by Clint Daniel

Created on: January 14, 2010

Though homework is a useful tool in a teacher's arsenal of learning, it should not be the only one used to foster learning in a child. Often, a child will fall behind, if too much homework is given, losing his/her place in the class, but if the teacher can put more focus on class time, material may have a better chance of sticking.

Many children loathe the thought of homework, and most times, will do everything within their power to stay away. Over-use of homework can make them feel burdened, especially if the teacher uses only it to teach. Students may feel overworked and most young people are procrastinators, both of these equal neglection of homework. Usually a method of letting the child teach themselves will fail, for if they don't do the homework, or miss a day, they will fall horrible behind and have no idea what to learn

Some teachers think the children should teach themselves, and can over-use homework mistakenly thinking it will end well. An overload of homework can have a negative feedback, by them not doing it at all; then the teacher's plan has failed completely. If they don't do the homework, they won't be prepared for class, and often will not know what questions to ask the teacher, so they can learn from their mistakes..

Once the person begins neglecting their homework, a downward spiral occurs. Constantly left behind in class, they will begin to crack from the pressure, only continuing to falter. Responsibility of assigning homework ultimately falls upon the teacher, for they have to know how much is right and how much will begin to turn the child away from the subject. Then, if the child turns away from the subject, bringing them back will be doubly hard, for even if the teacher relaxes on the work-load, the child has often fallen too far behind to catch up with the class.

Then this presents a tougher problem, requiring the teacher to take personal time to tutor the student. Sure, there will always be students able to handle the extreme work-load, pushing themselves to the limits, but most students won't. They'll often shirk the responsibilities of homework, relying on class time, and if too much time is spent answering homework questions, no teaching can be accomplished. This leads to harder work for both students and the teacher, which most students tend to shy from.

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