Homework benefits are questionable

Homework has an effect on the performance of students in school due to stress.The amount of homework kids bring home every day can be overwhelming. Studies have shown that the amount of homework given to students has increased by over 50% in the past 30 years.

Lawyer Van Thompson told the Global Post, ”A 2004 University of Michigan study found that the amount of homework has increased 51 percent since 1981. While many educators use homework to supplement the material learned in class, homework doesn’t always improve academic performance.”

When asked about homework Senior David Slater said, “Homework is very stressful.” He said that it didn’t help him in class the next day when he did complete his homework. Sophomore Haley Asslin agreed and said, “Between sports and school, there’s not much time to do homework. Its very stressful.” Students tend to do less homework when they are given an assignment from every subject.

Students were heard talking about how they have been doing homework since before they can remember. Seventh grade Math teacher Kathi Chlanda of Michael E. Smith Middle School has her homework policy posted right on the class website. Many other teachers from the Middle School have adopted similar policies. Taylor Field a sixth grade English teacher and Mary Farrin a fifth grade English and Social Studies both have homework guidelines and helped posted on easily accessible websites. The High School has a similar teacher website setup, but most sites remain dormant or underutilized by students.

Freshman Morgan Harrington said that teachers give too much homework and that sometimes “it can be really stressful.” Harrington also said that she receives a lot more homework in the high school now than she ever did in when attending the middle school.

Although there are many students who believe they should have less homework in the school week, Vice Principal Patrick Lemieux said that he would “rather have two to three hours of homework then [have to] deal with regular stuff that’s going on in reality.”

Principal Diana Bonneville said that she does not believe that homework should merely be “busy work” and that if the the teachers feel like their students should have a homework assignment on the weekend, then they should just “go easy.” Bonneville also said that there is no definite policy on how much homework should be assigned from each class each night at the high school. English teacher Tina Lesniak said, “If it’s just busy work, there are no benefits. Homework has to have a specific purpose in order for it to be beneficial.”

There are studies that show that students that have homework or who get large amounts of homework each night can experience negative effects in their family and social relationships.

Teachers give homework for different reasons. English teacher Tina Daponde said, “I give homework because students need to practice what they do in class. I have students read so we can have a discussion the following class period. Students have to have to find quotes or bring in questions for the discussion. It counts as 20% of their overall grade. But students still complain about the amount of homework I give them.”

Lesniak said, “I think the benefits of homework are different depending on the class level. For my freshman classes, I use homework as a way for them to reinforce the skills they learn in class. For my AP classes, I have students read essays and articles for homework so we have more time for discussion in class.”