The importance of homework has been debated for decades. Some people say it should play a part in education because it reinforces skills we have learned in the classroom. Others say homework is busywork and not necessary. My opinion is that homework should be based on personal needs, an approach our current system of education cannot provide.

Homework should reinforce skills we have learned in the classroom; however, I believe students should only have to reinforce material they don’t understand. For example, mathematics is a subject where reinforcement should only be required when necessary. I recall being bored as my teacher assigned 30 problems about factoring polynomials for homework. I couldn’t fathom why I would have to waste an hour on a concept that was clear to me. However, concepts such as conics can be difficult and should be reinforced through practice. When I asked a teacher of mine about why we receive homework, he said that it was necessary to assign students homework and that teachers are not able to create specific homework assignments for each student. However, giving all students the same assignments gives the impression that every student has the same skill set, which is obviously not true.

Additionally, homework creates a massive amount of stress for students. Personally, it can consume almost an entire day. Since I participate in both extracurriculars and sports, the downtime I need is nearly impossible to find. Somedays I need even more time, and time to sleep, but I can’t, and hinder my own development. I’ve also had to divert my attention away from the class that I am in to work on other school subjects. I do enjoy the classes that I am in, but end up having to do work for the class next period because I ran out of time the night before. Not only is homework not aiding my learning, but it also hampers my ability to focus on a subject taught within the classroom. For the past two years, I have completed many homework assignments that take hours and completely stress me out. For instance, I recall spending time to memorize a bizarre script in french with words that I will never use again. I would also wake up at 4 am to study for quizzes and tests because I was deprived of the time the night before, and I still do. I am always working towards the next deadline, which is something that is simply unnerving.

Homework doesn’t only affect the stress levels of students; it also affects the stress levels of their parents. The majority of students look to their parents for academic aid. If students are struggling in a subject, they need and look for outside assistance. Some parents can’t provide this help to their children. This creates a major problem. When I first tutored a sixth grader, I was told that she lacked a certain level of motivation to do her work. This resulted in Cs and Ds in her classes. When I met her, I had the same incorrect assumption myself. As I worked with her, I realized that I was terribly mistaken. She wanted to do her homework and learn the material, but she simply had no one at home to help her. After five weeks, most of her grades had risen to Bs and Cs. When I asked her if her mom and dad ever helped her with her homework, she responded, “No, they don’t have the time.” This is when it became clear that homework can become an impediment when a student can’t get proper assistance. This example conflicts with a common assumption made by teachers when assigning homework. The expectation is that the teachers supply the student with enough instruction and resources to complete the homework assignment they are given. This isn’t to say that a student should completely understand every homework question. It means that a student should have some idea about how to approach their assignment and be able to complete at least 50% on their own. If this is not the case, then there is an issue with the homework assigned or the student needs to be given extra help.

Some people argue that these types of students need homework to keep themselves on track. The claim is that homework would only seem unnecessary for students who excel is also false. Even for students who struggle in many subjects, the removal of the excessive homework would be beneficial. Colleges have a standard similar to this, so why not disperse that type of education among the high school as well? The only difference is that in high school students would still be assigned projects and labs, so the grade isn’t solely based on testing. Once again, these students would then have the opportunity to go over concepts that are not clear to them and not have to study what they already know. This would save many students a lot of time during the school day and help them further their knowledge of the subject.

Homework should be based on individual needs rather than the current system of distributing the same work to each student. We have to realize that every student has their own personal needs which can be attended to if there is no homework. The removal of homework can help students of all levels. Removing homework means that students can study for assessments more efficiently and have more time in the day to do the things they are passionate about. Overall, the removal of homework in the school system would be a great advancement in education.