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Homework Doesn't Help

Costrin

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Interesting article I found, eh.

The Truth About Homework

[...]
The dimensions of that last disparity weren’t clear to me until I began sifting through the research for a new book. To begin with, I discovered that decades of investigation have failed to turn up any evidence that homework is beneficial for students in elementary school. Even if you regard standardized test results as a useful measure, homework (some versus none, or more versus less) isn’t even correlated with higher scores at these ages. The only effect that does show up is more negative attitudes on the part of students who get more assignments.
[...]
 

AOA

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Sniffles

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Homework Doesn't Help
No shit. Other than being a source of extra stress; I saw no real benefit to homework. I mean com'on, you already imprison the kids for 6-7 hours a day, just let them have some time off to relax and enjoy life.

I will say that long-term projects are another story.
 

Ulaes

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here's some whimsical mind vomit:

homework can appear to useful in the current education style which is to drill facts and habbits into the students minds until theyre so good at it they can be mistaken for people who actually understand the concept behind what they're learning/doing. if teachers used a more holisitc, conceptual approach, i think theyd be able to cover more coursework in smaller time frames and eliminate homework. homework is just extra repitition and can be detrimental to the students health, as they have to spend time doing it (often staying up late) just so they can fufil a conduct requirment which can control the final "represenative" grade. let me use an alaogy: learning to dance. school teaches you the steps over and over and over and the test looks for how well you know the dance. school, atleast none of the ones ive been too, teach you or allow rhytm, and even if you had it and relied on it in the test, you'd fail. (and who was the better/natural dancer!?)
although homework will also alert you to misunderstandings because its done independently, i.e. if you cant do the homework or get the answers wrong, you have a problem that needs fixing -- this can all be done in class if the teachers would STFU.
i think assignments are different, especially when theyre designed to force you to delve deeper into a subject and/or pick out an interesting sub part not covered in class and teach you how to communicate your knowledge. the learning is more intense and efficient, i know ive learnt alot about subjects from doing assingments. independant learning has got to be the best way, but it can take longer because no one is there to spoon feed you the right information.

i absolutly abhor teachers who ask: look up this fact (that wont help you grasp the subject and just fill your head with useless info), just for fun. BUTDOIT!
 

/DG/

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Someone needs to tell this to all teachers everywhere.
 

Kyrielle

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Agreed with the article and what people have said thus far.

Definitely, Edge. Assignments and projects have always made me remember and understand things better than any homework ever did. Classes that were based on discussion made me remember things better than any lecture class ever did. Probably because in both instances, there is an application of the knowledge that is being learned. When you take knowledge and apply it to something, you begin to understand the concepts presented far faster than any busy work you could ever be assigned.

While I was the kid who loved the books I was assigned to read, I think it'd be more fun to allow students to choose from a selection of books which ones they'd like to read. Or vote on which book they'd like to read as a class. That way, they're less likely to feel like they're being forced to read something and will probably find themselves enjoying the material more; thus be more encouraged to read. I bet if teachers removed those awful homework things to "make sure you're reading the book", reading would be even more enjoyable. I never had a problem when writing papers or having class discussions on books, but I swear, if I ever encounter another one of those "literature circle" things, someone's going to lose some limbs.
 

Atomic Fiend

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It's funny because in every class I've taken it's usually the homework grade that makes or breaks you. You can be an ace on the subject and leave knowing more then anyone else but lord help you if you didn't do the homework.
 

Nocapszy

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No shit. Other than being a source of extra stress; I saw no real benefit to homework. I mean com'on, you already imprison the kids for 6-7 hours a day, just let them have some time off to relax and enjoy life.

Or at least the part of their life before they're Big Businesses Bitch.
 

miked277

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[sarcasm]wow, this article is right!!! homework is NO FUN... why are we making our kids *work* and *learn* when they could be running around jumping through hoops or throwing balls around.[/sarcasm]

what a load of hippy bullshit.

should we then come to the conclusion that since more time spent learning doesn't help we need to reduce time spent learning? no, of course not.

quality of education being the most important factor does not mean that homework is unimportant. it simply means that if you start with poor educators then extending that to the home won't help much. however, if you start with *good* educators then extending that into the home will help.

i'm not saying that school should monopolize a kids time, but the way the article tries to spin homework as evil is just stupid.
 

Fluffywolf

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I never made homework at home unless I had to use a computer for it. And even then, I made sure I did everything I could first in class before it got to that. Always made my homework during classes.

One can only wonder which is more effective. Self-studying by making homework assignments or paying attention to teachers in classes.

I chose homework over paying attention, because there were rules that if you don't make homework you're expelled from the class and such and get detention. That would cut in my spare time to much, so the choice was easy. o/
 

Amargith

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I refused to do homework as much I could and refused to do it at home. Almost all of it was done at school, during breaks, classes, on the train there etc. I *hate* homework. What's the point of going hours to school and then coming home to do the same stuff again. Somebody plz tell those teachers to stuff it.
 

nozflubber

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That's because the homework they assign in elementary school is USELESS SHIT - teach those little motherfuckers some algebra or some Latin, those scores will go up i assure you
 

/DG/

silentigata ano (profile)
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One can only wonder which is more effective. Self-studying by making homework assignments or paying attention to teachers in classes.

I really think that paying attention in class is more useful. If you have a decent teacher, then they will explain things for you and you will understand it. Homework is just pointless and it just shows how well you understood what the teacher was saying (or how well you can Google the answers :newwink:). Homework in itself teaches you nothing, therefore making it pointless.

I refused to do homework as much I could and refused to do it at home. Almost all of it was done at school, during breaks, classes, on the train there etc. I *hate* homework. What's the point of going hours to school and then coming home to do the same stuff again. Somebody plz tell those teachers to stuff it.

Haha I do the exact same thing!
 

Skyward

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[sarcasm]wow, this article is right!!! homework is NO FUN... why are we making our kids *work* and *learn* when they could be running around jumping through hoops or throwing balls around.[/sarcasm]

what a load of hippy bullshit.

should we then come to the conclusion that since more time spent learning doesn't help we need to reduce time spent learning? no, of course not.

quality of education being the most important factor does not mean that homework is unimportant. it simply means that if you start with poor educators then extending that to the home won't help much. however, if you start with *good* educators then extending that into the home will help.

i'm not saying that school should monopolize a kids time, but the way the article tries to spin homework as evil is just stupid.

That's why Finland and Japan got things right :D

In the end, it's really the quality of teachers and how they handle the curriculum that really decides how well a student is -willing- to learn. The students that are willing to learn WILL learn. Some students are naturally willing while some aren't. The engaging teachers can pull some of the unwilling ones to the willing side and thus improving the average grade overall.

An INFJ teacher of mine had a great math strategy: Pass two tests in a row at 80% or higher and you automatically get full score on homework whether you did it or not. This encourages the student to focus on knowing the subject to make the class less stressful. I think that was the only math class I got a particularly good grade in.

Both of my social studies teachers are lazy and teach through movies and discussion. Easy to pass, and I think they're on to something when I see some of the 'unwilling learners' add to the discussion. I still think they're kind of lazy ;)
 

Into It

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Homework may or may not help. Listening to professors probably helps you earn a high grade in a class. Please never forget though, that these are both mere smokescreens, and you create your education yourself, on a day to day basis, in whatever subjects you choose, on your own terms.
 

nightning

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Try not doing homework (aka practicing) in math and see if it gets you anywhere. ;)

Homework is a crutch teachers use to get us to absorb newly taught material. You don't need it to learn, but it helps get the "unmotivated" to start studying.
 
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