Exploring The Real Truth Behind Homework - Through The Eyes Of BMIS Students

Homework is something that is a crucial part of all things academic. Sasha Haswin from Grade 6 does her homework every day but she definitely doesn't enjoy it. If you ask her feelings about it, she will say,

“Homework is something I have to do every day, but I personally prefer staying free in my house rather than sitting for half an hour straight writing down things I’ve already done at school.”

Sriyaa. R, another Grade 6 student, says, “Homework is boring - I agree with that from the bottom of heart- but the main reason I do not like it is, it is not always accessible if a student is absent. Students don’t like carrying a heavy load, especially if they don’t have homework, so if you are absent the next day, you can’t do your homework.” she explains.

“Teachers nowadays don’t accept the ‘I was absent’ excuse, either,” she adds. “It would be great if homework was online, and we wouldn’t have to worry about books.”

However, Laiyaa S. from the same grade believes that homework is actually helpful and it keeps her mind fresh, since she gets to revisit the topics she learned that day repeatedly.

“It’s pretty helpful to revise the things that I learned that day because I have to learn so many things and it’s not always easy to remember everything", she says. “I wish we didn't have so many problems in Math classes, though.” she adds.

What do students worldwide think?

An MHRD survey done in 2019 showed that 74.3% of Indian teachers rely on homework to assess their students. But have we ever paused for a second to wonder if students are actually okay with doing an overload of homework? 

A survey done by Stanford University showed that 56% of the 4,317 students they surveyed found homework the primary source of stress, while HelpfulProfessor.com stated that a study by the Better Sleep Council found that 74% of teens find homework assignments a source of stress. CrownCounselling.com said that 80% of girls alone report homework as a significant stressor, because even today, in the modern world, girls and boys don’t get an equal share of household work, and hence girls tend to have lesser time to finish their homework. Now that’s quite the opposite of the teachers’ opinions, isn’t it?

I did a survey that asked 44 school students whether they thought homework helped them learn. Here is a pie chart showing the favourite subject homework of school students. As you can see, students like homework that includes their interests the most.

Most of the students (48.4%) thought that homework did not help them learn. Rather, it was a source of tension for them because teachers frequently gave extra homework for the students.

In my opinion, homework should be given, but I think it should be made more fun, interactive and meaningful so that students feel that they want to do it, not just that they need to do it. One such example was when I got an English homework where students had to watch, eat or experience something new and then write a review about it. This homework was especially enjoyable because students got to do something they enjoyed, and they learned something in the process.

Another key aspect is that they should be given an appropriate amount of homework. One way to do that would be to follow the National Education Association (USA)’s guidelines, which is ten minutes per grade. So, the first grade would have ten minutes of homework, and the twelfth grade would have two hours of homework. But even this method has some disadvantages. But the key point is, all of this (and other factors) would definitely make homework more enjoyable and easier.

Written by Mathivathani I.M., a 6th grader at Budding Minds International School, Chennai

This article was written for and published in The BMIS Buzz, a student-run publication curated by the students of Budding Minds International School, Chennai, as part of the Young Writers Program