Considerations Concerning No Homework Policy: Opinion Essay
All countries have different ways of ruling and leading their countrymen. This includes the way of leading them in health sector, transportation sector, business sector and the likes. Education is not omitted to this. Every country have unique education systems and this is very crucial especially for the educators as well as for the students. There are so many education system that is presented in contemporary times. In the Philippines, the primary education, also know as elementary, is mandatory to the children. Next to primary education is the secondary education which is the four year high school stage. There is newly added stage which is the Senior High stage which last for two years. The next stage is the tertiary level or the college. In this level, not everyone is needed to study. Therefore, it is not mandatory. This system in the Philippines is called K-12 Program.
Nowadays, many educators and students suggested this policy that is already implemented in other countries which is the “No Homework Policy”. First, what is homework? According to Cambridge Dictionary, “homework is a work that teachers give their students to do at home.” Therefore, No Homework Policy is forbidding the schools and teachers to give homework to their students. This issue gain different opinions from many people. Many people disagreed to this policy and even more individuals agreed.
As a student, many people may assume that I agree to this proposed policy but I am actually oppose to it. At first I think that this policy is beneficial to us but after thinking it twice, I become against to it. To come-up with this decision, I took some considerations. Those are the advantages of homework to students like me, the possible result of implementing this policy and the schools’ lack of ability to even implement the policy inside the campuses. To avoid the mindset that I am bias to my decision, I also studied the side of those who agreed to this policy.
The first thing I think after I heard the ‘No Homework Policy’ is the advantages and benefits of homework to a student like me and even to the educators and parents. For me, the benefits homework to me is that it gave me the sense of accomplishment and confidence after finishing my homework. It also helps me improve my ability to manage my time. Homework also make me ready to the next lessons that we will study. To strengthen my stand, I have provided some information that supports my idea. According to a article by Monica Fuglei entitled ‘The Homework Debate: How Homework Benefits Students’, “Pryor-Johnson also identifies four qualities children develop when they complete homework that can help them become high-achieving students: Responsibility, time management, perseverance and self-esteem.” Based on this information provided, giving homework to student is not a bad idea at all. It improves students in many aspects. Homework is not only beneficial to the students but to the parents as well. According to the same article, “Homework provides an opportunity for parents to interact with and understand the content their students are learning so they can provide another means of academic support for students. Memphis Parent writer Glenda Faye Pryor-Johnson says that, ‘When your child does homework, you do homework,’ and notes that this is an opportunity for parents to model good behavior for their children.” This only emphasizes that even parents get something from homeworks and even improves their cognitive ability itself.
The second consideration is the possible result of implementing it. I believe that this policy will result to great impact and changes to the country for breaking the norm in the Philippines. It is written in an article by Connect US that “pros of homeworks are: it is an effective way for students to learn discipline, parents can see what their children are doing in school and help with the homework as well and it prepares them for the real world once they finish education.” Implementing this policy will probably remove this benefits that students and parents received. This policy will also make students addicted to technologies and will be less discipline.
The last one is the ability of the school to actually implement it within the school. According to ROBERT SCHWARTZ, Associate Dean, Harvard School of Education, “As foundations, we have a hard time following policies down to the ground. We are engaged through the enactment of new policies but, too often, move on before those policies have taken hold.” Therefore, even if the school has the ability to implement it, they are less likely to engage themselves to the policy and will eventually forgotten about it. In this case, not only the effectiveness of the policy that will be questioned but also the effectiveness of the school and the government who proposed it in the first place.
Those insights, I presume, is also the same with other individuals who are oppose to the idea of ‘No Homework Policy’. I also studied some insights of those who agreed to the policy. According to Child Magazine South Africa’s Best Guide for Parents, “ “I’m not disputing the merits of homework,” says a Durban mom, “it’s the volume and seeming lack of guidelines that leave most parents questioning its effectiveness.” This opinion is supported by Dr. Beverly Killian, head of the Child and Family Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Psychology. “Homework does have a place for practicing skills, role learning and developing self-esteem, but families lose time together if the load is excessive,” says Killian.”
They firmly believe that homework brings nothing but burden and lack of guidelines. They also think that this make the relationship between parents and a child distant from each other. However, after further study about they stand, I found a concrete example that completely opposes their ideas. It is the education system of South Korea. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “South Korea is within the top 3 best education system in the world.” They achieved it despite the fact that they gave assignments to the students and even extra subjects at home and even taking Cram Schools. They even called “Education Fever” for taking education beyond normal. It only states that it is not the homework that is ineffective in an education system.
Everyone has their own opinions and insights about different controversies and even small matters. I have no right to force them believe what I think is right. They have the right to choose and act in regards to their own will. I am just sure at one thing, removing or keeping homeworks to our education system won’t change the progress of our education status. It is not the works outside the school that should be change instead those within the school. Let’s stop this controversies and instead start to make small changes to the curriculum inside our schools.
