Do we really need homeworks?

Homework is a school work that teachers give to pupils to do at home after lessons. Homeworks can be different. They can be oral, written, or mixed; artistic (drawing a picture, writing a poem); attractive (different crosswords, games). Homeworks can also involve technical equivalent (listening to the tape, different programmes). Besides, students can search for different kinds of information on their own (newspapers, leaflets on any topic, an Internet). Student`s homework is as important as a lesson. The facts that homeworks help students repeat a new material, prepare them for self-study, and develop children`s social skills are just a few incentives to keep them compulsory.

In the first place, homeworks are the best way to repeat a learnt material. If students practice their skills at home, they get higher grades. Many teachers hold that homeworks should involve the continuation of practice and preparation for the next day`s content. Another positive aspect of doing homeworks is to prepare students for self-study after leaving school. If the subject of the homework is intriguing students do many activities to explore, and find out the details of things they are interested in. Thus, students develop their interests, learn how to cope with different tasks, and solve them. In addition, group work, learning, and doing homeworks together develop children`s social skills, encouraging them to work as a part of a group and to cooperate with others. It can bring out only the best in people.

However, many students still do not perform their homeworks. It is often suggested that homeworks are a necessary evil that bores students. For this reason, the nature of homework tasks should be changed. Some teachers simply do not check whether the homework was performed, how it is done, as long as it is done. Therefore, if a teacher does not value homework, the students, unfortunately, will not, too.

Taking everything into consideration, the results of learning depends on student`s homework. They should be planned not only by a teacher, but also by learners. Students have to learn how to study without the help of a teacher. They should also know why they do their homeworks. And a teacher has to pay attention to any problems that may arise in some homeworks. It should be pointed that homeworks are an important part of school activities since it helps students to improve their skills, cooperate with peer group, and prolong the contact with school subjects. Homeworks cover a necessary foundation for the future education.

Author: Redakcja