Should Elementary School Students Be Given Homework?

[10kolivia]

    Recently, P.S. 116, located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, made the decision to stop assigning their students homework. Instead, teachers are suggesting that the children take part in interesting and engaging activities, such as reading and spending time with their families. A large number of parents are outraged, some have even gone so far as to yank their children out of the program due to their anger and discontent over the unconventional changes that are being implemented. This decision was made after realizations by teachers that many children were being forced to sit out of recess when they failed to turn in their homework assignments. Additionally, research done by the school's Homework Committee revealed that there is "no link between elementary school homework and success in school." Despite all of this, parents continue to argue that homework creates a sense of discipline and expands the realm of a child's knowledge and therefore is highly essential. 

    To be completely honest, the news of this homework ban made me incredibly happy. I am considering becoming an elementary school teacher, and over the past few years I have observed with horror the increasing rigor and stress that young children are subjected to. Homework at such a young age is not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful as well. Instead of observing their surroundings and learning how to interact with both adults and their peers, children become obsessed with the idea of a grade. As their schooling continues, children grow increasingly less interested in the process of acquiring a deep understanding of something. Rather, they are concerned only with numerical quantities. Most high school students are so distraught over their GPA and SAT scores, they forget that school in its most basic sense, is a place of learning. Eliminating unnecessary stress is essential in ensuring that children don't see themselves as a number, but rather a well rounded human being who is capable of far more than filling out worksheets and whose value rests in their ability to be compassionate, creative and thoughtful. 

What do you think? Did P.S. 116 make the wrong decision? Or should more schools follow in their footsteps? 

www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150305/kips-bay/elementary-school-dumps-homework-tells-kids-play-instead/

[10cadrienne]

Homework is considered to be necessary because it helps students review what they've learned in the past day in school. It also helps as review for upcoming examinations. However, I don't think homework plays as much of an impact on elementary school students compared to middle/high school students. Elementary school is about learning the basics - so you can apply them later on throughout middle/high school. When I was in elementary school, I usually didn't mind homework. I was only given basic assignments, such as filling out handouts or reading passages with multiple choice questions. The only time I was given a huge assignment, like a book report, was during winter/midwinter/spring break. Back then, homework took me about an hour and a half at most, and it didn't seem like a huge problem. However, if schools like these are no longer assigning homework, they're making this decision as a meaningful purpose. They want their students to spend more quality time with their families, and not stress over small assignments like these. Then again, I can see why the parents may be frustrated. They claim that children have strong memories, and they want their teachers to assign homework so they can review/remember their material well.

[10plauren]

I agree with what P.S. 116 did, to eliminate homework. Students are overwhelmed with the workload and have stopped focusing on what they are learning. In high school, students often compare their loads of homework and maybe even brag, “oh you had a 3 page essay? Well I had a 4 page essay.” “You went to bed at 11 p.m.? Well I couldn’t because I had so much homework so I went to bed at 2 a.m.” It’s not about the content of what a child is learning but the work that comes with it. If reducing the stress on an elementary school student includes giving no homework at all, then it is necessary. The students won’t be missing out on education because they will still be receiving it in school. Even any sort of compromise might help, such as giving less homework, or fewer tests. Like Olivia quoted, there is “no link between elementary school homework and success in school.” The school board should look at this research and find a better way to help alleviate student stress, even if it means giving no homework.

[10hdakembay]

I think that as long as there is homework in later years, elementary school kids should have some form of homework. My reason for this is time management. During a child's elementary years they learn many basic skills, one of them is time management in which kids learn through homework. Sure children should enjoy their childhood and spend time with their family, but if they have no homework in middle school, whats going to happen when they hit middle school? They are going to be overwhelmed and many of the children will end up crashing, because the transition from zero hours of homework a day to three hours a day is just too much to handle. In addition, children learn best during their adolescent years, and homework is a major component of this. I remember my homework in elementary school was writing words over and over to learn how to spell, and to learn the definitions. This is why kids vocabulary grow exponentially grow in adolescent years but begins to slow down after. Without homework in elementary school kids will not necessarily fully develop and will be overwhelmed by the workload they will recieve in their later educational years.

[10bsamantha]

Elementary school is a time where students are taught certain skills and are beginning to develop habits that they may keep for years to follow, if not forever. With the news of homework being banned, I have mixed feelings. When thinking about homework i believe that every student is different. Some students enjoy working at home and perfecting skills they recently learned. Other students feel that homework stresses them out to the point where going to becomes a burden. After seeng a video about schooling in ms. Carfizzis class, I personally believe that out while system of education needs to be reevaluated and changed. This, in turn, would also effect homework. Maybe interactive homework that was less rigorous or differnet types of assignments may make learning more Interesting and exciting to young kids. I don't know if eliminating homework all together is a god idea, but I'm very open to new things in education, especially if they don't include common core.