Here comes the ugly truth: No matter what your college major is, homework is an essential part of the learning process, whether you like it or not.
Homework takes time and effort. It’s no secret that most students spend hours (and sometimes days) doing tasks at home. Moreover, it’s revealed that an average student spends on it up to 17.5 hours a week.
For students, it’s nearly impossible to keep a balance between college, work, and personal life unless they are motivated for doing home assignments fast. Thus, it’s crucial to understand more about homework and its role in obtaining a degree.
Let’s dive in!
What is Homework?
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As the name suggests, homework is a set of tasks that teachers ask students to complete at home (or outside the class). And here’s how Oxford defines the term: “Work that is given by teachers for students to do at home.”
Also known as a homework assignment, it comes in various forms: Workbook tasks, extensive tasks, project work, essays, reading, etc. Whether you study at elementary school, middle school, or college, chances are that you need to work on assignments in your free time. All in all, the purpose of homework is to reinforce what was taught in class, and therefore it helps to improve newly acquired skills.
The Brief History of Homework
The first formal school was founded in Egypt, where noble male offspring were taught reading and writing. During ancient times, the earliest civilizations had some form of homework – they were obliged to read in their free time.
Obviously, those students had never heard about essay writing or projects. The history of modern homework dates back to the 19th century. And if you wonder who invented homework, there are three facts about the real “father of homework”, Roberto Nevilis:
In the late 19th century, the “anti-homework” movement spread throughout the United States. Doctors and parents had been arguing about the negative effects of home assignments on children’s health. Activists like the Ladies’ Home Journal crusaded against homework. As a result, homework became more creative and individualized.
Today, homework has become an important element of the educational process and all teachers assign various home assignments to their students so that they can understand the subject better, put theory into practice, and retain information.
Types of Homework
From reading materials to writing essays, there are many forms of homework that students may need to accomplish. However, all these forms can be divided into three main types (practice, preparation, extension):
No matter what type of home assignment you get, it’s essential to remember that it influences your academic and emotional achievement even. Thus, you need to know the key differences between these types to work on them effectively.
The Pros and Cons of Doing Homework
With the popularity of the “anti-homework” movement in the 19th century, many people debate whether home assignments should be banned or not. Like any controversial topic, homework has both pros and cons.
The Pros
- Retain learning materials: One research shows that people tend to forget about 50% of what they learned if nothing is done with new information. In other words, it’s important for students to review information to remember it, and working on tasks is a great way to retain it better and therefore improve your study skills.
- Understand the subject better: Sometimes, attending lectures isn’t enough to understand the material well. To get an in-depth understanding of the subject, students need to read more about the subject, practice theoretical knowledge, or ask for an explanation. Luckily, homework can help as more often than not students should work on additional materials when doing assignments at home.
- Improve time management skills: With a great amount of homework, it’s crucial for students to manage their homework time wisely to meet the deadlines. Thus, students develop a homework routine and prioritize tasks. As a result, homework helps with time management.
- Establish a better connection with parents: Most students seek out help when it comes to doing homework, and they often turn to their parents. Homework often becomes an important element of the family routine that requires communication and understanding.
The Cons
- Cause stress and burnout: Doing homework on time requires much effort. Due to the lack of knowledge or time management skills, many students fail. It’s no wonder that homework is considered to be a primary source of stress for 56% of the students. Unfortunately, poor mental health affects well-being negatively, and therefore it leads to significant problems.
- Spend time and effort: Being young, students crave for communication with peers. At the same time, they want to earn money, so the majority of students look for part-time jobs. Since all these activities are time-consuming, most students don’t want to spend their free time doing homework.
- Make a negative impression of a subject: No matter how interesting the subject is, pointless busywork can turn students off. For example, when teachers assign homework, it can make a negative impression of a subject and teacher. Once students lose interest in learning the subject, it negatively affects their overall academic performance.
Want to know more about the pros and cons of doing assignments at home? Click on any chapter to read more about it.
Common Obstacles Students Face When Doing Homework
Working on your assignments can be daunting as students face different obstacles. However, if you know what challenges can be waiting for you, it’s easier to overcome them. Thus, you’re welcome to take a look at the list of common obstacles in advance to find out actionable solutions.
- Not enough information on tasks
- Too many study assignments
- Bad time management skills
- Distractions at home
- Lack of motivation
Top 6 Homework Tips
Whether you like it or not, every student deals with homework assignments during the college years. If you want to make this process easier, check out these six tips that can help you do your homework faster without stressing out.
- Put questions about a home assignment: If you don’t ask questions about your task in a class, you may be struggling with some questions at home. To save your time and nerves, it’s better to understand the task before starting working on it. Read your assignment carefully and ask your teacher if there’s something you need to clarify. It’s the fastest way to get straight to the point.
- Make a plan: No matter what home assignment you have, having a plan is a good idea as it helps you complete your task without wasting extra time. Once you know what comes next, it’s easier for you to manage your time wisely. For example, if you need to write an essay, you should read about the topic, do research, create an outline, write a draft, edit and proofread the piece.
- Set up a homework routine: It’s nearly impossible to spend 5 hours in a row doing your homework as you can get tired, irritated, and bored. Thus, you need to take breaks, but it’s important to keep a balance between studies and relax. Having a homework routine is a great idea to work on your assignments without burning out.
- Get rid of distractions: While most students feel comfortable at home, it doesn’t mean they have a productive environment to complete their home assignments. From your favorite TV show to siblings or friends, it’s so tempting to stop learning and do something more interesting. However, if you need to do your homework, you’d better get rid of distractions – organize your workplace, turn off notifications, and ask your family and friends not to disturb you.
- Collaborate with classmates: Every person is unique with individual strengths and weaknesses. For example, you may love Math while your best friend is good at writing essays. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could ‘show my homework’ and help each other? At the same time, you can share study duties or work together on difficult tasks. Moreover, collaboration connects people, brings fun, and improves learning.
- Ask for help: Even if the task seems to be easy and clear, you can still get stuck with it which means assistance is crucial. Whether you ask your parents, mentor, or professionals, assistance can help you understand the task and material better. As a result, you gain in-depth knowledge.
Looking for inspiration? Check out our blog posts:
Books about Homework for Students, Parents, and Teachers
- Ditch That Homework (Matt Miller & Alice Keeler)
- Ending the Homework Hassle (John Rosemond)
- Homework Without Tears (Lee Canter)
- Homework: Motivation and Learning Preference (Eunsook Hong & Roberta M. Milgram)
- How to Do Homework Without Throwing Up (Trevor Romain)
- No More Mindless Homework (Kathy Collins & Janine Bempechat)
- Please Help Me With My Homework (Susan Fitzell)
- Rethinking Homework (Cathy Vatterott)
- Solving the Homework Problem by Flipping the Learning Paperback (Jonathan Bergmann)
- The Battle Over Homework (Harris M. Cooper)
- The Case Against Homework (Sara Bennett & Nancy Kalish)
- The End of Homework (Etta Kralovec & John Buell)
- The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing (Alfie Kohn)
Enjoy the Process
No matter how good as a student you are, doing homework can be a pain point from time to time. However, it’s still crucial for all students to deal with home assignments to get good grades, so it’s important to enjoy the process.
Remember that you’re not alone: Millions of people who study various materials have the same problem.
So, wouldn’t it be great if you could discuss it with them and learn some actionable tips from other students?
The good news? Our team has prepared two guides for you that should help you enjoy the process. Click on the links to find out more:
To enjoy the process, it’s important to find out a routine that works best for you. The faster you do your assignments, the more free time you have to dedicate to your friends, family, hobbies, and work. And don’t forget to check out fun memes all students will understand as it helps to improve your mood, and therefore motivate you.
In a Word
Homework is a common educational activity every student has. It’s an important element of your academic performance and it affects your grades, submitting well-written home assignments on time is a must for every conscious student.
At the same time, it can be difficult for students to do homework after spending the day at college as most of them want to dedicate their free time to your dearest and nearest and find a part-time job. To avoid stressing out, it’s important to understand how to do your homework effectively, and we hope this guide can help you every time you’re about to procrastinate with your assignments.