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In edition, some knowledge is extremely difficult to learn by heart and is easy to be mistaken with others. For example, complicated concepts, formulae in Math, chemical equations, etc. Homework, therefore, provides learners several opportunities to meet the knowledge repeatedly and helps them not to forget it easily. What they have learned, therefore, becomes their own knowledge. 1 Doing homework helps students to understand lectures better. Home assignments play an important role in reinforcing the knowledge that is learned from school.
In all probability, it is hard for students to digest all the knowledge. Delegates at Atlas annual conference voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion demanding the Government scraps homework for all children in primary schools. However the campaign if likely to encounter widespread opposition and many heads acknowledge parents expect homework to be set. Some primary schools have already axed homework in favor of activities completed with parents such as trips to the museums but the trend is limited to a handful. Homework guidelines introduced by former Education Secretary David
Bluntest in 1998 state that children aged five to seven should be set an hour a week, rising to one-and-a-half hours for seven to nine-year-olds and half an hour a night for nine to 1 1 -year-olds, who are approaching Stats tests. At secondary level, 11 to 13-year-olds should complete 45 to 90 minutes, 13 to 14-year-olds should do one to two hours and 14 to 16-year-olds should spend up to ;o-and-a-half hours every night studying. While teachers are not forced to set homework, they come under heavy pressure to do so.
The guidelines are ‘intended to give a clear idea of what is seasonable to expect at different ages’. But Cecil Hanson, who proposed a motion calling for homework to be scrapped, said: ‘Homework is a waste of children’s time, teachers’ time and from what I have heard parents’ think it’s a waste of time as well. ‘Primary school children can’t control their own time and work. More… Pressure of toddlers’ ‘nappy curriculum’ is causing epidemic of aggressive behavior ‘We are not saying ‘don’t read with your children’. We have always said parents should read. That should be a pleasurable activity.
The issue of homework can damage parents and children’s relationships when trying to get it all done, and ends in tears all round She cited the example of a primary school which handed children a pack of 45 worksheets as Easter holiday homework in preparation for Stats in May. ‘The teacher said “It will only take about six hours”. ‘But what about the parents who have organized a holiday? ‘Children should have time to play games with their friends and go out on trips with their families. They should learn about estimating how many carrots and potatoes are needed for dinner.