

consolidating what students have learned during the day.providing an opportunity for students to practise and refine their study skills.Some reasons teachers give homework include: You might be wondering why homework is important, when your children already spend several hours each day at school. The idea that homework was invented as a punishment might appeal to some students, but it’s more likely that it formed part of a study plan intended to practise and consolidate learning. Homework as we know it today developed alongside public education, which began in Europe following the Reformation.Įver since, opinion about school homework has ridden waves of opposition and approval, influenced by cultural and political agendas and popular thinkers. Private tutors probably assigned reading tasks to their pupils. It’s impossible to know exactly when it started, but the idea of studying after hours probably dates to feudal times, when education was reserved for the wealthy. The reality, however, is that homework extends way further into history. An online search will lead you to Roberto Nevilis, an Italian teacher who reputedly “invented” homework in 1905 to punish his students.
Many a student has wondered about the culprit behind the homework phenomenon. When it comes to developing important study skills, there is clear evidence about homework’s role. The good news is that teachers are not flying blind. From staunch advocates who’d like their children to have more, to those who’d prefer not to have any, school homework causes controversy year in and out. Homework – of all the study techniques, there are few that divide opinion quite as much.
