First claim Should students be given homework tasks to complete outside school? Or are such tasks pointless?

Students should not be given homework tasks to complete outside of school. Such tasks are pointless and harmful to the students health, social life and intellect. Homework deprives a family of bonding time. It is common for each member of the family to go to their respective rooms without interacting or socializing. Freeing a child from homework can enhance family interaction and relationships. According to Rick Peterson, Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development, and Stephen Green, Graduate Student, Department of Human Development, Effective communication is an important characteristic of strong, healthy families. Research identifies communication as an essential building block of strong marital, parent-child, and sibling relationships. Communication is essential in a family. It is necessary for a member to express his needs, wants, and concerns to his family. According to many marriage and family therapist, lack of communication and interaction is the common complaint in many failing relationships whether it be family or marriage.

Lack of sleep is another repercussion of homework. An unfortunate victim to homework possibly lacks eight or more hours of sleep, this is especially applicable to high school students. There is a tendency for high school students to not tackle homework until later in the evening after they have finished activities and jobs. A recent statistic by the National Center for

Education Statistics report that of the 5,225 students surveyed for after school activities with results being independent, the following percentage states that:

74% sports 51% religious activities 42% art 13% where in scouts 32% volunteered in community 21% academic activities 20% school clubs

In totality, this means a student stays up until midnight or later completing the homework. The result is a tired student the following day who may not be as alert or as interested in learning while in the presence of a teacher, which is the most valuable learning time. When a student is fighting fatigue while doing homework, low quality work is produced. Students should not be denied adequate rest after a full day of school and extracurricular activity with homework. The brain like all organs in the body needs to relax.

Homework takes away a desire to learn. Students also tend to cheat their way out of homework. Assigning too much homework can result in a student finding education to be a less enjoyable prospect. Many schools and countries do not focus on homework. No negative side affects follow. Home work adds nothing to standardized test score for elementary/ primary level students. Alfie Kohn, a critic of homework, recently wrote, "There was no consistent linear

or curvilinear relation between the amount of time spent on homework and the child's level of academic achievement." According to the School Library Journal (2005), students are receiving higher grades with less outside preparation.

Second claim

Homework deprives a parent and child of proper bonding time. According to the National Parent Council, an organization which aids parents the early stages of their child's education, reports that 20% of phone calls received are homework related. Homework not only frustrates a child but as seen it also creates a tension within the family by frustrating parents. Laura Mandel, a mother of three in Warren, N.J., states, "It's ironic that politicians talk so much about family values," "when you can't have any family time anymore because the kids are so busy keeping their nose to the grindstone." (quote end quote).Parents coming home tired from a days of work do not feel happy with replacing enjoyable family time with tension filled homework assignments. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that 6 to 9 year old children, in the year of 1981 received an average of 44 min. of homework each night whereas in 1997 they received 2 hours worth of homework. As with 9 to 11 year olds in 1981, results where 2 hrs and 49min per night where as in 1997 it increased to 3 hours per night. Time magazine states, Homework in this country is at a high watermark.... sheer quantity of nightly homework and the difficulty of the assignment can turn ordinary weeknights into four hours of library research excursions, leaving kids in tears, parents with migraines, and generally transform the placid refuge of home life into a warzone. Lynnne O Callaghan, a mother in Portland, Oregon, states The atmosphere in the house gets very frustrated Her child Maeve, 8 years old, spends 2 hrs for homework each night.

Homework deprives a student or adequate rest and sleep. This may be one of the most repercussive results due to homework. According to the National Sleep Foundation, an organization which promotes healthy sleeping and rest, says Sleep is food for the brain. (quote end quote) sleep is vital to life, Just as vital as food and water. Lack of sleep may be fatal. Adequate rest helps the body maintain stress and eating levels. Teens need 9 hours a sleep each night for best performance. Lack of sleep inhibits the brain from learning, listening, concentrating, critically thinking and solving problems. Health problems and emotional imbalance may result due to lack of sleep.

Homework takes away a desire for learning. Homework is rarely done without cheating. A reality at the junior high and high school level is that quite a bit of homework inevitably evolves into cheating. As a result the grade the teacher takes from the homework is not an accurate assessment of the childs learning and in fact the student may perform poorly on the day of assessment because he/she has not actually completed the work that facilitates success on a test. It can be the assignments are better completed under watchful eye of the teacher rather than outside of the class. Homework produces a large amount of work for the teacher when grading. Instead of grading homework they should be using that time to plan out lessons which will effectively help the child in learning. Cheating will only go and grow into cheating on assessments. This shows a lack of the desire for learning. Students should relax after school, play and socially interact. Home work takes time away from sports, seasonal fun and social interaction. Kids should be physically active, explore there environment, participate in music and the arts. They should build bonds with those around

them Sitting down too long is not good for the body. Homework causes students to lose this important opportunity of childhood. Homework does nothing but deprives a child of all essential pleasures in life.