Does Homework Contribute to Academic Success?

[column]
Africa News Service, July 27, 2016
From Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Byline: Christine Osae
Jul 27, 2016 (The New Times/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- Every school day brings
something new, but there is one status quo most parents expect: homework. The old adage that
practice makes perfect seems to make a lot of sense when it comes to schoolwork.
However, while hunkering down after dinner among books might seem like a natural part of
childhood, there's a rising controversy on whether homework contributes to academic success.
"Homework is all pain and no gain," says author Alfie Kohn. In his book 'The Homework Myth',
Kohn points out that no study has ever found a correlation between homework and academic
achievement, and that there is little reason to believe that homework is necessary in high school.
In fact, he argues that it may even diminish interest in learning. His recommendation is that the
"default" setting for schools should be no homework, but that if evening work was assigned on
occasion, it better be for a good reason. That means repetitive practice problems from 500-page
textbooks should be tossed out the window.
As controversial as Koln sounds his arguments are quite compelling. Truly, if you've ever had a
late night argument with your child about completing homework, you probably know first-hand
that homework can be a strain on families. In an effort to reduce that stress, a growing number of
schools in the west are banning homework. Can this really happen in Rwanda where, like in other
African countries, students are never self motivated and lack the reading culture?
Life is filled with things we don't like to do, and homework teaches self-discipline, time
management and other nonacademic life skills. However, Kohn challenges this popular notion: "If
kids have no choice in the matter of homework, they're not really exercising judgment, and are
instead losing their sense of autonomy." True, but in our set up where the reading culture is poor
and learners feel that schools are prisons, how can we ever achieve anything without giving
learners something to engage them? Our cultures are totally different; our children are not as
liberated as those in the west. Implementing Kohn's proposal in Rwanda will definitely be a
process natured from birth.
Homework also comes in handy as a supplementary activity to help in coverage of subject content.
Teachers usually have a lot to teach in a very short time and school time is not enough to indulge
learners in various learning activities. To be realistic, 50 minutes are barely enough for a teacher of
English or mathematics to break down the content; evaluate and re-teach. An extended outside
classroom activity is surely needed. The issue here should not be on whether homework is
necessary, but rather in the quality of homework.
Another reason we continue to dole out mountains of homework is our obsession with national or
final exams. The standards and accountability craze that has our students in its grip argues for
getting tougher with children, making them do more work so that we can score higher in national
and international assessments. In light of this, Kohn argues that homework should be about
learning and not winning. Right, but what is a world without competition? Plus, who says there is
no learning when homework is given? It might also suffice to say that the pressure put on teachers
by parents and the performance contracts they sign with some of the schools would justify their
craze for results.
Conclusively, while it is debatable whether parents would be delighted if teachers reduced the

amount of homework their children are getting, we must acknowledge that the quality rather than
quantity of these assignments needs to be addressed. Quality homework contributes to academic
success. Let's reduce the amount and improve on quality.

Summary:

The writer is a lecturer at The Adventist University of Central Africa.

Copyright The New Times. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
by Christine Osae
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2016 COMTEX News Network, Inc. Africa News Service. News
Provided by Comtex.
http://www.comtexnews.com
Source Citation
"Does Homework Contribute to Academic Success? [column]." Africa News Service, 27
July 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?
disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=News&currPage=&scanId=&query=&pr
odId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&displayquery=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE
%7CA459269546&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=
&source=Bookmark&u=orange_main&jsid=5179c8b0bb9c347a128b27b02795a1ac.
Accessed 4 Nov. 2016.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A459269546