BAN HOMEWORK

REBUTTALS:
1. Con said that Practice makes perfect and doing homework makes you more successful
and will allow you to go to a better college. But who knows that? Teachers give
homework for the student's benefit, but many students don't try their best on it. Just
because you do homework doesn't mean that you are a smart person. There are many
students who try their best and do all their homework, and saying that doing homework
automatically gets you into a good college is a generalization.
-Since Con had no more 'real' arguments, I'll continue on to my points.

ARGUMENTS:
1. Wastes time for more productive things.
2. Keeps them up late/ harms health (In next round)
3. Meaningless work that doesn't promote real learning (In next round)
4. Middle/Upper classes have better resources to teach child. (In Next round)

1. Wastes time for more productive things.

-From middle school and on, it is the norm for teachers to give more than 10 pages of
homework. Majority of the students feel stressed about doing this because it takes too
much time. Therefore, most students stay up after midnight in doing homework. Now, if
homework was effective, nobody would say anything. However, homework is not work
to check if the student can actually explain the material, but it is merely filling in blanks
or calculating answers. Most students don't even actually try hard on it, they look back to
the textbook, find the answer, and fill it in. CON side, do you think this is actually
helping students go to a good college? Instead of wasting time, it is much more effective
for children to spend time doing extra curricular activities or practice playing sports. By
doing so, students will have more experience in many different subjects, which will
make you have a happier life in the future.

Let's look at what a professional says about this...

http://neomam.com...

There Is No Homework In Finland!

March 4, 2013 by Marina Biljak 30 Comments
So, every single student these days is talking about it " there is no homework in Finland!
I guess you are all already packing your bags. But, is having no homework really a smart
thing? Well, according to this awesome infographic " it is!

High school graduation rate in Finland is at 93 percent, which is fantastic, especially

when you compare it to 78 percent in Canada or even less (75 %) in United States of
America. Finland also has the highest rate in Europe of students going to college (two of
three).

They don"t have homework and they are so successful! How is that even possible? There
are only twelve students on one teacher, so students get plenty of teacher interaction.
They also don"t have much-standardized tests. For example, student in New York takes
ten standardized test before he or she reaches high school and guys from Finland only
have one standardized test at the age of 16.

Finland educational system sounds really awesome and other countries can learn from
them!

Argument 2 will be in the next round

Report this Argument

Con

Thanks for Brian Park 1025 to make his argument.

Rebuttals

First He said that You can do productive things if you don"t have homework. But What
productive things? He could have explained what important/ productive things they can
do. Also scientists conclude that if most people don"t have homework they will usually
play at their homes. Also when you aid Finland is sucessful, However Singapore has
homework and why are they so successful? The professionals say that Fifteen-year-old
students in Singapore said they spent an average of 9.4 hours a week on homework,
according to the results of a survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD).
Sources: https://sg.news.yahoo.com...
Also when you said that they might look at the answers but they can"t because there
isn"t even the answer key but if they can tell their parents, it makes them learn what they
forgot in school

Team Line: Homework is Practice makes perfect

THIS HOUSE WOULD BAN HOMEWORK

Homework is a task (often called an assignment) set by teachers for students to do
outside normal lessons " usually at home in the evening. Schools have been setting
homework in developed countries for over a century, but until the past few decades
usually only older students had to do it. More recently younger students have also been
given homework by their primary or elementary schools. In England the government
does not make schools give homework but it does set guidelines 1. Five year olds are
expected to do an hour a week, increasing to three hours a week at 11 and ten hours or
more a week at 16 2. American studies report the amount of homework being set for
younger students doubling over the past twenty-five years or so, although some doubt
these findings.
Countries, schools and subjects differ a lot on how much homework is set, and at what
age, but almost all high school students have to do at least some most nights. Most
children have never liked homework but from time to time it is also debated by
politicians, parents and teachers. Sometimes there are demands for more homework, as
part of a drive for "higher standards". At other times there are calls for less homework to
be set, especially in primary/ elementary schools. This topic looks at whether homework
should be banned altogether.
1BBC News, 2008
2BBC News, 2008
Homework encourages students to work more independently (by themselves)

POINT
Homework encourages students to work more independently, as they will have to at
college and in their jobs. Everyone needs to develop responsibility and skills in personal
organization, working to deadlines, being able to research, etc. If students are always
"spoon-fed" topics at school they will never develop study skills and self-discipline for
the future. A gradual increase in homework responsibilities over the years allows these
skills to develop 1. For instance, to read a novel or complete a research project, there is
simply no time at school to do it properly. Students have to act independently and be
willing to read or write, knowing that if they struggle, they will have to work through the
problem or the difficult words themselves. Diane Ravitch points out that a novel like
Jane Eyre cannot be completed if it is not read at home " students have to work through
it themselves 2.
1 Bempechat, 2004
2 Ravitch, 2007

Homework ensures that students practise what they are taught at school
POINT
Having homework also allows students to really fix in their heads work they have done
in school. Doing tasks linked to recent lessons helps students strengthen their
understanding and become more confident in using new knowledge and skills. For
younger children this could be practising reading or multiplication tables. For older ones
it might be writing up an experiment, revising for a test and reading in preparation for
the next topic. Professor Cooper of Duke University, has found that there is evidence
that in elementary school students do better on tests when they do short homework
assignments related to the test 1. Students gain confidence from such practices, and that
shows when they sit the tests.
1 Strauss, 2006

1BBC News, 2008

2BBC News, 2008
Read more

POINTS FOR

Homework encourages students to work more independently (by themselves)

POINT
Having homework also allows students to really fix in their heads work they have done
in school. Doing tasks linked to recent lessons helps students strengthen their
understanding and become more confident in using new knowledge and skills. For
younger children this could be practising reading or multiplication tables. For older ones
it might be writing up an experiment, revising for a test and reading in preparation for
the next topic. Professor Cooper of Duke University, has found that there is evidence
that in elementary school students do better on tests when they do short homework
assignments related to the test 1. Students gain confidence from such practices, and that
shows when they sit the tests.
1 Strauss, 2006
Sources: http://idebate.org...
This House Believes that Homework Should be Banned
Questions to Ponder About:
1. What is the real purpose of our modern-day education system?
2. What constitutes a proper work-life balance?
3. Does homework still serve the same purpose as what it previously did - to reinforce
academic content, the most crucial component of education (in the past)?
4. Does homework prepare one for real life?
5. What is the appropriate stress level that students are expected to withstand?

Definition of Key Terms:

1. Homework: rote learning, pen-and-paper academic assignments e.g. worksheets, mock
test papers, online timed assignments etc.
2. Banned: should not be given to students at all - regardless of whether it is on a school
day, weekend or holiday.

Clarifications:
1. Homework only refers to academic assignments for students and does not encompass
Co-Curricular Activities, Community Involvement Projects or other miscellaneous
activities assigned by the school.
(If not, the debate might boil down to whether students should have all their time to
themselves outside school hours or not, which is not the controversy in this debate.)

2. In addition to homework, students are expected to have other areas of responsibilities,

such as family / social life, Co-Curricular activities etc.
(This is where the controversy arises - does homework leave insufficient time for other
aspects of an average student's life?)

3. Narrow scope of debate to countries with developed / compulsory education systems,

such as Singapore, (the more advanced areas in) China, South Korea, Hong Kong, the
UK, the US.
(Eliminates possibility of exploitation from opposing debate team.)

Onus: to do a cost-benefit analysis on the effects of homework.

Opposition:
1. Banning homework prevents students from learning time and stress management.
- The adult world encompasses many responsibilities, such as job and family
commitments.
- Thus, the only way to learn to manage responsibilities well would be to start young, by
giving people watered-down version of challenges that have to be completed. The best
way to do so would be through homework because it is constantly evolving to stretch
students' abilities a little more as they progress, teaches them discipline and self-
motivation, and allows for guidance from teachers and parents.

2. Homework should not be banned because it accomplishes the important task of

reinforcing academic content learnt in school, which forms the basis of many
knowledge-intensive industries today.
- It is important to have a firm foundation of academic knowledge (such as in the
biomedical, financial and engineering industries) which can be acquired through the
rigorous practice inherent in homework.
- Helps students grasp the theoretical portions of a chosen field of study, such that real-
world applications become more instinctive and easier to grasp.

3. Banning homework causes students to not have enough time to appreciate the beauty
of academic education.
- In order to appreciate a facet of life, enough time and attention has to be given.
- This axiom applies to homework as well. Curriculum time is usually too short to allow
students to delve into the intricacies of a subject, such that they cannot be intrigued and
fascinated by it.

(Proposition could rebutt by arguing that an over-concentration of homework would

make students instinctively dislike the subject, especially when they never liked it in the
first place.)
Sources: http://the-debate-lab.blogspot.kr...
Report this Argument

Pro

Thank you to Brianjustin3709 for his arguments. I'd first like to ask him some questions,
such as why he put the definitions twice and why he repeated some of his arguments.

Now, I'd like to go on to my rebuttals to go against his points.

1. The previous speaker has said that homework encourages students to work
independently. However, according to forums in debate.org and idebate.org, a small
proportion of students actually complete their homework thoroughly. Most of them,
instead, copy it from others (happens frequently) or they don't try hard on it (because
they know the teacher doesn't check it seriously and because it takes up little or no
percentage in the final grade.) Many parents are enthusiastic to send children to go to
school to learn to be independent and develop learning skills. However, the previous
speaker has said that only homework can develop responsibility and skills in personal
organization, work to deadlines, be able to research, and etc. But isn't this the actual
function of a school? If schools can't do this, we shouldn't have more homework, but try
to fix schools and the school's syllabus so that they can learn to actually read novels such
as Jane Eyre and learn study skills at school. There is no children happy about learning
at school for 7~9 hours and come back home for 2 hours of more homework, when all
the work can be done at school.

1a. http://idebate.org...
1b. http://www.debate.org...

2. The speaker has copied-pasted some questions which were

1. What is the real purpose of our modern-day education system?
2. What constitutes a proper work-life balance?
3. Does homework still serve the same purpose as what it previously did - to reinforce
academic content, the most crucial component of education (in the past)?
4. Does homework prepare one for real life?
5. What is the appropriate stress level that students are expected to withstand?.

#But what is the point of say this, when the speaker did not even answer some questions,
such as questions 2,3, 4, and 5. I ask the Pro to explain all of these points thorougly.

Like I have promised in my previous speech, I will conclude my three arguments right
now.

ARG 2. Keeps them up late/ harms health.

They don't have time to just be kids anymore"they're so bogged down. And since many
of the assignments are simply busywork, learning often becomes a chore rather than a
positive, constructive experience. Homework overload is also affecting family life"a lot
of kids can't even make it to dinner, and as a result, the only interaction they have with
their parents involves arguments about homework.
-This anecdote/quote from http://www.parenting.com... shows that too much homework
does not let students eat properly because of the large amount of time needed. Also, it
shows that people who have too much homework tend to have lots of stress because of
the large amount, affects family life.

ARG 3. Meaningless work that doesn't promote real learning:

Active learning encourages participation and hones problem-solving skills. Homework
does not provide these kinds of opportunities and eliminates time for self-motivated play
that could build intuition, imagination, or problem-solving skills. It also limits a child's
time to explore his own interests, which could provide ground for career choices later.
Teachers don't even have much time to check hw, reducing the homework to filling in
the blanks or calculations, which don't promote real learning.

ARG4. Middle/Upper classes have better resources to teach child.

Extra points...
Link: http://www.newkidscenter.com...

Reduce social interaction:

Children who often have a lot of homework are restricted in the time that they have to
interact with others. Social opportunities provide children with the chance to learn
impulse control, conflict management, and other social skills. If they are not given
enough opportunities for socialization, their overall development may suffer.

2. Affect Active Learning

Active learning encourages participation and hones problem-solving skills. Homework
does not provide these kinds of opportunities and eliminates time for self-motivated play
that could build intuition, imagination, or problem-solving skills. It also limits a child's
time to explore his own interests, which could provide ground for career choices later.
3. Disturb Life Balance
Children who have too much homework will not be able to balance their life, which
could impact their circadian rhythm. If excessive homework is given, it will cut into the
downtime students need to relax or sleep, which will ultimately have an impact on their
cognitive abilities during the day.
4. Become Underproductive
Researchers have found that there is very little correlation between the amount of
homework and academic success. It is recommended that children have 10 minutes of
homework for every grade level to get the best results. Anything above this level is
considered excessive and could be counter-productive.

Thanks. By the way, the last round will be for final rebuttals and our conclusions.