Written by Ellis Brown
There’s rarely an occasion when anyone’s happy to hear that they’ve just received homework; it’s quite the opposite to receiving £200 when you pass ‘Go’ in Monopoly. And why would you be happy about it when you have hobbies and passions to pursue, family and friends to see, responsibilities to fulfil and yourself to look after? I’m in year 10 now and when I ask my friends ‘What are you doing after school?’ I’ve been getting more answers like ‘Doing homework, I have so much to do, it’s so stressful’. They’re sadly not alone though, 66% of the 2,000 children surveyed by the Children’s Commissioner said homework (and / or exams) is the most stressful thing for them. Not only does homework take time, it can create barriers for disadvantaged pupils who cannot easily access support out of school. So is homework worth it? According to some, yes. Homework often includes finishing tasks from class, revision or practicing something. They say there’s just simply not enough time to cover everything at school and they’re not wrong. So homework seems like a reasonable solution to the bigger problem right?
Well perhaps we don’t need to learn ‘everything’. Perhaps the current curriculum contains too much to learn. In fact, the recently published House of Lords report [3] described the current curriculum as “overburdened” necessitating “rote learning and ‘cramming’ subject knowledge” into lessons. As a result, teachers are often left with no option other then to issue homework. Only if the curriculum is reformed by reducing content down to a broad, balanced range of essential skills and knowledge, which values all subjects equally, then homework can be scrapped (or at least massively reduced). Wider reform to the English education system is also in order including reform to the assessment system. Reform would also allow young people to do more of what they’re interested in and passionate about, surely that’s more worthwhile than doing homework. So to sum up, is homework necessary? Yes, at the moment it probably is, but it shouldn’t be; homework can, and must, be scrapped or at least massively reduced for secondary education but only when there’s proper curriculum and wider education reform.
Find out more about Project Positivity’s take on curriculum reform here
Only the government can implement reform, so we must all call for the change we need for a better now and future. Project Positivity Education gives you the opportunity to share your unique perspective on our English education system and to have it amplified across Project Positivity's platforms by contributing a personal opinion piece. Open to all, personal opinion pieces allow you to share your unique perspective on, or experience with, our English education system in 250 words or less.
Join the chorus for change here
References (in order)
House of Lords: The Committee described the current secondary school curriculum as “overburdened” in the recently published report (December 2023). Read it here.
Children’s Commissioner: 66% of the 2,000 children they surveyed said homework (and / or exams) are the most stressful thing for them (May 2020). Find out more here.
House of Lords: The Committee described the current secondary school curriculum as “overburdened” necessitating “rote learning and ‘cramming’ subject knowledge” into lessons in the recently published report (December 2023). Read it here.
Project Positivity shares information relating to Project Positivity's mission however Project Positivity may not fully endorse all the content of referenced reports.