonder if the extra study time for their wards worth it when noticing lots of coding homework they have to do on getting home after school. 

The reply I’ll give to parents’ concern about assignments is “the quality of assignments should be considered and teachers’ intents for giving homework.” In several cases, extra practice helps. But can harm a child’s education in other cases.

How homework helps students to learn

The reason teachers give students homework to do is to assist them in re-enforcing what they’ve learned in the classroom and deepen their knowledge. To assist in other life skills like solving problems independently and managing time. Also, it makes parents to get involved, which has been proved to augment academic success.

At least, homework is extra practice for students. Such is necessary because it aids the brain of students to shift their knowledge from short-term to long-term.

The challenges Educators face when giving assignments

When assignments are done wrong, it seizes to be beneficial to students. Assignments have to be very challenging for it to be very effective just that it would be difficult to monitor when children do their homework alone at home.

I have noticed a lot of times as a teacher, where students make the same mistake throughout the homework. When this keeps happening, assignments are not of aid anymore. In worst cases, the wrong knowledge deepens in their brain, resulting in frustration.

Assignments too difficult or too simple doesn’t benefit the students. They feel frustrated when it’s too difficult, or it’s not worthwhile if too easy.

Ill-fashioned homework could wreck the parent-child relationship. It leaves the parents in a difficult situation whether to tell the child not to do the assignment if too difficult or make the child do the assignment.

One other problem is that some schools assign grades using homework. As a teacher, I know the students did the assignment, but I wouldn’t know if the assignment was done with a coach’s help or parents. This doesn’t give correct feedback to teachers because they can’t see the mistake of such a student.

How much homework is too much?

Teachers should deliberately give an assignment that is of help to students. Teachers should have the interest of their students at heart. This is the key to knowing the right amount of homework to give.

Educators can as well make homework less stressful by adjusting the submission date. This allows students to have time for other engagements.

The other work of childhood

As Teachers, we should know that as kids grow, they tend to be creative and more lively when they are allowed to rest and play, and we must consider this before giving homework.

As an educator, I’m very intentional about the homework I assign to my students. I’m not a fan of students having to spend so much time on homework every night, but still, I don’t refrain from giving kids homework.