Does Homework Help You Learn by Nicholas Gordon

          Homework may seem like a boring waste of time, and some are questioning its effectiveness.  Everyone knows homework is long and boring, and it may seem like a nuisance, but sometimes it helps a student make sure he/she understands a concept, or show a sign that they need help, and to attend remediation, and since homework is sometimes needless, it should be optional, so the student has time to work on homework for classes he/she has difficulty while not worrying about another subject he/she is comfortable with.  Homework should be optional because it frees up time for teenagers to participate in recreational and professional activities, allows time for students to work on other subjects, and it gets extremely repetitive and boring.

         

           Homework is useful at times but it gets tedious and repetitive if you know what you're doing.  This is why homework should be completely optional and should not be mandatory.  Some counterarguments could be "what if it is preparation for a test, exam, or essay?", and to that I say that the student should not be required to do said preparation, and it is up to the student if he/she wants to prepare, like studying.  To sum it up, every evaluation surrounding doing work at home should be terminated.  All but one thing, projects.  Group projects that require time and a team or a solo effort, should be excluded from being categorized as homework.  Having homework can help you learn, but only if you are studying a subject you are not doing well in, this is one of the few cases that homework can help you learn.  Others being going through the homework, figuring out the instructions, and looking online, etc, etc
           
Furthermore, if it is optional, students would have time to work on other subjects.  If a student is exceptional in science and math, but is having trouble in history, then that student does not have to worry about being evaluated on science and math homework, and can focus on studying in history and improving in the subject.  This would lead to an overall improvement in the student's grade, letting him/her focus on subjects they are not familiar in while still achieving high grades in those they are comfortable with.  Homework has very limited academic results even if you study and work in subjects you have trouble with, unless you have a tutor or your parent/older sibling can help.

This student suffers from "bored-and-unreasonably-stressed syndrome"

   
       Lastly,  I believe homework should be optional because it's good for a teenager to have free time to socialize, go to the gym, and relax. Why?  Because as one myself I feel like if a teenager owns up and works on does homework for subject he/she has trouble with/cares more for, it should suffice as a responsibility, and with a part-time job, I believe that that amount of responsibility should suffice for a teenager considering that in CEGEP and University, you (for the most part) join classes that interest you.

       In conclusion, homework should not be mandatory in high school because it is boring and repetitive, mundane and can inhibit social growth and growing as a person, and has very limited academic results in general unless you have the aid of a tutor.  It's time consuming too, and why should you waste your time "learning" by repetitively writing what you know over and over again?