Why Do We Have To Do Homework: The True Reason

Homework has always been a highly debatable issue and attitudes towards it are rather controversial. Nowadays, arguments against after-school assignments get to be louder and more popular. However, the research results prove the opposite: homework is useful, and students benefit much from doing their tasks on a regular basis. So, why do we have to do homework? Educators provide lots of reasons, most of them being rather doubtful and weak, and only one of them seems to be sound and true: homework is useful because it reinforces and practices skills and knowledge that students get in class.

Everybody realizes that practice is vital. For example, sportsmen should train regularly and much to become proficient. This fact is true for homework as well. At home, you revise what you have learned in class and get a valuable experience that will help you understand the following information easier and faster. Moreover, it often happens that you are presented with some completely new and strange concepts and ideas at school. Without thorough repetition at home, your further knowledge of the issue is doomed.

However, everything is not quite so simple. In reality, the idea of practice and reinforcement doesn’t always work. Why is it so? There are several pitfalls that undermine the homework efficiency:

• Lack of understanding.

Students do not always understand new materials that are being taught in class. They start struggling with their assignments at home, often without any result. In such a situation, only the feeling of helplessness (and no more!) is reinforced.

• Poor quality.

Teachers often assign irrelevant tasks that may completely differ from what was being taught in class. Of course, here we would not speak of practice as a contribution to success. This type of after-school work is just another burden that a busy student should deal with.

• Large amounts.

Even if assignments are relevant and understandable, they won’t be effective if there are too many of them. Students get bored with completing endless tasks, and sooner or later they start procrastinating.

To make the main reason of the homework efficiency workable, educators should rethink their approaches to the after-school assignments. If students do reasonable amounts of relevant and interesting tasks, they will really benefit. Moreover, it is vital that the assignments be clear and manageable. Teachers should encourage students to ask their questions after the lessons are over, help them understand intricate concepts, and explain difficult materials in class once again if needed. At this rate, the educational process will definitely be successful, and positive results will be seen soon.