Homework? Yes or No? WHY?!

I wanted to share two of the students' opinion pieces.  They were asked to choose whether they thought they should have homework or not.  Then, they had to answer the most famous question heard in our room "WHY?"  To answer why they had to turn to college level journal articles published by experts in the field of education.  Students were asked to read over two to three articles and highlight three quotes they felt supported their reasoning.  As a class we completed a thesis statement to use as our introduction paragraph and the start of our concluding paragraph.  In the three body paragraphs they were required to have:
1. an introduction sentence stating a reason why
2. a quote from the article of their choice supporting that reason
3. the citation of the quote
4. a sentence stating a personal experience with this or how it could happen to a student

Surprisingly, I had 4 students that supported having homework and 15 believing they should not be given homework.  I will provide a piece from each side and you can create your own opinion just as my students have.

I am very proud of ALL the students! They even read their pieces aloud in front of Principal Conover, Reading Specialist Mrs. Benjamin, and a very supportive group of parents.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK 5T!!!!!! I am SO proud of you!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Against Homework:

              Homework is defined as tasks “assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours.” (Cooper, 1989a, p. 7). A number of studies have been conducted disproving the implementation of homework.

            One reason that supports my opinion is that it is bad for student’s mental health. “By 1980k, the trend had reversed again with some learning theorists claiming that homework could be detrimental to students’ mental health” (Marzano and Pickering, 2007, p. 2). This would happen by students who are being overwhelmed with too much homework.

            Studies show that teachers who give little homework have students with great grades and test scores. “Many countries with the highest scoring test grades and achievement tests have teachers who give little homework” (Bennet and Kalish, 2006, p. 2). This could happen when a teacher gives little homework such as reading.

            Homework can cause students to have stress. “If teachers give too much homework, students may be over whelmed, not complete the assignments, and ultimately achieve nothing as a result” (Costley, 2013, p. 5). I’ve had a personal experience of this when I have gotten four assignments in one night, I got so stressed out, and over whelmed.

            Homework is defined as tasks “assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours” (Cooper, 1989a, p. 7). A number of studies have been conducted disproving the implementation of homework. I believe no homework, or even less homework is better for students because it causes stress, mental health issues, and bad grades for some or most students.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Homework:

            Homework is defined as tasks “assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours” (Cooper,1989a, p.7). A number of studies have been conducted supporting the implementation of homework.

I believe we should have homework because if kids did not get homework their grades may drop. “Across five studies, the average homework doer had a higher unit test score than 73 percent of students not doing homework” (Copper, 2008, p.1). If we do homework we will get good grades, and good grades results in going to a good college, if we go to a good college we will have good knowledge.

 Doing homework helps students develop time management skills. “Homework assignments can enhance the development of self- regulation processes and self-efficacy beliefs, as well as goal setting, time management, managing the environment and maintaining attention” (Benbenutty, 2011c, p.449). Even though I have homework I still have time to go outside.

Another reason we should have homework is that if we do an appropriate amount of homework we would be less stressed. “It was found that the average student in a class assigned appropriate homework scored 26 percentile points higher on tests than the average student in a class not assigned homework.” Once I was only assigned a little homework and I was less stressed than usual.
Homework is defined as tasks “assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours (Cooper, 1989a, p.7). A number of studies have been conducted supporting the implementation of homework. I believe that we should have homework because if no kids get homework than grades might drop and students might become below average. Another reason we should have homework is if we do an appropriate amount of homework we would be less stressed.