Should homework be banned? Damn right it should!

Lately, I have been asking myself the question should homework be banned? As a mum, I have seen over the years the amount of homework my boys have brought home whilst at primary and now at high school. I have always had a strong belief that work should be left at the school gates and home time should be for rest, activities and family time.

Most children and Teens have after school activities planned most days of the week and trying to squeeze in lengthy homework assignments can be a challenge to say the least!

I am not proud to say it, but in the past whilst they were at primary school I have completed their homework for them by either colouring in their work or doing the full thing on the very odd occasions! I generally did this to save time and to make sure they could get to bed on time.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand learning is important and we have had some homework that has made me laugh like the time jake wrote a sex education story about the lifecycle of a sperm.

Should Homework be banned? Yes it should!

After school, many nights one of my boys went for tennis lessons, which I found far more important than doing extra School work. Sometimes exercising the body can have a great affect on their mood and help to banish the stresses and strains that some teens come across. After all exercise is a great way to help combat anxiety and depression in teens and can keep their minds in tip top condition.

You will find clear evidence at the mail online here that homework can cause stress and physical illness in children. In my opinion a clear, rested mind can prepare them for the next day at school, fresh and ready to learn, enabling them to study and concentrate better on their work during School hours.

In my Previous Life as a Teaching Assistant

As an ex teaching assistant, I have seen the pressures first hand that not only children and teens face with homework, but parents and teachers too! After a long day at work, cooking and cleaning at home, parents then have to start with helping their children with their homework, this often takes up to an hour and a half 4 nights a week and don’t get me started on the weekends homework, What is that all about!

Pestering to get Homework complete

With teenagers, us parents are having to push and pester to check their homework is done. Generally we help them (that’s if we have the knowledge to help) with very in-depth homework and deal with the conflict between children and parents at homework time!

The Teachers get pressured too!

Next time a class teacher hands home work to your little one just remember they are under pressure too. They will be made to punish children and teens who have not completed their homework on time and they also have extra work to mark as a result! It’s often a cruel circle really, if they are being honest they don’t want to give it and the kids don’t wont to do it.

Why not just set reading tasks!

Saying this, even though I think homework should be scrapped, I believe reading should be truly encouraged. I have seen first hand the benefits reading actually has on my youngest teen. His vocabulary is far greater than mine, with words and phrases he has picked up whilst reading books. He found this fun and quite exciting, although I know reading is not everyone’s cup of tea.

For younger children, reading with them at bedtime is so beneficial and better than stressing over any homework and often can be such a special time too. Spending quality time reading bedtime stories together with your kids, whilst they are all snuggled up in bed listening intently in my opinion is the best time for knowledge to quietly sink in.

Teen’s have enough to think about!

For our Teens, I have seen first hand how much pressure they have just living there normal everyday lives without having to try and fit in the daunting task of lengthy homework each night. Some nights my son can have up to four separate homeworks and the anxiety and stress he is under is very apparent.

Quite a few teens I know, have had either some sort of emotional breakdown trying to survive in what I believe is such a hard life for teens. With all the social media, bullying and stresses this modern world brings, adding homework into the mix is just too much for some teens.

I know they are many valid arguments for the benefits of homework, I just want homework to be scrapped and let us have our teenagers back to try and eradicate one stress from there life and hopefully spend the time together as a family.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Homework, do you see it in a positive or negative light?