This House will Ban homework

Thanks for Brian Park 1025 to make his argument. Rebuttals First He said that You can do productive things if you don"t have homework. But What productive things? He could have explained what important/ productive things they can do. Also scientists conclude that if most people don"t have homework they will usually play at their homes. Also when you aid Finland is sucessful, However Singapore has homework and why are they so successful? The professionals say that Fifteen-year-old students in Singapore said they spent an average of 9.4 hours a week on homework, according to the results of a survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Sources: https://sg.news.yahoo.com... Also when you said that they might look at the answers but they can"t because there isn"t even the answer key but if they can tell their parents, it makes them learn what they forgot in school Team Line: Homework is Practice makes perfect THIS HOUSE WOULD BAN HOMEWORK Homework is a task (often called an assignment) set by teachers for students to do outside normal lessons " usually at home in the evening. Schools have been setting homework in developed countries for over a century, but until the past few decades usually only older students had to do it. More recently younger students have also been given homework by their primary or elementary schools. In England the government does not make schools give homework but it does set guidelines 1. Five year olds are expected to do an hour a week, increasing to three hours a week at 11 and ten hours or more a week at 16 2. American studies report the amount of homework being set for younger students doubling over the past twenty-five years or so, although some doubt these findings. Countries, schools and subjects differ a lot on how much homework is set, and at what age, but almost all high school students have to do at least some most nights. Most children have never liked homework but from time to time it is also debated by politicians, parents and teachers. Sometimes there are demands for more homework, as part of a drive for "higher standards". At other times there are calls for less homework to be set, especially in primary/ elementary schools. This topic looks at whether homework should be banned altogether. 1BBC News, 2008 2BBC News, 2008 Homework encourages students to work more independently (by themselves) POINT Homework encourages students to work more independently, as they will have to at college and in their jobs. Everyone needs to develop responsibility and skills in personal organization, working to deadlines, being able to research, etc. If students are always "spoon-fed" topics at school they will never develop study skills and self-discipline for the future. A gradual increase in homework responsibilities over the years allows these skills to develop 1. For instance, to read a novel or complete a research project, there is simply no time at school to do it properly. Students have to act independently and be willing to read or write, knowing that if they struggle, they will have to work through the problem or the difficult words themselves. Diane Ravitch points out that a novel like Jane Eyre cannot be completed if it is not read at home " students have to work through it themselves 2. 1 Bempechat, 2004 2 Ravitch, 2007 Homework ensures that students practise what they are taught at school POINT Having homework also allows students to really fix in their heads work they have done in school. Doing tasks linked to recent lessons helps students strengthen their understanding and become more confident in using new knowledge and skills. For younger children this could be practising reading or multiplication tables. For older ones it might be writing up an experiment, revising for a test and reading in preparation for the next topic. Professor Cooper of Duke University, has found that there is evidence that in elementary school students do better on tests when they do short homework assignments related to the test 1. Students gain confidence from such practices, and that shows when they sit the tests. 1 Strauss, 2006 1BBC News, 2008 2BBC News, 2008 Read more POINTS FOR Homework encourages students to work more independently (by themselves) POINT Having homework also allows students to really fix in their heads work they have done in school. Doing tasks linked to recent lessons helps students strengthen their understanding and become more confident in using new knowledge and skills. For younger children this could be practising reading or multiplication tables. For older ones it might be writing up an experiment, revising for a test and reading in preparation for the next topic. Professor Cooper of Duke University, has found that there is evidence that in elementary school students do better on tests when they do short homework assignments related to the test 1. Students gain confidence from such practices, and that shows when they sit the tests. 1 Strauss, 2006 Sources: http://idebate.org... This House Believes that Homework Should be Banned Questions to Ponder About: 1. What is the real purpose of our modern-day education system? 2. What constitutes a proper work-life balance? 3. Does homework still serve the same purpose as what it previously did - to reinforce academic content, the most crucial component of education (in the past)? 4. Does homework prepare one for real life? 5. What is the appropriate stress level that students are expected to withstand? Definition of Key Terms: 1. Homework: rote learning, pen-and-paper academic assignments e.g. worksheets, mock test papers, online timed assignments etc. 2. Banned: should not be given to students at all - regardless of whether it is on a school day, weekend or holiday. Clarifications: 1. Homework only refers to academic assignments for students and does not encompass Co-Curricular Activities, Community Involvement Projects or other miscellaneous activities assigned by the school. (If not, the debate might boil down to whether students should have all their time to themselves outside school hours or not, which is not the controversy in this debate.) 2. In addition to homework, students are expected to have other areas of responsibilities, such as family / social life, Co-Curricular activities etc. (This is where the controversy arises - does homework leave insufficient time for other aspects of an average student's life?) 3. Narrow scope of debate to countries with developed / compulsory education systems, such as Singapore, (the more advanced areas in) China, South Korea, Hong Kong, the UK, the US. (Eliminates possibility of exploitation from opposing debate team.) Onus: to do a cost-benefit analysis on the effects of homework. Opposition: 1. Banning homework prevents students from learning time and stress management. - The adult world encompasses many responsibilities, such as job and family commitments. - Thus, the only way to learn to manage responsibilities well would be to start young, by giving people watered-down version of challenges that have to be completed. The best way to do so would be through homework because it is constantly evolving to stretch students' abilities a little more as they progress, teaches them discipline and self-motivation, and allows for guidance from teachers and parents. 2. Homework should not be banned because it accomplishes the important task of reinforcing academic content learnt in school, which forms the basis of many knowledge-intensive industries today. - It is important to have a firm foundation of academic knowledge (such as in the biomedical, financial and engineering industries) which can be acquired through the rigorous practice inherent in homework. - Helps students grasp the theoretical portions of a chosen field of study, such that real-world applications become more instinctive and easier to grasp. 3. Banning homework causes students to not have enough time to appreciate the beauty of academic education. - In order to appreciate a facet of life, enough time and attention has to be given. - This axiom applies to homework as well. Curriculum time is usually too short to allow students to delve into the intricacies of a subject, such that they cannot be intrigued and fascinated by it. (Proposition could rebutt by arguing that an over-concentration of homework would make students instinctively dislike the subject, especially when they never liked it in the first place.) Sources: http://the-debate-lab.blogspot.kr...