Homework should be banned

Round 3 | Rebuttal | by Eav | 24.10.2014I am honestly apologizing for my last forfeiture; I forgot about the 48 hour frame (instead of 72). I am pretty embarassed by that. It's not what I do. Rebuttal1: Preparation for independent learning in college and adulthoodOn one hand, Con praises the glory of repetition, on the other and without differing, how you learn to learn by doing homework. By repetition you don't learn to learn. These two require a very different homework outline and can't both apply to the same task. That shows how he argues without properly distinguishing between the different types of homework. There are independent studies, but they are usually related to assignment papers and group projects. Independent studies are not the core point of homework. Closest to it would be reading homework that refers to a certain chapter of a book. While this at least able to trigger independent understanding, it doesn't teach you how to gather material and select it. The type of homework that WOULD be preparation for independent learning in college and job, is practically non existent in the homework reality, and especially for young students also not helpful. You can't give a eight year old the homework of making an independent study on Subtraction. It's very problematic to make them google and use the internet, assuming they a) have a computer b) have internet c) are supervised at home while using said media. And also doesn't cover the responsibility to make sure young students get all the basics they need for middle school. Its important that teachers have a direct eye on the students performance (without relying on them making their homework) to make sure they don't get behind at a time when they can't comprehend the importance of what they learn for further in life. 2: Self-discipline and responsibility Again, Con argues from the point of an ideal homework world, but not reality. In reality self-discipline and responsibility are formed by many factors and while homework CAN be one that supports that development, it can also harm it. A frustrated student (as one likely is - see Round 2) is much more challenged to fulfill his homework duty without getting any relevant positive feedback from doing so. Completing homework that is too easy will always feel like finishing something pointless (no positive emotion) and completing too difficult one might trigger the benefit system in the brain, if the student is not possibly to exhausted or to depressed that it consumed all his spare time and kept him from seeing his friends. And students who actually would have self-discipline (from sports, playing an instrument or from proper parenting) appear undisciplined and get negative feedback from the teachers. Learning responsibility should not be linked to your success later in life so early. Give kids time to fail. 3: Homework reduces school hoursThat depends of course on the way the school is run and how they teach. Banning homework would come with the need of restructuring the afternoon school time a bit to make sure students can learn supervised without being held back by the weakest. There are new methods like an compulsory afternoon session in which guided assignments and exercises are done supervised by a small group of teachers that can answer questions an check the progress. That sort of offer is similar to homework apart from the part that you do it "at home" and that the help you get is fair and free and helpful. This makes it more effective meaning that it consumes less time. There are many attempts to make school more effective and enjoyable and homework is no necessary part in it. 4: Parents' "alone time"Homework is not the way to keep your kid busy because you take no interest in them. Because this only is relevant for younger kids. Older ones usually don't bother their parents often enough by consuming their time so apart from criticising that Con again generalises things, people and tasks of which only one aspect actually applies to the argument, I want to underline what I talked about in Round 2. That parents who don't or do take interest in what their kids do with their homework always comes down to an overall fairness problem. It's wrong to communicate that parents should leave all the homework duty to the kid while it's also wrong to say that homework is there to make parenthood easier. Either way you do it it's going to be wrong. Which is why the best way, again, would be to abolish the whole concept of homework and get the child a sports activity or arts activity that they can choose to perform alone or with their parents help without influencing paperwork that ought to reflect the child's abilities. 5: Homework keeps kids "out of trouble"I love the idea. I truly do. But homework is not at all effective in keeping kids out of trouble (not that Con has offered more sourcing material than his often generalising assumptions). The actual statement here is: if kids do homework from three to six they don't do drugs from three to six. Which on it's own is probably rather correct but doesn't tell us a thing about what said kid does after doing the homework, nor does it consider what happens to children that have difficulties at school or at home or in their neighborhood and already have difficulties to find the calm to make homework. No, a kid that does it's homework shows that it is out of trouble. But that is not why it is out of trouble. A troubled kid can't do homework. So giving them some won't solve their problems. Con confuses here Effect and Cause. Homework is at best an indicator of how harmonic a kids environment and support is. Which again is not interesting for schools but for child services. On the other hand: if you offer guided exercises in school and ensure all are at same level without depending on homework to do what the teacher is not motivated to put effort in teaching, we ensure that no kid falls behind in school (regardless of their home problems) and develops a frustration that will sure lead to actual trouble. 6: Homework makes a teachers work easier A teacher that works with homework has to prepare the homework and check it which are both tasks that he either does on cost of the students in class or to his time loss after class. So from that point we have no advantage.The feedback you get from the homework is very limited in being honest about the students ability (established a few times in Round 2 and 4 so we don't have an advantage from this side. And as a last thought on this: why would we communicate teachers that they can just lower their workload by raising the workload of the student? Of course we don't have to expect the impossible from teachers but we neither should not weaken their responsibility in the core of their task: to teach so the student understands.7: Enough spare time left after homeworkFor this last argument, I am going to just quote Con to begin with: "A student could create some time within 24 hours for their recreation or relaxing." (Con Round 2)Assuming that said student has to go to school, sleep and eat and shower, there aren't 24 hours of a day available for him to choose when to do recreational activity. Doing the Math: 24 hours - 8 sleep - 7 school - 4 basics needs (food, hygiene) - 3 homework = 2 hours spareAnd if we consider we might have a younger student in need of a bit more sleep or a student with a long drive to school, there is not really anything left for recreation. So where to make spare time? School: impossible. That leaves us with sleep and basic needs like food (>> fast food). Both are rather important for kids.Trying to do all your homework well and properly is a very effective way to leave you with nothing but good grades. Which would sound better if that nothing would not also apply to a lack of functioning social life, a healthy lifestyle and a childhood.Conclusion A ban of homework would make schools fair and time for sports and soft skills.