Definition for Homework
From Biology Forums Dictionary
Homework is extra work assigned to be completed by the assignee at home. The term is generally used to refer to primary or secondary school assignments as opposed to college-level coursework. Like most educational-related work, homework can become a bigger burden as circumstances change. One of the worst and most dramatic increases of student workload was during the Cold War. For a period of time, the United States government was pushing large amounts of science and mathematics on children in hopes of having greater technological skills at America's command.
Attitudes towards homework
Many students find homework to be annoying. While many schools and teachers generally insist that it is necessary to practice new skills and to better learn material. Some students see the need for homework; however, most students are opposed to "busy work". Therefore many students complain about homework.
In recent years, there has been some backlash about the amount of homework assigned. It started with the publication of the book, THE END OF HOMEWORK!!, in which Professor Etta Kralovec and John Buell launched the first book-lengthen critique of homework. Within six years, 4 other books critical of homework have been published and hundreds of articles critical of homework have appeared. When we contacted Professor Kralovec in her Bisbeen Arizona home, she said she hopes to be remembered as the educator who ended the tyranny of homework. That remains to be seen.
Some statistics show that homework has nearly doubled for children since their grandparents' time (see Too much homework? below). In some cases, several hours of work may be assigned every day, leading to incomplete or mediocre work and overstressed students. High School students usually have 45 minutes of homework per hour of class, yet may have up to 3 hours in a certain subject. The worst cases may actually cause children to develop social and mental problems. In response to such concerns, some schools have instituted policies lessening the homework load and requiring teachers to coordinate when assigning large, long-term projects.
Some public and private schools use a homework hotline which states the homework for the day. It can either be a telephone number that can be called, or it may be a website that a student can go to.
Long-term assignments
Long-term assignments, also known as projects, may be given as homework. Typical long-term assignments include book reports, essays, and science projects. Students are often given a couple of weeks to complete the assignment. Many students save most of the work for the last minute. Teachers encourage students to plan their work and not do all of it the day before it must be handed in, yet many students still procrastinate. Therefore, in some schools teachers give students class time to complete projects.