Editorials

Eli's Editorial **Mental Stimulation by Homework** By: Eli

Does homework help with increased learning? Yes, when homework is done fully and completely it will help to: increase knowledge on the subject, master the skills used, and mentally stimulate the brain outside of a school setting, but some things aren't helping to stimulate children's brains, and it's happening all the time. In a few days alone the new Sony playstation game Call of Duty Modern Warfare made over seven-hundred seventy-five million dollars. Think of all of the other games out there. That's just one of them! Think of all of the games that do nothing to help with learning or mental stimulation outside of a school setting. Now think of doing math homework. If you learned how to find the square root of a number in class. Then the teacher assigns homework on that subject. While your doing your homework you come across a big number that you don't know what the square root is, how do you figure out what it is? Well, you use an outside resource to find out. Anything like a calculator, another student, or an online resource can help. In doing this you have just increased your knowledge on square roots, found a way to get help with homework helping you become more independent, and stimulated your brain! The Franklin Institute says that when you don't stimulate your brain, your brain doesn't grow. You don't learn. You're more likely to forget old knowledge. It's harder to do motor skills. While good stimulation does the exact opposite. Not all kids want to do something that's mentally stimulating because they say 'it's boring', 'when will I ever use this', and who hasn't heard 'It'll take too long ,' but not all homework is boring. Every kid as been excited to do homework one time or another, and getting the appropriate amount of homework is needed. Too much homework can make kids feel stressed, and not enough doesn't make kids stimulate their brains enough. I believe without homework that many students, not all, will have few ways of increasing their knowledge on the subjects they are learning in school, and that with the right amount of homework kids will increase learning and stimulate their brains.

**Victoria's Editorial**

** Homework Helps ** by Victoria Oh, okay so you don’t do your homework? You think you don’t want to go to college to be the CEO of a mega corporation. It’s nice you want to stay working in the back of a fast food restaurant. Do your homework and you could be a CEO of a mega corporation. It’s truly okay to be smart. You could use a dictionary to learn new and bigger words. Who knows, you could be the lead singer of a band?

According to David Armani, homework encourages students to study independently. Homework also helps students learn about outside resources such as the library, reference materials and the internet to do research. Parents can set a good example for their children by including them in any task that requires thought and effort, and by explaining their actions as they go along. Homework can represent a “formal learning opportunity” but it is just the tip of the learning ice berg.

According to Alfie Kohn, one way to judge the quality of a classroom is by the extent to which students participate in making choices about their learning. One might begin with whether homework might be useful and how it can be valuable in its own way. Homework helps to develop social skills as well as intellectual growth. When students are treated with respect and, when the assignments are worth doing, most kids relish a challenge.

Harris Cooper, professor of psychology and director of Duke’s program in education, a proponent of homework, suggests that homework accelerates learning and that it teaches skills involved in becoming a lifelong learning, like how to study, how to manage time and, other positive character traits such as responsibility. Homework also gets parents involved in their children’s education. The research evidence shows that the kinds of things kids learn through practice make for good homework assignments.

Going to libraries, helping your children with homework, and working on homework, whether or not your children like doing these things, makes them smarter. Even if you don’t like homework you should still do it. Doing homework can help you learn new a word like zebu, and pinafore. Homework helps children learn self-responsibility, be independent, and study independently.

Spencer's Editorial

Homework does lead to increased learning

By: Spencer

Your children may be complaining about how much homework they get at school. Most kids have what they think are better things to do than homework, such as sports, choir, drama, etc. Actually, there is research that shows a positive link between homework and increased learning for older students. Finding time to do homework each day could be very beneficial to your child’s education. I personally believe quality homework assignments should be a part of all children’s educational plans.

A lot of people, students, parents, and educators, are against homework. Homework itself is not the problem; rather, it is the quality and amount of the homework. Duke University professor Harris Cooper supports the theory that children should be assigned homework according to their grade level. For example, a first grader would be assigned ten minutes of homework per night. Ten additional minutes would be added for each additional year in school. A sixth grader would be expected to do 60 minutes or one hour of homework. Research shows that no one, not even high school age students should have more than two hours of homework per night. Educational researcher Robert Marzano cites research, including Cooper’s research, which indicates a positive link between homework and improved academic performance.

Homework is a traditional part of school, but good homework does not have to be traditional. Teachers should be thoughtful about homework assignments and assign work that will benefit their students. Many researchers believe that homework will be more valuable if the assignments promote family interaction and higher level thinking skills. This may mean more work for educators because they will have to find alternatives to current homework. Students should not be expected to struggle with new material or do countless pages of problems they are already able to do as homework. Neither of these will help students, instead they may practice incorrectly or not be challenged.

Homework can be a cause of stress, but it can also be of great value. Teachers need to engage their students with homework that will increase their learning; instead of giving them assignments they already know how to do. Teachers should also make sure students can do the homework without a lot of frustration or errors. Quality homework given in the right amount will help students become knowledgeable and learn more.