homework should not be banned

1st defense 1. "homework is not always a waste of time. There can be plenty of interesting assignments which allow students to improve skills developed during the classes". This argument is virtually moot in this debate round, teachers can assign these things but they have not, and independent study, and a push towards extracurriculars solves all of these issues. 2. "but if your hard work is also valued it motivates you even more" This argument makes sense, however it does not work in my opponents favor, if teachers give ribbons for students who achieve high scores on tests, basically the same affect is achieved, and therefore students do not need to be given homework. 3. "Teachers then give constructive criticism and advice that helps students to improve their skills" This can also be done by using in class assessments, and therefore it is non-unique, and it has no impact to this round. 4. "There are sometimes big assignments such as paperwork that require patience" The way this argument is constructed does little for my opponents case, students can work on these assignments during school, and even if they require patients, they do not need to be homework, students can do the same work in class and learn the same skills. "tasks when you need to just memorize some facts, statistics" This is in fact a moot point, because according to the definition agreed upon this does not count as homework. Extend my previous defense Defense: 1. The pro's argument based on the importance of self-study is virtually moot, because students that are motivated will still be able to get involved with activities outside of the classroom that would allow them to understand the material. 2. Homework does allow students to practice what was done in class, however student studying can also help with that, therefore this point is also moot. 3. "Homework teaches discipline and responsibility" This argument is non-unique yard work, and house-hold activities can do the same thing. 4. "You need to learn to work on your own" this argument is also a flawed construct, if students have to be assigned homework in order to learn how to work on there own, they are not truly self-motivated, and they will not be able to succeed once students are not given homework. Extend my offense 1st: There is no bright-line, students are at school for nearly half of there day, if they cannot learn in that much time, than there is teaching flaw, and not a student issue. This argument was not refuted, and therefore my opponent cannot win this debate, because this argument is apriori without an answer to this argument the rest of the debate is useless. 2nd: It limits creativity: When students are wasting time doing mindless homework they tradeoff time they could use applying the skills they have learned at school. Instead of wasting time writing a literature paper students could be having debates about books, or instead of people spending time on calculus homework, they could be applying that in a construction setting. 3rd: homework prevents students from developing: students are on a permanent training wheel, and they never fully develop, they do not learn how to study on their own, and they do not learn how to pace themselves.