Why Homework Should Be Banned: An Independent Inquiry

In the US, an overwhelming majority of students are under constant stress. They claim the amount of homework only rises with each year, and professors don't seem to acknowledge that. Students sacrificing sleep to prepare for class sounds counterproductive. Yet, this is exactly what most have to do to stay on top of their schedules. Will banning homework lead to a healthier, happier and smarter population? We think it will, and here's why.

Reasons why homework should not be required:

• The constant stress does not improve learning; on the contrary, it leads to frustration and loss of interest
• Students with less favorable conditions at home may show worse results than others
• It can lead students to cheat and copy
• Prolonged sitting can cause health issues, even in young students
• Lack of time for social life can only increase stress

Luckily for you, services like WritePaper are always at your disposal. While a country-wide homework ban doesn't sound realistic, you can always come to our support team and ask them, 'Hey, can you write my papers?' and they will help!

Reasons Why Homework Should be Banned, Backed by Research

Homework may seem like an essential part of the learning process, but it might be that we are simply conditioned to think so. Recent research suggests that homework has more negative effects than positive ones, and banning homework is the way to go. Here are some of the reasons mentioned by scholarly research: 

1. Homework causes stress
2. No evidence of benefits for school performance
3. Highlights inequity among students
4. Makes students lose curiosity and, in turn, intrinsic motivation
5. Takes away from time with friends and family
6. Students sacrifice sleep and rest to make time for homework
7. Leads learners to use unethical methods, like AI
8. Causes academic burnout

Homework is a Cause of Stress

The sheer amount of homework can drive a student into panic. We all forget important tasks sometimes, but for a student, forgetting about an assignment due usually means a sleepless night, plus an extreme schedule for other tasks.

Students quote homework as the main reason for stress. Tests and grades are second and third, but homework is the number one reason students are stressed out.

On average, college students spend from two to four hours daily on homework. Depending on the major, program, and institution, a student may be tasked with 20-80 written assignments yearly. That includes simple essays and lab reports, as well as coursework and research papers. First-generation students, as well as students coming to study from abroad, are under much higher pressure from their families. Coupled with tight deadlines and lack of proper rest, even over the weekend, that leads to intense stress and burnout.

Students who don't have time to spend with family and friends or sacrifice sleep and hobbies for the sake of doing homework will most likely grow to resent homework, studying and their professors. Repetitive tasks can lead to a loss of intrinsic motivation. Students often check out mentally and adopt a 'just get it done' mindset, which focuses on robotic memorization rather than comprehension and retention.

It might be smart to take an outside perspective and answer the following questions: 

1. Is the stress caused by homework really worth it?
2. Do constant home assignments lead to knowledge retention?
3. Isn't a student better off relaxing with their family and friends?

Lots of academic research, as well as students themselves agree, that the intense pressure caused by homework does not benefit students or help them learn. On the contrary, it leads them to burn out or look for dishonest ways of dealing with the workload.

What Does Research Say?

A study conducted over a period of eleven years by Glass & Kang gives us great reasons homework should be banned in the US. The researchers have concluded that 55% of students did benefit from homework, but only when they did the tasks themselves. 

Another study by Kontur & Terry that focused on physics students has found a negative correlation between homework and test scores. Students who had to solve more problems at home did worse on their tests than those who had less tasks.

That same study by Kontur & Terry also found that an increased number of assignments did benefit students with high physics aptitude. But not every student has a high aptitude for all subjects, hence, dealing with too many assignments does not benefit them.

Inequity Among Students

Students of different social and economic backgrounds are often placed in the same group and expected to perform at the same level. However, it's important to note that students from wealthier families and those with fewer resources have different technology, supplies and even time to complete school tasks.

Not all students can have a quiet place to study, a personal desk, a reliable computer and a stable internet connection. Students from low-income families tend to struggle more over the same tasks that take a learner from a more well-off family mere minutes. 

Additionally, students from low-income families often have to look after their siblings, help around the house or even work full time to chip in for bills. On the other hand, a student whose family can afford to hire outside help for household chores, private tutoring for them, and a sitter for siblings has a lot more opportunities at school and in life. 

Banning homework could help solve these issues, leaving students enough time for leisure and personal tasks. Focus on in-class learning can help reduce dependency on technology at home and improve students' performance in class.

Loss of Motivation

Students who are forced to do repetitive tasks tend to lose interest in them. Even a learner with a high aptitude for writing may grow tired of seeing another generic topic for another generic essay. They do my chemistry homework for the hundredth time and decide it's just not worth it. Still, that's not the point.

First-generation students are often under a lot of pressure from their families. It's no wonder why that's the case, but that doesn't help students achieve their long-term academic goals. When a student works hard for grades and parents' approval, it can lead to diminishing internal motivation. Grades and validation from parents are external factors. Focusing on them means shifting the perspective from one's personal reasons to go to college to someone else's. 

Students who are not motivated are more likely to memorize information, rather than actually learn and remember. This robotic approach to studying might be effective in some cases, like before tests, but overall, it doesn't lead to long-term retention of information. In other words, a student who memorizes instead of comprehending will not end up a professional in their field.

Sleepless Nights

Many students have to sacrifice sleep in order to get their homework done. There are not enough hours in the day to complete all the assignments. The penalties for late submission are tough, and not submitting an essay means losing even more points. For an average student, it's not an option. They need to complete all the homework otherwise they may lose their place at school. 

At the same time, sleep is essential for students. It is recommended that young adults sleep between 7 and 9 hours. Sleeping less than seven hours consistently can lead to health issues, both physical and mental.

Young adults and teenagers need more sleep than adults. But in reality, they sleep even less. NHLBI, Carnegie Mellon University, and CDC all provide similar statistics on lack of sleep among students. 

A study that tracked wearable fitness devices discovered that college students average 6.5 hours of sleep nightly. According to the CDC, women sleep even less than men, with 80% of women and 70% of men reporting insufficient sleep. That study also noted that students of color sleep less than white students. NHLBI also reported a small drop in GPA among students who didn't get sufficient rest.

All these statistics do is confirm what's already known. Homework eats away at students' lives and prevents them from being productive.

Cheating with AI

Students who are sleep-deprived, constantly tired and overworked cannot perform at their best. It's no surprise they are looking for ways to get out of doing all their homework. Students are part of the reason why generative AI tools like ChatGPT gained popularity so rapidly. You might pass with doing some repetitive tasks, like writing a college assignment heading, with the help of AI. However, relying on artificial intelligence to write essays or solve math problems is plain cheating.

Using AI for writing assignments is dangerous for lots of reasons. First, if you get caught, you can get in serious trouble. Schools' policies vary when it comes to academic dishonesty, but punishments for plagiarism are often severe. Second, generative AI is unreliable. It can hallucinate facts, make up citations and, like any technology, it's prone to lagging. 

Academic Burnout

The never-ending homework, stress caused by it, lack of sleep, and lack of access to technology or resources can all add up to serious consequences. Mental health among students is at an all-time low. Obviously, the spike in statistics over the past decade can be attributed to the fact that stigma around mental health is diminishing. But it's not the only reason.

Students do get more homework than they used to. College is also more competitive, more expensive and harder to get through. Approximately 60% of students experience academic burnout, and 20% of those students display severe symptoms.

For a student struggling with burnout, counseling or therapy is the best course of action. Burnout is not cured by simple rest; it should be treated seriously.

Strain on Relationships between Students and Professors

Nobody said you have to be best friends with your professors. However, being friendly does help. Students who have a reputation for always being prepared for class might be able to get away with a slap on the wrist if they don't do their homework once. But if you constantly fail to do your homework assignments, your professor might remember you as the one who doesn't do homework and treat you worse than other students.

So, why should homework be abolished?

• Students are stressed and burnt out
• It does not benefit learning
• It highlights inequality among students
• Students lose motivation when there are too many tasks
• 70% of students don't get enough sleep
• They resort to using AI
• Academic burnout is very common among students

Banning homework is a quick and reasonable way of granting students the quality of life they deserve. It would certainly not solve all their problems, but it could help students focus on actual studying.

Why Homework Should Not Be Compulsory

Students are expected to learn independently at home. However, not everyone has the resources and time. Homework causes students stress, affects their mental health and can lead to burnout. A student might even choose to drop out because they can't handle the intense schedule.

The time students spend cramming could be put to better use if they spent it with friends or family. It's important to have hobbies and a social life. Having activities beyond school tasks can help one avoid depression and reduce anxiety. Banning homework could give students that time and their lives back. Without homework, they would be well-rested and thus more productive in class.

Students Learn Differently

Everyone's brains are wired in unique ways. The current education system does not support different learning styles. Instead, it treats students equally, which, paradoxically leads to inequality. Students who come home and sit in front of a screen for hours later resorting to googling 'do my physics homework for me' are not stupid or cheaters. They might simply be in an environment that doesn't support their learning style. Scientists have rounded up different learning styles into the following categories.

• Visual learning
• Solitary learning
• Analytical learning
• Reading and writing
• Auditory learning
• Social learning
• Kinesthetic learning

Teachers should be able to work with small groups and adapt their assignments for diverse students. Visual learners could benefit from watching a film or a presentation, while kinesthetic learners would achieve more if they were given an interactive activity. 

Everyone Needs a Social Life

Students often have to sacrifice their hobbies and time with families and friends in order to do all the homework. But a student who's fulfilled in all aspects of their life will struggle less, even if they have a lot of school work. Not only does this lead to isolation, depression, anxiety and even burnout, but it can also put a rift in a student's personal relationships.

Before homework is banned, students need to find ways to socialize without abandoning their studies. Study groups, clubs, or sports could help students feel less isolated. Sharing your struggles with someone who is going through the same thing can be relieving and actually help with mental health issues.

Examples of Homework Bans Around the World

Abandoning homework is a trend that has been spreading in developed countries over the past couple of decades. Finland is one of the most notable examples since it consistently shows up in 'the happiest countries' statistics. They did not ban homework altogether. However, the policymakers of Finland have implemented a drastic change. They adopted an approach that focuses on quality rather than quantity. This means homework-free weekends and fewer home assignments for students. An individual teacher decides when to assign homework and even when to give tests. 

Poland has banned homework in primary and middle schools altogether. For students in grades 1-3, no homework is assigned, and for middle-schoolers (grades 4-8) homework is optional and it does not get graded. This focus on in-class activities and play has led to students being happier, but policymakers still debate on long-term effects. 

In Quebec, College de Saint‑Ambroise has banned homework for grades 1-6 for one year in 2018. The positive results of this experiment led to the school adopting this policy permanently. To this day, students of College de Saint‑Ambroise don't get homework, and reports show that the student body is happier, less stressed and performs better.

Cheltenham Ladies' College has gained a lot of attention in the media due to its ban on homework. In reality, homework has not been banned altogether but reimagined and restructured. Rather than writing endless essays, students are assigned interesting and challenging tasks like coming up with qualitative research ideas or preparing a presentation. 

These examples, although mostly from middle schools, prove that banning homework is possible and should be done more. For college students, a full homework ban is unlikely, but the approach of Cheltenham Ladies' College is a good start.

Final Words

A change must be made in the US education system. Students are expected to complete one assignment after another with barely any time for rest or leisure. There are plenty of reasons why homework should be banned. Here's a quick recap of the main ones:

• Extensive stress caused by homework leads to severe mental health issues
• Reliance on independent learning highlights the wealth gap among students
• Students lose intrinsic motivation when they focus only on grades 
• Sleep deprivation increases stress and results in even more health problems
• A lack of social life makes students feel isolated while also ruining their relationships
• Students resort to unethical methods like using AI or cheating in class
• Academic burnout is at an all-time high, with 60% of students showing symptoms of burnout
• Homework can worsen relationships between students and professors

Luckily, not all hope is lost. Services like WritePaper offer help with homework assignments to students of all grade levels. For a student-friendly price, you can have a professional writer complete your homework while you catch your breath.