Homework should not be removed as an activity in school

First however I would like to clear up the notion of students not doing homework. Whether most students do or don't do homework is irrelevant to the debate. We are debating whether students should be given homework or not/(SHOULD be removed or not). Claiming that most students don't do homework anyway is an invalid argument for whether or not it should be given or not. Now, To answer Con's question: He asked "is this kind of schedule followed anywhere?"- No. However, it should be. It's an option. There are two options to solve the problem. a)Reducing the amount of homework to a well planned schedule homework b)Removing the homework as an activity in school. As I said in my previous round that how "10 minute" rule benifits students and this limited amount of homework will not become a burden to students. As we can see that option (a) is better than option (b). Because it will not only reduce a lot of burden from students, but also benifit all the students. --Homework has not prevented students doing other activities; it takes very little time to complete. Recent American surveys found that most students in the USA spent no more than an hour a night on homework. That suggests there does not seem to be a terrible problem with the amount being set. Furthermore, British studies have shown that 'more children are engaging in sport or cultural activities' than ever before. If homework puts students off learning, then it has been badly planned by the teacher. As Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of Education notes, 'many teachers lack the skills to design homework assignments that help kids learn and don't turn them off to learning' . The best homework tasks engage and stretch students, encouraging them to think for themselves and follow through ideas which interest them. Over time, well planned homework can help students develop good habits, such as reading for pleasure or creative writing. The research however suggests that homework is not in fact putting students off learning. Rather studies in Britain indicate that 'most children are happy (and) most are achieving a higher level than before'. --->Now here are some statistics on the benefits of homework: 1) Harris Cooper (1994) presents immediate and long-term effects of homework: Immediate: Students retain information and understand material better. Critical thinking and concept formation are increased. Information processing is improved, and the curriculum in enriched. Long-term academic: Learning is encouraged during leisure time. Attitude toward school is improved. Study habits and skills are better. Long-term non-academic: Students have greater self-direction and self-discipline. Time management is easier for students. Students are more inquisitive and participate in more independent problem solving. 2) What Con said against parents behaviour to children about homework is not valid. There is no evidence to support this claim. Parents are not "strict monstrous beasts, monitoring their activities and bossing them around all day". It's just a wrong assumption. Even if it's true, it's very rare. Nancy Paulu (2000) indicates that parents can reap benefits from homework, also. The assignment of homework can help them learn about and become involved in their child's education. They can also communicate more with their children and their schools. Perhaps most importantly, parents who promote homework can assist teachers in creating a lifelong love of learning. source:http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu...