The dreaded topic of homework is discussed in this article. Students in EDU 360/560 will use ERIC online to access the following document for this reflection assignment and post using the template below. Gill, B.P., & Schlossman, S. L. (2004). Villian or Savior? The American Discourse on Homework, 1850 - 2003. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 174 - 181. I found this article at: http://www.history.cmu.edu/docs/schlossman/Villiain-or-Savior.pdf The article begins with the beginning of homework assignments in the early 19th century. Homework completion was viewed as a necessity in order to attend high school. The elementary grades were only committed to “two to three hours per week. (Gill & Schlossman, 2004 pg. 174). This was because the children of this time had to do labor work. They didn’t have a steady attendance …show more content…
Homework was a necessity because it was the only way the students were prepared for class the following day. By the 20th Century the PTA began to push their opinion in the battle of homework. They sought to have it irradiated as it was a distraction from the students learning process (Gill & Schlossman, 2004 pg. 175). There were pediatricians going as far to say that homework was the reason for the rise in health issues and the death toll. At this time educators, doctors, and scientists were all in agreeance that is was essential to educate the “whole child”. Thus, allowing time for distractions, play, and a life outside of school that was enriched. This would develop the child’s well-being in every aspect of life (Gill & Schlossman, 2004 pg. 176). During the Cold War, the issue of homework became a cause for concern. The Russians had achieved more than the American children. This began the achievement for excellence. As the curriculum in school changed homework was reinstated because the students needed to learn outside of school in order to prosper in academics (Gill & Schlossman, 2004
Biscoglio and Langer believe ultimately that homework is getting in the way of created a balanced social life. They say, “If parents were no longer held captive by the demands of their children’s homework, they could develop their own priorities for family life” (157-158). In the next section of their journal, Biscoglio and Langer refer to No Child Left Behind and their standards, and how this effects how much homework is given out. They spell out the idea that in order to keep up with the standards and to stay competitive, teachers will give more homework on topics that have not been taught. They say that “Homework has displaced real teaching and real learning during school time” (158). Before getting to the main point of their article, Biscoglio and Langer explain what less homework might look like. They say that in addition to helping with the children’s health, “we could also be reducing children’s and parents’ stress levels and increasing positive mood levels…” (159). Lastly, Biscoglio and Langer end their article with their main argument that the help of grandparents with schoolwork will be overall most beneficial to the students and their families as a whole. They provide the reader with the idea proposed by Erik Erikson call generativity. Their definition states:
In “End Homework Now” (April 2001), Etta Kralovec and John Buell explained that they should end homework due to the limit of time it restricts them to have, the unfairness from kids from different homes, and the results of drop outs they’re having because of it. The writers explains his argument by saying that student’s parents now have to work more hours resulting to less time being with their kids; nevertheless, help them with their homework. Kralovec and Buell both tries to convince the idea of getting rid of homework because students might also not have the recourses to complete it. The authors discusses these ideas in hope to reach out to the parents, to inform them that homework might not be the solution to a successful career, and the
In “The Problem with Giving Young Children Homework” Robby Berman believes that homework makes it difficult for young kids conform to school. Elementary-school children have a plenty of education in forward of them, and the best particular things a teacher can do, is to instill in a student a taste of learning. After being at school for six to eight hours, children physically take time to re-form. Commonly, they require 10 hours of sleep. One profit of elementary-school homework advocates support that homework helps develop a child’s sense of responsibility.
Homework has been around for many years, and parents have had many questions and concerns about the impact it has on their children. Kate McReynolds states in her article Homework that, “In 1957, the Soviet launch of Sputnik challenged the intellectual and military might of the United States. The New York Times ran a series of articles describing the Soviet educational system as superior to the United States’ system. Congress passed the National Defense Education Act and America’s youngsters were charged with restoring the nation’s competitive edge” (2). This means that schools are under the pressure to make sure their students excel and work extremely hard. So by doing so, they assign homework, which will progress to other issues for the students.
In a study General Society conducted, 16% of teens viewed themselves as workaholics, 39% said they felt under constant pressure to do more than they can handle and 64% cut back on sleep to do the things they need to do. As these tasks are quite time consuming, students state that homework is the most out of all the unpaid activities they do throughout the day, as 60% complete 2 hours and 20 minutes on average each day (CBC news, 2007). The amount of homework students receive on average daily has greatly increased in the past 15 years, which concerns parents. Homework interferes with students’ lives outside of school, a student’s overall health, and consumes countless hours, which is why it should be limited to a reasonable amount.
In the early twentieth century, the brain was seen as a muscle that had to be strengthened. They believed that with every piece of information they learned, their brain would physically grow. Therefore, most teachers during this time period’s response was to assign more and more homework. Although some students saw positive results, the majority did not. This led to a national crisis; more students were dropping out of school than ever before. Reformers at the time believed that homework was a sin, as it increased negative attitudes towards learning, deprived students of time to relax or complete any tasks that were not school related, and it had the ability to cause several different health problems. Now over a hundred years later, homework
This article interviews Dr. Harrison Cooper, author and professor at Duke, about the current homework controversy. Media, along with many other outlets, discuss the homework controversy: is it unecessary or valuable practice? Cooper says that people's’ views on homework has changed very little and it has proven to be somewhat of a cycle. For example, throughout the 20th century people’s views have continued to flip back and forth for various reasons. Some of the reasons listed in the article is that homework puts too much stress on the child, they need to practice and exercise their brain, and needing to keep up with the Japanese (Walker). However, the actual amount of homework that students get has changed very little. For example, elementary
Homework has been an area of discussion for teachers, students, and even psychologists. It’s been a practice which has been used throughout the United States to help students learn material, reinforce their day’s lesson, or just as busy work to improve a student’s work ethic. Several people view homework as useless, or just plainly unhelpful; this view has been demonstrated ever since the early twentieth century, where many authors and politicians were vehemently against homework, going as far as to write whole books and draft legislation (legislation which had passed the Californian government and had been law) against homework. This opposition has ever since faded, but is now seeing a new movement around America, and there are reasons as to why that is. In an article from CNN, they quote a study from another article published by The American Journal of Family Therapy which states that: “students in the early elementary school years are getting significantly more homework than is recommended by education leaders, in some cases nearly three times as much homework as is recommended”, and, as such, students are raised within a state of stress from the first grade. Several other studies also find that homework is very hurtful; the Journal of Experimental Education published an article which had made a study that found that the average amount of time students spend on homework each night had been 3.1 hours from a sample of high-performing schools in California, when the recommended time on homework is, at most, one hour each night. Homework has been mandated work for students all around the country, and several others, and the workload seems to only be increasing, and so, how might this workload affect a student’s ability to live a healthy life, a teacher’s work plan, and a psychologist’s view of an enormous workload on a student?
Prior to the turn of the century, homework was really not a part of the average child's experience. This is largely because school itself was not necessarily a part of the average child's life, and once most children were done with their school day, they were expected to go home and do chores or help run the family farm.
Before the conflicting cases are introduced, the article gives a brief history of the debate for and against homework. The authors explain that throughout the twentieth century there have been several instances of citizens forming and changing their beliefs on the matter. This use of historical evidence can also be attributed to the authors’ credibility. Marzano and Pickering go on to explain how the homework debate has evolved over the
The positive effects of homework on student achievement is an important factor in the homework debate. Several participants expressed the importance of the positives of homework on student academic success. For example, a parent of an elementary student expressed that there has been a major shift in the student’s grade. “Homework completion is essential for students to advance and grow. There has been a major improvement regarding grades and overall interaction”.
So where did the concept of homework come from? Throughout history, homework has been in many cultures from the Roman Empire to today the concept of homework has always been present to varying degrees within Society. In the US in the 1900s the editor of Ladies Home Journal Edward Bok began a series of anti-homework articles and by the 1930s a ” society for the abolishing of homework” was formed and many school districts began reducing the amount of homework while a few districts actually abolished homework outright. This, however, came to a grinding halt after the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957.In the United States under fear that children were going to be unprepared to compete with their Russian counterparts Homework policies began to thrive, many administrators and officials saw homework as a
The debate that is currently happening throughout America is whether children should or should not be forced to have homework, a standard part of education that has been in existence since at least early 1900’s. Homework began generations ago, and “has generally been viewed as a positive practice and accepted without question as part of the student routine;” however, “over the years, homework in U.S. schools has evolved from the once simple tasks of memorizing math facts or writing spelling words to complex projects” (Vatterott). Not only recently but even at the end of the 19th century was homework getting in the way of family life. Children normally always have house roles that they are expected to complete and around the 19th century “many families could not afford to have their children continue schooling, given the requisite two to three hours of homework each night” (Vatterott). Not just in current situations, but also the 19th and 20th centuries, the children play as helpers and workers in the
Imagine if you will, five years old sitting at the table and staring at a paper not quite understanding, so often left to ponder a math equation or the right place for little marks they call a comma. Can you hear the outdoors beckoning for a young child to find fairies and Indians on an open range? Even though all the world is at hand to be explored and fascinations to be had, the child is limited to only the pencil and paper at his tiny fingertips. The name of that page no matter how it is described, nor the importance inferred to be it's value is called homework , which in essence is the chain leading to the ball of the challenges he will face the rest of his natural life. It is in the name of homework society has forced countless children
Homework was first introduced to American schools around 1940, During this time, many students were not as invested in getting good grades. This was because there were other things that interested students; like farming or serving in the military. At that time, there were many valued occupations that didn’t require rigorous education, and with WWII going on many had their minds elsewhere. Colleges were much easier to get into because there was less competition for spots. Because of that, working hard at school wasn’t as necessary as it is now since good grades didn’t pave the road to success like it does today. Since students didn’t try as hard and weren’t as focused, of much the information they learned during the day was quickly forgotten. Teachers, who realized this, decided to develop a strategy to force students to recall what they learned throughout the day; They decided to force students to do take home work to retain information better. Over the years children started