18 Advantages and Disadvantages of Homework Should Be Banned

Homework has been a part of the schooling experience for multiple generations. There are some lessons
that are perfect for the classroom environment, but there are also some things that children can learn
better at home. As a general rule, the maximum amount of time that a student should spend each day on
lessons outside of school is 10 minutes per each grade level.

That means a first grader should spend about 10 minutes each night on homework. If you are a senior in
high school, then the maximum limit would be two hours. For some students, that might still be too much
extra time doing work. There are some calls to limit the amount of time spent on extra limits to 30 minutes
per day at all of the older K-12 grades – and some are saying that homework should be banned outright.

Can teachers get all of the lessons taught in an appropriate way during the 1-2 hours per subject that they
might get each day? Do parents have an opportunity to review what their children learn at school if none
of the work ever gets brought back home?

There are several advantages and disadvantages of why homework should be banned from the current
school structure.

List of the Advantages of Why Homework Should Be Banned

1. Homework creates a longer day for students than what parents work.
There are times when parents need to bring work home with them after a long day of productivity, but this
time is usually part of a compensation package. Students do not receive the same luxury. After spending
6-8 hours at school, there might be two more hours of homework to complete before getting through all of
the assignments that are due. That means some kids are putting in a longer working day than their
parents. This disadvantage means there are fewer moments for going outside, spending time with friends,
or pursuing a hobby.
2. There is no guarantee of an improved academic outcome.
Research studies provide conflicting results when looking at the impact of homework on a student’s life.
Younger students may benefit from a complete ban so that they can separate their home and classroom
experiences. Even older students who perform projects outside of the school benefit from time restrictions
on this responsibility. Design flaws exist on both sides of the clinical work that looks at this topic, so there
is no definitive scientific conclusion that points to a specific result. It may be better to err on the side of
caution.
3. Homework restrictions reduce issues with classroom burnout for students.
Homework stress is a significant problem in the modern classroom for K-12 students. Even kids in grade
school are finding it a challenge to maintain their performance because of the pressure that daily
assignments cause. About 1 in 4 teachers in North America say that there are direct adverse impacts that
happen because of the amount of learning required of students today. It can also cause older students to
drop out of school because they can’t stay caught up on the work that they need to do.

When students have a chance to have time to pursue interests outside of the classroom, then it can
create healthier learning opportunities in the future for them.

4. Banning homework would give families more time to spend together.

One in three American households with children say that the homework assignments that teachers give
are the primary source of stress in their home. When kids must complete their work by a specific
deadline, then there is less time for families to do activities together. Instead of scheduling their time
around their free hours, they must balance homework requirements in their plans. There are even fewer
moments for parents to be involved in the learning process because of the specific instructions that
students must follow to stay in compliance with the assignment.
5. Student health is adversely impacted by too many homework assignments.
Kids of any age struggle academically when they do not have opportunities to finish their homework by a
specific deadline. It is not unusual for school administrators and some teachers to judge children based
on their ability to turn work in on time. If a child has a robust work ethic and still cannot complete the work,
the negative approach that they might encounter in the classroom could cause them to abandon their
learning goals.
This issue can even lead to the development of mental health problems. It can reduce a child’s self-
esteem, prevent them from learning essential learning skills, and disrupt their ability to learn new skills in
other areas of life outside of the classroom. Even the risk of self-harm and suicide increase because of
excessive homework. That’s why banning it could be a healthy choice for some people.

6. Banning homework would help students get more sleep.

Teens need up to 10 hours of sleep each night to maximize their productivity. Students in grade school
can need up to 12 hours nightly as well. When homework assignments are necessary and time
consuming, then this issue can eat into the amount of rest that kids get each night. Every assignment
given to a K-12 student increases their risks of losing at least one hour of sleep per night. This issue can
eventually lead to sleep deficits that can create chronic learning issues. It may even lead to problems with
emotional control, obesity, and attention problems. Banning homework would remove the issue entirely.
7. It would encourage dynamic learning opportunities.
There are some homework projects that students find to be engaging, such as a science fair project or
another hands-on assignment. Many of the tasks that students must complete for their teachers involves
repetition instead. You might see grade school students coming home with math sheets with 100 or more
problems for them to solve. Reading assignments are common at all grades. Instead of learning the “why”
behind the information they learn, the goal with homework is usually closer to memorization that it is to
self-discovery. That’s why it can be challenging to retain the data that homework provides.
8. Banning homework would provide more time for peer socialization.
Students who are only spending time in school before going home to do homework for the rest of the
evening are at a higher risk of experiencing isolation and loneliness. When these sentiments are present
in the life of a child, then they are more likely to experience physical and mental health concerns that lead
to shyness and avoidance.
These students lack essential connections with other people because of their need to complete
homework. The adverse impact on the well being of a child is the equivalent of smoking more than a pack
of cigarettes each day. If kids are spending time all of their time on homework, then they are not
connecting with their family and friends.

9. Some students do not have a home environment that’s conducive to homework.

Although some kids can do their homework in a tranquil room without distress, that is not the case for
most children. Numerous events happen at home that can shift a child’s attention away from the
homework that their teacher wants them to complete. It isn’t just the TV, video games, and the Internet
which are problematic either. Family problems, chores, an after-school job, and team sports can make it
problematic to get the assignments finished on time.
Banning homework equalizes the playing field because teachers can control the classroom environment.
They do not have control over when, where, or how their students complete assignments away from
school.

10. It would eliminate the assignment of irrelevant work.

Homework can be a useful tool when teachers use it in targeted ways. There are times when these
assignments are handed out for the sake of giving out busy work. If the content of the work is irrelevant to
the lessons in the classroom, then it should not be handed out. It is unreasonable to expect that a student
can generate excellent grades on work that is barely covered in the classroom.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that given students just four hours
of take-home assignments per week has a detrimental impact on individual productivity. The average
U.S. high school already pushes that limit by offering 3.5 hours of extra assignments per week.

List of the Disadvantages of Why Homework Should Be Banned

1. Teachers can see if students understand the materials being taught.

Homework allows a teacher to determine if a student has a grasp on the materials being taught in the
classroom. Tests and school-based activities can provide this information as well, but not in the same
way. If the data sticks outside of the educational setting, then this is an excellent indication that the
process was effective for that individual. If there are gaps in knowledge that occur in the homework, then
the learning process can become individualized to ensure the best possible results for each child.
2. Homework can reduce the stress and anxiety of test-taking.
Students often study for tests at home to ensure that they can pass with an acceptable grade. Walking
into a classroom only prepared with the notes and memories of previous lessons can create high levels of
fear that could impact that child’s final result. Banning homework could place more pressure on kids to
succeed than what they currently experience today. This disadvantage would also create more labels in
the classroom based on the performance of each child in unfair ways. Some students excel in a lecture-
based environment, but others do better at home where there are fewer distractions.
3. Assignments can be an effective way to discover learning disabilities.
Kids do an excellent job of hiding their struggles in the classroom from adults. They use their disguises as
a coping mechanism to help them blend in when they feel different. That behavior can make it a
challenge to identify students who many benefit from a different learning approach in specific subjects. By
assigning homework to each child periodically, there are more opportunities to identify the issues that can
hold some people back. Then the teachers can work with the families to develop alternative learning
plans that can make the educational process better for each student because individual assignments
eliminate the ability to hide.

4. Parents are more involved in the learning process because of homework.

Parents need to know what their children are learning in school. Even if they ask their kids about what
they are learning, the answers tend to be given in generalities. Without specific examples from the
classroom, it is challenging to stay involved in a student’s educational process.
By sending homework from the school, it allows the entire family to encounter the assignments that their
kids are doing when they are in school during the day. Then there is more adult involvement with the
learning process, reinforcing the core ideas that were discovered by their kids each day.

5. Homework provides opportunities for students to use deeper research.

The average classroom in the United States provides less than 60 minutes of instruction for each subject
daily. Generalist teachers in grade school might skip certain subjects on some days as well. When there
are homework assignments going home, then it creates more chances to use the tools at home to learn
more about what is happening at school. Taking a deeper look at specific subjects or lessons through
independent study can lead to new thoughts or ideas that may not occur in the classroom environment.
This process can eventually lead to a better understanding of the material.
6. The homework process requires time management and persistence to be successful.
Students must learn core life skills as part of the educational process. Time management skills are one of
the most useful tools that can be in a child’s life toolbox. When you know how to complete work by a
deadline consistently, then this skill can translate to an eventual career. Homework can also teach
students how to solve complex problems, understand current events, or tap into what they are passionate
about in life. By learning from an early age that there are jobs that we sometimes need to do even if we
don’t want to them, the persistence lessons can translate into real successes later in life.
7. Assignments make students accountable for their role in the educational process.
Teachers cannot force a student to learn anything. There must be a desire present in the child to know
more for information retention to occur. An education can dramatically improve the life of a child in
multiple ways. It can lead to more income opportunities, a greater understanding of the world, and how to
establish a healthy routine. By offering homework to students, teachers are encouraging today’s kids how
to be accountable for their role in their own education. It creates opportunities to demonstrate
responsibility by proving that the work can be done on time and to a specific quality.
8. It creates opportunities to practice time management.
There can be problems with homework for some students when they are heavily involved in extra-
curricular activities. If you give a child two hours of homework after school and they have two hours of
commitments to manage at the same time, then there are some significant challenges to their time
management to solve. Time really is a finite commodity. If we are unable to manage it in wise ways, then
our productivity levels are going to be limited in multiple ways. Creating a calendar with every
responsibility and commitment helps kids and their families figure out ways to manage everything while
pushing the learning process forward.
Verdict of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Banning Homework

Some students thrive on the homework they receive from their teachers each day. There are also some
kids that struggle to complete even basic assignments on time because of their home environment. How
can we find a balance between the two extremes so that every child can receive the best possible chance
to succeed?

One solution is to ban homework entirely. Although taking this action would require teachers and parents
to be proactive in their communication, it could help to equalize the educational opportunities in the
classroom.

Until more research occurs in this area, the advantages and disadvantages of banning homework are
subjective. If you feel that your child would benefit from a reduced workload, then speak with the teacher
to see if this is an option. For teens and older students, there is always the option to pursue a different
form of education, such as a vocational school or an apprenticeship, if the traditional classroom doesn’t
seem to be working.