Should homework be required?

[FireMario]

I say not because according to national researchers, elementary school students receive no benefits from homework and older students receive so damn little that it will fade as more complicated methods are put into use. And homework sucks cock.

 

[Sovie]

More complicated methods such as...?

 

[foreign contaminant]

i'd say keep it, but i'd only be speaking for myself. my test scores aren't always in top shape; homework softens the blow a bit. it's also rarely challenging for me for reasons that aren't my fault. it's a good way to gauge how well you know the material, but then it doesn't have to mandatory for you to do that.. :U

i'd have to try living without homework before i could make a truly educated answer. i feel funny jumping in, honestly. :x

 

[Saith]

I reckon yes.

I mean, it's practice, isn't it? It's good revision, it helps test how well you know your stuff and it's practice for the coursework you have to do for GCSEs. Crap practice, but still.

The last one kinda sucks, though. I mean, I hate homework, too, but I'm glad it's mandatory, as without it, I'd nothing outside of school, so yeah.

 

[Zhorken]

I think it should be given but not mandatory. That way, people who don't need it don't have to do it and people who need practice have something to practice on. I've, uh, never seen it not work well, but I don't have anything more concrete than that.

 

[FireMario]

Zhorken, that's something I'd agree on. Kids who are smart like me, don't have to do their homework while those who need help should do it. And no, I'm not a scientist. but I'm smart;).

 

[surskitty]

Zhorken, that's something I'd agree on. Kids who are smart like me, don't have to do their homework while those who need help should do it. And no, I'm not a scientist. but I'm smart;).

Hint: smart people do not say that they are smart. If they are particularly intelligent, it will show. If they are not, not only did they just completely destroy any possibility of making a decent impression but those who are smarter than them will find them intensely irritating.


I do not usually do homework, but it's a fine idea. It's rather difficult to expect that all work, particularly essays, be done in the span of a class period and there's no reason why a teacher must be there all of the time simply so people will write.

 

[opaltiger]

It should certainly be given, if only because it provides things to practice on. And needing practice is not a matter of being smart or not: I understand completely how integration by parts works, but I still need to practice a hell of a lot to actually be able to do it consistently.

As for it being required, well, I would like to think that kids are able to figure out for themselves if they need to do homework. But kids tend to be lazy and ignore schoolwork anyway, so I don't know.

 

[Chopsuey]

In my opinion, no. I don't study, practice or anything in that area, and I still get some of the highest SAT scores in the state. I don't give a damn about it either way.

 

[spaekle]

I don't really approve of homework being given for practice and then graded for correctness. The teacher should obviously go over the correct answers in class and help students out if they have any problems, but to expect some students to be able to get 30 math problems correct just a few hours after taking 5 minutes worth of notes and being shown an incredibly basic example is a bit too much. :\ You can grade for correctness on the test; grade for participation on the homework, if you grade it at all.

There should also be a limit of how much homework can be given. There's just no sense in giving students as much homework as some teachers out there do. :\

I don't think that homework (as in, you do this worksheet or these problems and turn them in the next day) is really necessary, though. My Anatomy/Physiology class is famous for being a class with no homework, ever - but it's still one of the most challenging classes offered at my school. We take notes on the teacher's physiology lectures for two days, and the third day we're in the lab either studying anatomy on our own or dissecting things as a class. The teacher provides the information and all the help he can, but it's up to us to find out how we learn the material best and get ourselves ready for the test. And that way, we're not just filling in blanks on worksheets or copying down vocabulary that we'll forget as soon as the test is over - we're actually understanding the material. It's pretty cool. :v

 

[opaltiger]

We take notes on the teacher's physiology lectures for two days, and the third day we're in the lab either studying anatomy on our own or dissecting things as a class. The teacher provides the information and all the help he can, but it's up to us to find out how we learn the material best and get ourselves ready for the test. And that way, we're not just filling in blanks on worksheets or copying down vocabulary that we'll forget as soon as the test is over - we're actually understanding the material. It's pretty cool. :v

I... was under the impression this was how all classes worked?

In my opinion, no. I don't study, practice or anything in that area, and I still get some of the highest SAT scores in the state. I don't give a damn about it either way.

The SAT means nothing. I got 2290 without any preparation and on four hours' sleep. The maths is 8th grade material at best. It is absurd.

 

[spaekle]

I... was under the impression this was how all classes worked?

Most classes that I've had involve the teacher lecturing one day, and then the other two they just back off and make us copy things out of a book or read. Then we go home and copy things out of a book and read more. :| Science classes are especially bad about being like that.

But that's the American public school system.

 

[Chopsuey]

Hmm........ If my SAT's mean nothing then why did they make me download all that stupid training software? Idiots. I must hang out with some stupid people then..... One of my friends would have failed his SAT's two grades back, with his scores now. And I don't know if it differs by country, but here they say the SAT is the most important test....Still idiots.

 

[spaekle]

Hmm........ If my SAT's mean nothing then why did they make me download all that stupid training software? Idiots.

The SAT is not a measure of how intelligent you are. Anyone can get a decent score with enough preparation courses or general effort. Many colleges are starting to weigh it less against things like your grades and extra activities because they know a number says next to nothing about you, your specific talents, or how much effort you put in in everyday life. It's kind of like judging a person's skill at shooting targets based on their high score at skee-ball, or how good a person's artwork is based on their dA pageviews.

lol, 'idiots'.

 

[Dinru]

It should be given, but not graded. It would be great if all the homework one ever had to do was the homework one needed. I know a lot of people who are incredibly busy, start with their easy homework to try and warm their brains up, and then fall asleep way late at night and never get to the homework in the classes they aren't doing as good in. It sucks. So, yeah, choice would be good kthnku

 

[Ruby]

Of course homework should be compulsory. Your real complaint should be against the sort of unnecessary work that teachers give out for no reason except routine, most of all to the youngest children. Teachers should be taught what counts as useful work, and told not to give out anything else.

 

[opaltiger]

And I don't know if it differs by country, but here they say the SAT is the most important test...

It's the most important test because for some reason universities accept you based on your SAT scores. This is ridiculous, and is probably the reason the top universities also conduct interviews.

High school systems in other countries are orders of magnitude harder than in the US. UK A-levels are about the level of first-year university in the US. The IB is even harder. Any non-US university worth its accreditation will demand 95th %ile or above SAT scores. Cambridge laughs at the SAT and demands all 5s at AP level. And so on.

also I really, really hope you knew the SAT was only an American thing

 

[Tarvos]

Homework (but good homework, and one that doesn't consist of, you know, rote memorisation and actually teaches you to enhance your knowledge/study) is essential. I hate things where you are just like "here's the sheet do the questions" because it bores the utter living fuck out of me, but 95% of the time - it's useful. People give homework for a reason.

Also it pains me how so many things are done by lecturing when listening is one of the least efficient didactive methods :v

and for things like sciences, especially math-heavy ones - practice is fucking essential

 

[Saith]

I'm assuming the SATs you're on about aren't the tests we had to do in year 6 in primary.

Oh and for people who think homework shouldn't be, like, marked and stuff, then that takes the point out of it. You need to know what you're no good at in order to better yourself? If it wasn't marked, you wouldn't know what it was that you need to do to practice, and therefore wouldn't really be prepared for the exam.
Doing homework without it being marked is like, I dunno, learning an instrument whilst wearing earmuffs, then playing in an orchestra a few weeks later (or something). It's just no.

 

[opaltiger]

Um... there's a difference between "not marked" and "not checked". Certainly the teacher should provide the answers and explanations where necessary, but actually grading it? Waste of time.