Homework

In the op-ed “Why I Think All Schools Should Abolish Homework”, author Vicki Abeles asserts that homework causes more problems due to the large amounts that students receive. The author uses several different points to explain to the reader how homework can actually negatively affect students and their lives as a whole. For example, Abeles references how she remembers how her son had a schedule that was “comparable to adults’ schedules […] even without sports or music or other school-sponsored extracurriculars” (Abeles par. 1), showing how students work excessively as they work equivalent or even more hours than adults do. And although others say that the extra hours would be helpful, she found research that “concluded that ‘after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance’” (Abeles par. 4).

This implies that the hours of homework on top of going to school for 7 hours may be futile in the end, because as the research stated, the additional time eventually has a “negligible impact on performance” or in other words, is insignificant (Abeles par. 4). Abeles, like the audience, also doubts whether the removal of homework will stop the problems kids face. However, she puts the worries to rest when she gives the real-life example of a school who has implemented something like this, with the results being that the “students didn’t suddenly fail […] test scores remained stable. And they started using their more breathable schedule to do more creative, thoughtful work” (Abeles par. 13). Abeles uses all these points along with ethos, logos, and pathos to support her argument against homework and to show the negative effects it has on students of all ages.

Abeles is correct in her claim that homework actually hurts the student more than helps them because the overwhelming amounts of homework take away the students’ time for extracurricular activities and even seems to be useless when large amounts of it are done. Other than her reasons stated, there are many other points that further display why homework should be banned. For example, one reason that supports her claim is that students that do homework on top of extracurricular activities will be forced into a corner when encountering ridiculous amounts of homework on top of the work they already do. It doesn’t help that student-athletes, who usually have to stay dedicated and practice a sport after school for 2-3 hours have homework on top of the time it takes to do homework.

Furthermore, the pressure of the large workload that students have to face daily from both extracurricular activities and homework will stress out the student. Without having free time to relax on top of going to school for 7 hours already, the student will lose motivation, sleep, and focus, and therefore will perform poorly in all of their activities, not just school. In summary, a large amount of work and time spent from school and homework combined will not only cause stress and ruin lives for students, but it will severely overwork those who already spend extra amounts of time working on extracurriculars.

A perspective that the article addresses but doesn’t go into detail with is the perspective from students who do extracurricular activities on top of homework, such as athletes or those dedicated to clubs. They go to school for about 7 hours, stay after school to practice for 3 hours, then come home to do homework. The author acknowledges this, making it clear that students still spend a lot of time doing homework “without sports or music or other school-sponsored extracurriculars [and] keeps many students on the clock as long as […] overworked adults” (Abeles par. 1).

The fact that the normal workload that a normal student receives is comparable or even the same as overworked adults truly show how difficult it might be to deal with this. There are many who struggle from dealing with homework alone, so people like athletes will be put under more pressure due to the work they have to do as an athlete and as a student. From experience as an athlete, I think it may eventually become difficult to juggle my routine especially when I come home tired, after a long, hard run. If a student manages to do their homework on top of the exhaustion, on top of the hours of extracurriculars, and on top of daily activities, they are lucky if they’re able to sleep by 11 or 12 PM. The exhaustion and tiredness from every day will stack.

Abeles, who had children, also related to this, as she had to pressure her kids to go to sleep, but would often come back to “find them clandestinely studying under the covers with a flashlight” (Abeles par. 2). The point here is that students are forced to stay up despite being tired in order to pursue homework, something that barely improves the student, and like was said earlier, only has a “negligible impact” (Abeles par. 4). So instead of doing homework to improve themselves, they eventually begin to wear themselves down. This may actually hurt their performance in school further if students become tired due to both sports and homework. And without rest or breaks in between in their daily routine, it may be too much to handle for the student. Which goes into the second point, which is that if students continue to overwork, they will actually underperform at school when the work truly matters, all because they’ve lost their motivation and lost sleep dealing with homework.

Another reason that goes hand in hand with the previous reason is that if children are overworked, then they will lose their motivation and become worn out, and thus will find it harder to do well in school. It is presumed that homework was made for students to improve and practice at home, not just at school. But today, it seems like the opposite, as homework takes away from the students’ effort they should be putting in school. They take away breaks and rest that the student may need to succeed in school for the next day. Many students, including Abeles’s son Zak question why homework is truly necessary, who said that he was “‘working towards my death […] like I’m on an endless treadmill with no time for living’” (Abeles par. 3).

All this just goes to show that while homework may have helpful effects that may teach kids to learn, it is a terrible trade-off because as a result of it, students must cope with a large amount of unbearable work. There are probably many students, like Zak, that feel like they too have “no time for living” due to the lack of time they have to relax and take a break from work. Abeles even states herself in the article that it’s no wonder that kids are plagued with disorders such as

“disengagement, anxiety and depression” (Abeles par. 1). Students are already under great pressure to do well in school, the extracurricular activities they have, and other tasks outside of school. The added homework which doesn’t truly help is a waste of time if it only ends up wearing students out and holding them back. And while some may argue that it’s good that students do this much homework because it can prepare them and will prepare them for what they’ll need to learn, research was found that “elite musicians, scientists, and athletes do their most productive work only about four hours per day” (Abeles par. 6). It’s strange that we give our students more work than professionals who only work four hours and do the best work. It just goes to show that in this case, it is truly quantity over quality.

Overwhelming students with hours and hours of homework will only tire them out, and we should instead let them balance the time they already have and put effort into what they do. If they’re given time to rest, relax, and truly enjoy what they do, it will come easier to them to produce better results and to work more efficiently at both schools, extracurricular activities, and at home. Homework may have not worked as it was planned to, but we need to remember what the goal always was; to help our students and allow them to thrive.

Like many, Abeles questioned the homework system and argued that it should be banned because of how it took time away from other experiences and even was shown to be useless after a certain amount of hours. Her experience with her children showed this, as her child, Zak, would often question whether homework was useful anymore, as it became an endless task that would always come back to haunt him. Homework had become the opposite of what it was intended to be, and instead became a roadblock that stopped students from achieving their goals.

Homework became more quantity over quality, as students would only be overwhelmed and worn down due to the large amount of work they received. It would equal out to a tremendous amount of work, and instead of improving students’ performances through practice, it would take away effort and motivation they needed to succeed. And while it could be agreed that we could ban homework as Abeles suggested, it should be noted she offered the idea that homework could work, as long as it was given in smaller amounts. While the way homework now should definitely be changed, there is no need to ban it completely. Homework still has the potential to help our students. Whether it should be banned is up to us to decide.

Lam writing this essay as a senior in high school sharing the ambitions as most. going to college then having my perfect iob. In my chosen career. Although Instead of applying for college and easing into the end of the year like most of my friends I am working my butt off to make up for the mistakes I have made the last four years. Starting off freshman year I began the habbit of doing just enough work to get by earning es in most of my classes. Thinking to myself “I’ll have a good time now and pull my load later on”. As time progressed my C‘s began turning into (3’s and D’s and my only motive for doing better was to get teachers and my family off my back.

I can’t tell you how many times I heard the cliche about how much potential I could have, As these words slip through right ear and out the other my bad habits continued. Now its sophomore year and I‘m doing even worse than the year before, My grades were slipping but hey. I was enjoying life school was the last thing on my mind. That‘s when I got my first shocker, Summer School. For once in my life I didn’tiust slip by I had to make up for what I didn’t do during the year for 8 weeks four hours a day and $500.00 dollars poorer. One would think that Summer School would snap me out of it. Well, it did I went into junior year With a scholar mentality which lasted for less than a month. Then came the work load lwould come home knowing I had serious homework to do but rather go out With friends instead.

A route I choose countless times that I now regret. Luckily I passed the eleventh grade. With only one failing grade yes I said only if you knew me then you’d be surprised as well. So now skip forward to September senior year I start every class with an. A, but this time the good grades only lasted two weeks. I had caught a bad case of senioritis at the wrong time. I slept through most of my classes when shown. In some of the classes, I would listen to and completely understand what was going on list didn’t do my work to show it. At the end of the first and second quarter, teachers surprisingly gave me a chance to make up my work because, yes you guessed it, I have so much potential.

So both times I came home With the work sat it in front of me and said “hmmm i wonder what so and so are doing let me call them up.” Even though it wasn’t that long ago that i did it I know now how utterly stupid it was. Even sitting here now reading what I am writing | feel so stupid. So currently i am failing every single class I have with grade ranging from 40 to 66. I am running an absolutely realistic chance of not graduating With my class. Not graduating With my class, I never in a million years thought that could happen regardless ol the countless warnings I’ve been given.

There is nothing I can blame this on besides laziness and sheer lack ol common sense. Now | now plenty of teachers would love to hear me say this and as much as it makes me cringe to repeat I know that I can do better and I know I have the potential, You may be wondering why I‘m deciding to write this. Well first of all I‘m venting, and second of all I hope that just one person reads this and second guesses what they are doing. Please don’t make my stupid mistakes and please don‘t put yourself in the position I have put myself in.

In today’s world most kids would pick watching a YouTube video about the book rather than reading the book itself. People in power should sometimes have power over people, In The Giver and in Growing Up Digital, choice and rules/restrictions play a role on what they are able to do. People need to know to choose between a good choice rather than a bad choice. For example, In “The Giver” by Lois Lowry people are limited on choices. The citizens of the community cannot choose theirjobs or spouses, but the government watch over the citizens to give a job and spouse that are similar to them. There are pros and cons with the government being able to make choices for the citizens. For pros the government keeps the community extremely safe, but the con is they have a schedule they must follow everyday which leaves them with very little free time. Also, in The Giver rules and restrictions also are limited.

Like for example if regular citizens go out late at night without permission they would be released. Also,ru|es like eating pills every morning that remove a person’s feelings is bad because the citizens don’t even know that the pills take away feelings. Another is like the kids getting their bikes only at 9 years old and the kids can’t get it before or after age 9. Also, in the community people are limited to what they can eat if a citizen decided to take an apple and save it to eat some time else he would get a warning. Others are good like not letting citizens run to another community due to the citizens not having any survival skills to get there.

In the community people should have some choices like jobs and spouses, but if there are people killing each other the government will punish them for making a bad choice. Also, in “Growing Up Digital” by Matt Richtel there were examples of choice. For example, right in the beginning of the article, Vishal Singh, a senior year in high school, had to decide whether to use YouTube or read a book to get the information needed for the first day of school. Vishal says that he would rather get the whole story on YouTube in six minutes rather than reading the book itself.

Vishal could choose to get the main idea of the story in a few minutes by watching a YouTube video or he could read the book which would take longer,but the downside to watching the video is he wouldn’t know specific events in the story. Also, in “Growing Up Digital” by Matt Richtel there are, also, examples of rules and restrictions. For example, students say that their parents, worried about the distractions caused by technology, try to restrict their time on the computer and video games because the distractions cause them not to do their homework. However, with cellphones it’s different because a lot of parents want to call their kids at any time. The kids need to decide when it’s a good time or bad time to play on the computer and play video games. So, people should be able to make choices, but know between a good choice and a bad choice.

In my first argument I will argue why think students should be allowed to share answers and homework. One of the big reasons why students should be allowed to share their answers and homework with other classmates Is to find out If and why their answer was wrong. Lets say a student named Sebastian does his homework. He studies, writes the test and gets the result. He will probably get something like 10/20 or 25/40 or whatever the results may be. The point is that Sebastian doesn’t get enough feedback.

Some teachers actually give good feedback to their students but its ere rare and most teachers these days leave it up to the students to find out the right answers after the test and so on. The result of this will be that most students don’t look up the right answers, there for they will never know the right answers. If students had the option to share their answers with classmates they would know if and why they are right or wrong. If they don’t compare answers and understand why one answer Is right and one is wrong, they will never learn. Teachers in this generation seem to expel Cheating Is beneficial for students

I am going to argue why I think cheating could be beneficial for students. I am going to focus on 2 topics. 1 . Why students should be allowed to share their answers and homework with shooter. 2. Why teachers shouldn’t be allowed to accuse students of cheating based off of similar answers/thoughts. In my first argument I will argue why I think students should be allowed to share share their answers and homework with other classmates is to find out if and why studies, writes the test and gets the result. He will probably get something Like 10/20 or 25/40 or whatever the results may be.

The point Is that Sebastian doesn’t get enough feedback. Some teachers actually give good feedback to their students but Its very rare and most teachers these days leave It up to the students to find out the one answer is right and one is wrong, they will never learn. Teachers in this generation seem to expect students to do all of their work independently. According to Inchoation. Org 75% – 98% of college students have cheated. Another reason why Cheating Is beneficial for students I am going to argue why I think cheating could be beneficial for students. I am going Cheating is beneficial for students

I had to step back and really think about what was being asked and why. The first question involves increasing U. S sports franchises popularity overseas and the cultural obstacles one must overcome. The next question deals with making products from these franchises appropriate for international market, and the last question brings in our government, would placing tariffs on imported products protect our industries.

These three questions have multiple ways of being answered it will really depend on the beliefs of the person answering the question. When you think about U. S sports franchises trying to increase their popularity overseas, you must first understand what the people overseas are looking for and how your sport fits within the culture.

For this question I will use our version of football, we see that the NFG every year has games in London in order to try and gain mom popularity with the people, the problem here Is you can’t Just have teams go and play the game the people overseas need to understand what is going on during the game. Soccer is already becoming a part of the U. S. So how did that happen, for me I think it was due to parents not wanting their kids to play football for the fear of injury do to the high impact nature of the game, It was a cultural change in the way people looked at the violence of football.

Now back to my original point I watch many ports and soccer Isn’t one of them as I have no clue what Is going on and my Interest isn’t there to make me want to explore and find out, and this Is the problem the NFG has overseas people have traditions set when It comes to soccer and rivalries already exist and these are two cultural factors a U. S. Franchise must overcome, not to mention must people overseas don’t Like the fact that we decided to call our sport football as the foot Isn’t nearly the biggest aspect of the game.

He feels that the students have been molded by their parents to act and dress in a certain manner. His article also concentrates on the idea that students go to college not to gain higher learning, but to get a good Job and make money. The students are being trained to be “The Organization Kid. ” The Organization Kid is a generation of students who are extraordinarily bright, morally earnest and Incredibly industrious. During the Elementary School era, In the sass and sass schools assigned less and less homework, so that by 1981 the average six-to-eight-year-old was doing only fifty two minutes of homework a week.

April 26, 1983, A Nation at Risk was reported. The problem, it said, was that schools had become too loose and free-flowing. Students faced a “cafeteria style curriculum” that gave them too many choices. Since then, the central focus of the school reform was on testing, accountability & medication which help reshape the minds of kids whose behavior deviates from the standard. So by 1997 the amount of homework assigned to the average child of the same age had doubled to more than two hours a week. For the period of Adolescence. It became ore organized, regulated and supervised with an emphasis on safety.

Neo- romantics of the sass and sass believed that children should grow up freely and develop their own creative inclinations. Twenty nine years ago parents were advised to keep out of their kid’s way. Let them grow into their own person. Now they’re warned that If they aren’t with their kids every single minute of their life, they’ll grow up to be serial killers. For an example: people don’t blame the actual shooters In the Columbine incident, two teen shooters killing 13 people at the Columbine High School, they blame their parents. Today parents do not hesitate to impose their authority.

Parental authority nowadays rests on three pillars: science, safety and achievement. In the course of the Princeton Experience, the college administrations tend to impose stricter regulations concerning students’ behavior. As part of an effort they can go to amuse themselves without alcohol or drugs. Yet, students are increasingly supportive of universities regulation of private matters such as campus drinking. David Brooks describes the “typical Princeton student,” an impression he rives from interview sessions with students he notes are a few dozen, faculty- recommended, articulate leaders of tomorrow.

Throughout his visit to Princeton, Brooks encountered clean-cut, cheerful scholars and citizens, respectful of their professors, too busy to involve themselves in national politics or social causes, too future-oriented for social life and too on-the-go to spark up intellectual conversations over a meal. To put it briefly, The Organization Kid alludes to an influential study by William H. White, called The Organization Man. The origins of “The Organization Kid” re to be found in their upbringing.

Parents relied on the achievements of medical and cognitive science to develop their children physically and intellectually. The Organization Kid is students of prestigious universities like Princeton. They appear to busy themselves with a variety of educational & extra-curriculum activities to the extent they do not have time to start a relationship or pay attention to national politics. Most of them are happy with their life, they accept high workload for the reasons of self-improvement, resume building and enrichment. They are described as optimistic, serious & conscientious.

In the University of Phoenix Material Summarizing and Paraphrasing a Source Activity Part 1: Summarizing Review the following passage and summarize it in the box as though you were including this information in a research paper. Use the reference to create an appropriate APA-formatted in-text citation. Aggressive driving is characterized by the tendency to view driving as a competition rather than as a means of getting from one place to another. Although most drivers are content to move along with the flow of traffic, aggressive drivers weave from lane to lane, seeking any advantage that will place them ahead of others.

Aggressive drivers are also more likely to tailgate and honk the horn in an effort to intimidate other drivers or simply to move them along faster. When confronted with heavy traffic, aggressive drivers often engage in dangerous behavior such as passing on the right, using utility or turn lanes as driving lanes, and ignoring traffic signals. Paradoxically, aggressive drivers often pride themselves on their skill. They see other, more cautious drivers as the problem, not themselves. Reference Arlov, P. (2007). Wordsmith: A guide to college writing (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall.

Summary As stated by P. Arlov in Wordsmith: A guide to college writing, “Aggressive diving is characterized by the tendency to view driving as a competition …” (2007) Those type of drivers do not follow the rules of driving, and can create unsafe situations for other drivers in the road. Part 2: Paraphrasing and Quoting Review the following passage and paraphrase it in the following box. Use the reference to create an appropriate APA-formatted in-text citation. Additionally, include one direct quotation. One of the most valuable skills a student can develop is focus.

Focus is the ability to concentrate on one thing for an extended period of time, shutting out everything else. The person who is focused has no trouble with homework; her mind is on the task until it is finished. The focused person has no trouble concentrating during a test. She does not even notice the voice of the lecturer in an adjacent classroom, the tapping pencil of the student two rows over, or her instructor’s squeaking chair. People differ widely in their ability to concentrate. Some seem capable of laser like focus on any job until it is completed.

Others are easily distracted, jumping up from homework to do a hundred small, but suddenly urgent, tasks as the homework gets pushed further into the background. Like any other skill, the ability to focus can be learned and reinforced through practice. To improve your ability to concentrate, start by establishing a set time and place to study. If possible, study at the same time and in the same place every day. Establishing a routine gives study the importance it deserves and helps make studying a habit. Then, to keep yourself on task, set a small timer as you begin studying.

Start by setting the timer to go off after 15 minutes. Until the timer goes off, give studying your full attention. If your mind wanders—and it will—pull it back to the task. Then reward yourself with something small: 5 minutes of solitaire on your computer or a trip to the refrigerator for a glass of iced tea. Time your reward, too—about 5 minutes should be sufficient. Then set the timer for another 15 minutes. As concentration becomes a habit, that habit will spill over into the classroom, too. You will be better able to focus on your instructor’s words or on the test you are taking.

If extraneous noises during a test still distract you, invest in a pair of earplugs to shut out noise as you take your test. The ability to concentrate is a necessary skill. Fortunately, it is a skill that can be improved with effort. Reference Arlov, P. (2007). Wordsmith: A guide to college writing (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall. Paraphrase and Quotation Focusing is a skill that can be learned by practicing. Students can make certain changes in their studying habits in order to make this possible. This can be done in many different ways like using timers and setting time frames to accomplish any task in hand.

Another way of getting your mind in to this habit is by rewarding you time spent on studying with breaks, but these have to be kept short so that focus will not be lost in other ways of distractions. Everyone is different so each person that has trouble focusing must learn their own type of style of focusing that works from them. One way of knowing if focusing is an issue for a student is if they are easily distracted by noise or activity around them while trying to study or take tests. Sometimes noise distractions can be fixed by using some kind of noise blocking device such as earplugs.

The most effective way is to keep a routine in place to study and do homework same time and same place every time. As stated by P. Arlov in Wordsmith: A guide to college writing; “One of the most valuable skills a student can develop is focus” (3rd ed. , 2007). This is one of the most important skills to success of a college student to learn because this skill can transfer over to being able to learn more in a class room setting, and be able to pick up more information while the instructor is speaking. Reference: Arlov, P. (2007). Wordsmith: A guide to college writing (3rd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall.