This past week was Halloween. The children were outdoors getting their yearly fill of candy, my mother was cooking up dinner for our extended family coming to visit, and where was I? Funny story, I was holed up in my room studying for a quarter final in physics and a test in Spanish. I was also working on a project and had to review for math, as I have a test this week. My grandmother's birthday is on Halloween and she came to visit, but all I could do was say hello and get back to my load of work.
It makes me sad when I wonder how much time I really spend with my family, with the people around me. How much time I have to go outdoors and enjoy my teenage years. When I get home I go straight up to my room and don't come down until dinner is ready. My homework takes up a large amount of my day, the entire portion of the day when I'm not in class. So I'm constantly reminded of the grades that I'm striving to achieve, the goals I've set for myself, even outside of school; this causes a dramatic excess of stress. Not to mention the fact that I have to take my ACT this year, and my father is constantly hounding me about colleges to look at. Just today he handed me a large handout of newspaper articles surrounding the concept of choosing the right college and being a good student. The amount of stress in my life is outrageous at this point. To me, homework-although helpful- is often unmanageable and unnecessary, as we as students spend a majority of the day in school.
I'm sure some of you have heard that there is no homework in Finland. I read this article today and it genuinely surprised me. It will only take a second to look over, but to sum it up it basically says that in Finland there is no homework-which may be a drawback to some- but the high school graduation rate in Finland is at 93%, while in the U.S. it is at 75% (Neomam). This may bring up the question: what is Finland doing right? How does such successful feedback come from this country which doesn't require work at home?
The answer is simple. In Finland, the first standardized test that you are required to take is when you are 16 years old. In New York, an average student will have taken ten standardized tests before they reach high school. And not only that, but an average American student has about 27 minutes of recess, while in Finland you have 75 minutes a day (Neomam). It seems as though the work level in the U.S. is much greater, as well as the amount of stress. For these Finnish students, the constant worry of homework and doing well on standardized testing is no longer a threat, as they have time to relax and give themselves a break from schoolwork. To me, this is an ideal situation, to be able to set apart time to do what you want to do, whether it be spending time with family, engaging in sports, or even just enjoying the great outdoors. It would be a great stress reliever, a great way to get one's mind off of school work and grades. The fact that the amount of homework doesn't directly correlate with the learning rate just goes to show that it may not be an essential device in education.
Now that I've given my opinion, what do you guys think? Should the U.S. follow in the path of Finland and decrease- or even remove altogether- the amount of homework we receive each night? Or to you, is the current system a manageable and successful one?
I feel that the system in Finland would work well in the United States. The amount of time that Americans spend indoors, on a computer is mind-blowing. It's no wonder that the rate of high school graduation is so much lower in the U.S. than in other countries. I think many people are simply unable to believe that students are able to learn and achieve good grades in school without homework. As long as there is enough learning being done in a classroom, I feel that homework is unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you that homework is not always necessary because it is taking up so much of a student's time. In addition to that, there have been countless times when I have done an assignment completely wrong when I'm at home. Whether the teacher's directions were unclear, the assignment was confusing, or the student misunderstood, it is incredibly frustrating when you find out you wasted your time and did something wrong. At that point you either have to redo the assignment, taking up even more time, or just give up. Neither of these outcomes promote a lot of learning and it would be entirely avoided if we didn't have homework because you could simply ask the teacher during class. Therefore, I think Finland has the right idea because it makes it much easier for a student to get guidance on their work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you. I would really prefer the system they have in Finland than the one in the US. It is not just because it seems like less work, but the stress put on students is unreal and often times too overwhelming. I think by giving them breaks throughout the day it can really help them relax and avoid anxiety. I know for me, when I go to practice after school it can be a really good outlet and I don't think about school, which can be good. However, when I get home I am bombarded with hours of homework, and it causes me to stay up really late a lot of nights. The next day I am dealing with few hours of sleep, and I often feel like I don't want to put 100% of my effort into work during the day. I think if I didn't have to do that much work when I got home, I would sleep more and it would really benefit me.
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