Does Homework Actually Improve Performance ??
Written By: Noma Baytiyeh ( AL-JINAN HIGH SCHOOL )
Supervised By: Ms. Khadija Al-Khatib
September is ending, and October is on the doors marking the beginning of the scholar year. Actually, some students already started going to school and others will in few days.. So on the mention of starting the new academic year, I would like to speak a little about homework that we are back to do as usual, and about what these days pupils actually think about this students’ worrying trend.
Homework is an essential part of a student’s school life; As a student doesn’t do his school assignment at home, he will be either fired from class or strongly punished because of neglecting his duties. But what are the reasons? Nobody truly knows! “Maybe” he forgot that he had homework to do. “Maybe” he fell from top of the stairs, then his body ached so he couldn’t do his poor homework! Another “Maybe” could be that his grandmother died yesterday! That’s why he spent all the day at her funeral and condolence ( may Allah bless her with Jannah and give us, her family, sabr Insahallah ), or “Maybe”, he got to help his parents in transferring the house furniture to another house because they’re moving to a new one!! All of the above are simply some fake excuses made up by the student to protect himself from a punishment coming from nowhere..
But during the last few decates has any of the students asked himself why a teacher needs to give his pupils assignments to do?? In fact, a teacher that passes his students lots and lots of lessons and new information means that he already knows it, and of course he doesn’t need to do much effort to achieve his task. This is a student matter! Which means that it’s the students who must study what the teachers gave them so consequently they succeed at their school and their work in later life.
However, students these days are that kind who neglect his duties and responsabilities, and doesn’t care that his parents and his teachers are impatiently looking forward to his success. So when they discover that one of the students lacks responsabilities toward his studies, they will immediately attack him and investigate the reason of not doing his homework, and then they will give a great punishment for his carelessness. However, they sometimes forget that students at certain age are reckless persons who ignore duties and search for adventures and actions to do with friends like going out, chatting, playing videogames, even bothering the others around them.. What a pity!!
In contrast, some students try to take the idea of studying seriously as much as their power can serve them, in purpose of succeeding the class with excellence and seniority. But can you explain how this kind of students achieve his goals and targets?? Actually, I will answer this question myself.. A real real student, like that one I spoke about previously, does his school assignments as soon as he comes back home because the lessons he learnt few hours ago are still on his mind, which means that it’s easier for him to remember them in later days only if he studies now and never waits until the last 30 minutes before the exam, when he looks confused and what he learnt before already skipped his mind, the case of a negligent student before his exams.
It follows from all the above that homework assignments are to be performed to the fullest extent, and results would be noticed through the student’s skills in his exams. This is the best evidence that the homework done at home trains the students how to answer questions with proficiency and intelligence. But how can we help those careless students do their homework and make the intentions and aspirations of everyone around them finally come true? The best solution we can come up with is what schools are doing nowadays: relying on the student’s concentration in the classroom and the skills he acquired during the educational sessions, in order not to stress the parents or private teachers with much homework after a long and exhausting workday, which contibutes actively in pushing the student from a class to another gradually by their personal effort and their own fatigue.
