1. Kids need to be kids
Kids sit in school for 7-8 hours a day. Let them be active after school. No homework allows for more time to play outside, play with friends, spend time with family, be involved in extracurricular activities, etc.
2. Not all kids have help at home
Not all students are capable of doing homework without help. Some students don’t have an adult, at home, who can help them at a decent hour. Some students don’t have a parent who is capable of understanding the content to help.
3. Practicing at home can lead to bad habits, if the student is doing it incorrectly
A student, who does not understand an assignment, might practice every single math problem incorrectly, thus reinforcing the wrong way to do the problem, as opposed to the right way to do the problem
4. When the student does the work in class, the teacher an ensure the student is doing the work
As the teacher, I want to be the one who helps the student. If they ask a peer for help, I like to overhear the help the peer is giving, so I can make sure they are providing the correct help. If the student is doing the work in class, I can be sure they aren’t looking the answers up online, copying off of another student, or having a parent complete the work for them
5. Time management conflicts arise
We often encourage students to participate in extra curricular activities and to spend time with family. How do we expect them to fit everything in, if we continue to give homework? How do we determine what teacher’s homework takes priority, in the event that several teachers assign more than 5-10 minutes of homework?