Essay-writing contest- Should students be given homework and why?

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Essay-writing contest- Should students be given homework and why? I feel that students should be given homework as it gives an opportunity to establish the practice of studying in the environment at home.

Homework is a vehicle for independent learning

I feel that students should be given homework as it gives an opportunity to establish the practice of studying in the environment at home. It is a vehicle for independent learning. The reasons for giving homework change as the students get older.

In the initial academic years, it is the forging of a constructive relationship between school and home that is of primordial importance. For primary school children, it gives chance to do things at home which are difficult at school. It helps parents to know what their children are doing in school.

For secondary school children, homework is important because it develops skills, confidence and motivation needed to study effectively on their own. It teaches life-long learning and adaptability, sustaining the involvement of parents in the management of students’ learning.

Teachers should give homework, possibly relevant to the environment the students are working in, reasonably within a set time limit and should have a clear schedule. It should be followed-up in the school to show that it is valued and makes a useful contribution to learning.

Parents should value, encourage, praise and provide a peaceful and suitable place at home for children to do their homework.

Homework gives better retention of factual knowledge, increases understanding, critical thinking, concept formation and information processing and also curriculum enrichment. It encourages learning during leisure time, improves attitude towards school, develops better study habits, greater self-direction, self-discipline, better time organisation, more inquisitiveness and independent problem-solving, promoting the student-parent-teacher partnership.

- I Pradeepa, Class VIII, Warangal Public School (CBSE), Hanamkonda, Warangal

Good homework always puts mind to work

Learning at school is complete only when substantiate work is done at home as a part of practice and understanding applications and to realise the objectives of making students as independent learners. As students we are really unaware of the competition and importance of examinations as an integral part of learning without which betterment of grades and marks can never be possible. Good homework never puts mind aside. Let me show some tasks for each subject that illuminates and exalts the tender souls to work and have fun while doing homework as well as provides a strong platform for further education:
Telugu: Write about our culture and values discussing with grand parents or parents
English: Watch a news channel and write some sentences and words and write the theme of the programme.
Mathematics: (measure your room with a tape and note down the measurements). Write a short note on Srinivas Ramanujan.
Science: Write any creative ideas with which a people can get better comforts/inventions and scientists.
Social: Elucidate the greatness of your city and problems in your locality that you have identified.
At the end of the day, I mean at regular intervals such minds must be examined with these kinds of tasks which makes us identify with the surroundings and correlate with the subjects we read. Any subject or language home work should make us know the practical relevance and significance for which path breaking ways must be adopted to enable all of us to become indigenous individuals.
- B Harshavardhan, Class VIII, Dr Besant School
The good and the bad of homework
Homework with some creativity will be an interesting to do and it can lead to yield good knowledge in enjoyable way. My view on how the homework should be:
l It should be creative and generate interest. For eg. Prepare word book with some pictures, meanings and usage. This type of homework helps us to remember it easily.
l Not much of written or reading work but interesting activities like writing, headlines, collecting stories, filling puzzles.
l It can be in the form of project work. For eg. collecting the data of drop outs and reasons, collecting the pictures and information of natural calamities etc.
l The homework should always be appreciated by teachers.
Homework helps:
l To attain knowledge.
l To reinforce what we learn at school.
l It allows us to practice good habits like neatness and promptness of work.
l We say "practice makes man perfect". Practice is essential especially in mathematics and grammar
l If no homework is given, students would stick to TV or Internet and get attracted to negative activities.
Limits for homework:
l Too much work can encourage cheating because children end up copying from one another to finish all the assignments.
l Lengthy and frequent assignments make students lose their interest in the subject.
l Lots of homework usually means less time to spend with family and it also keeps the student away from physical activities. In conclusion, I opine that, homework should be given with limitations and modifications with present system.
- G Sravani, Class IX, ZPSS Sabbepally, Adilabad dist.
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