Homework: boring but important or waste of time?

Question

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or student, what is your honest opinion of homework at the high school level:

1. When the best learning is done
2. Not fun, but necessary
3. Not a big deal
4. Rarely helpful, but occasionally worthwhile
5. Complete waste of time

Please don't just vote by number, I would like to hear what you really think.

To clarify: I am a teacher.

Answer 1

It could be all of the above, or none of the above.

Good homework is good, bad homework is bad.

If you are given assignments that are just mindless work, that do not require you to think/reason, and do not help you to develop the concepts you are learning in class, then you are probably just wasting your time. Often there are homework assignments given just to give a 'grade'.. and not really to allow a student to develop a better understanding.

If you are given assignments that require to read and think, reason and solve problems, then homework can be the source of a great deal of learning and can often be the difference in really grasping the concepts.. or just going through the procedures without true understanding. Sometimes homework is given just for the opportunity to practice a skill... although this may be somewhat important, actually applying that skill to solve real problems is more worthwhile.

It depends on the teacher and the student, but mostly on the quality of the curriculum/assignments. Good assignments are never a waste of time.

Answer 2

Generally a waste of time. At the HS level almost all teaching should be done by computers. They are one-to-one and the student who learns quickly is saved wasted time. And, of course, homework is sometimes used as a punishment. HS and prisons are the only places where they punish you by keeping you later. This is because we do not have standardized national graduation tests that would allow the bright to go free and those who need more help get more attention. Teacher time is wasted on the bright, but teachers like them. Teachers should be working with students who actually need the help, such as it is, they can offer. In Europe students in HS have already begun their careers in trade schools or other specialties. Our system has become a con, guarenteeing teacher employment but not the delivery of worthwhile services. Homework for those who don't need it is absurd.
I have taught at the elementary, secondary and college level.
Believe me, most undergraduate college courses, except those in the hard sciences, are just buzy work too. Why require a course in a foreign language in a country that looses billions a year because it won't adopt the metric system?

Answer 3

I think public schools in the United States all together are a waste. We need more homework, and more advanced studies. There is no way to truly understand what you are doing in the time they give the teachers to teach. So unless you want a 12 hour school day, the only option is more homework to solve the problem of lacking education in the United States.

Answer 4

I got my teaching certificate in 1974 when I grad. from college. I taught elem, but the entire school system is a mess. I think you students often suffer, especially those of you who apply yourself and give it your best. I think the public schools are a mess. So, the state comes in and says, elem schools, you will now teach a foreign language too on top of the other 10 subjects you already teach, so due to shortage of time, it slurps over into homework . I do not approve of this and I taught 1,2 and 4. They all had homework, but it was just meant to teach them to be responsible,but they missed recess if they didn't do it. It was not one bit hard, and I made sure they could do it themselves because I was a single mom and knew what single mom households were like, mom too stressed out to help by night time. Now, some school districts demand certain amount of homework be given,and I fought that by making it easier :) You should probably try to track down why it is happening by talking to a newly retired old teacher you used to have because they are now free to speak. Or a friend that teaches at your level, an adult friend aunt, uncle etc. They will speak truth. My idea is kids needs to have a life,but they better darn well put forth their best effort or they will get no grace from me. I do not think kids should work until they get out of high school. You need to focus on your schooling because you do not fully understand the effect it will have on your future. I was making $60,000 a year towards the end of my career here and unless a female was a nurse or teacher or lawyer, the other single moms were living on minimum wage jobs and making $15,000 and both of those are before taxes and all. $15,000 less taxes just about pays rent and that's all,Who had the better life,my kids or the kids whose mom didn't further their education and so lived very poorly. you might think having a car and insurance and gas is the most important now but you will suffer for it for the rest of your life

Answer 5

The closest ones from your choices that represent my opinion are 1 and 2.

It is the best way to know if you know the subject or not - by trying to do it by yourself. No body ever said learning new material will be easy or fun. At high school age, you are still learning on how to learn - not necessary the material ltself.

Repeating lots of excercises and figuring out the process on our own is very important for your future.

Answer 6

Homework reinforces what you have been taught in class. I would discuss examples of classes that homework is really needed in. For example math class, you have to practice a certain skill over and over until you master it. Or in Spanish class where you have to do worksheets so that you can get the spanish concepts down. You should also discuss in your paper how the learning process would be messed up if it weren't for homework. That basically it, you just have to fluff it up and bs.

Answer 7

Well my opinion of public school is that it is government sponsored babysitting for an industrialized society. I tried homeschooling for a year in junior high. You could finish a whole day's school work in less than an hour.

HOWEVER: College is important. You need good grades to get into decent schools, and the HABITS you get from studying in high school are invaluable.

So, is homework, in high school, important? Not in and of itself. And it is not worth killing yourself over. But it should be done, if only to prepare for future homework that WILL be important.

Answer 8

you gotta do homework. it's just a fact of life. it's based on 2 things: proving to your teachers that you are really learning and 2. learning from repitition, which does work, even if it's boring, so i would have to say 2 and 3.

Answer 9

homework is not fun. for instance algebra II who uses it in the real world. not very many people. but it helps with balancing your check book. or american history, boring but it helps you better understand what america has went through in the past to get us where we are today. We may not use alot of the things we learn in school but having to go to school, do your homework, and turn it in on time teaches us responsibility. take a look and the countries that have no policy on children and education. most of them are poverty driven. now take a look at the countries that do have policies on education.

Answer 10

Hmm I'd say 4.
A lot of the time its redundant and becomes tedious, but occasionally its interesting or actually helpful.
The worst has to be several math problems of the exact same concept when you get it after the first one.
I understand we need to practice, but if I understand it, I should spend more time on a concept I don't understand as well.