Persuasive Essay: Optional Homework

Persuasive Essay: Optional Homework

Homework should not be a determining factor of a student's grade. Homework, defined as work assigned for a student to complete at home as a means of reviewing in-class learning, is not as much a measure of knowledge as it is a measure of obedience. Despite ignorantly allowing a measure of one's obedience affect their measure of knowledge, assigning homework is a helpful and, at times, necessary factor of one's academic success. With that said, the act of grading work done outside of class meant for review of in-class curriculum is what is in focus. This definition of homework excludes specific curriculum work that was not able to be done in class, such as projects, essays, and other related work.

The reason why teachers across the nation do this is very likely to be that they believe the majority of students will complete the homework and, therefore, increase their grade. Teachers often ignore what an academic grade is representative of. One's grade in a class should be solely representative of one thing: their knowledge of the curriculum. Obedience does not represent how well the student knows the curriculum. A student who does only half of their homework but constantly proves their knowledge by receiving A's on every test should not be judged the same as someone who does all of their homework but shows only a satisfactorily knowledge of the curriculum by consistently receiving C's on tests. Removing homework grades entirely may not be the only viable option, though. For those who show a need for it, those satisfactorily or less than satisfactorily, it may be a necessary incentive. For these students, the grading can be useful. If homework grades were used for those who prove their need for the extra out-of-class learning but discarded for those who show outstanding knowledge of the curriculum, a resolution will be met.

Students over worked with homework that may not be necessary to them may cause emotional distress. Being overworked by five classes of homework, averaging around half an hour per class, will undoubtedly cause stress on a student who already has a tight schedule. This strain is unneeded in the case that they are displaying outstanding knowledge by way of in-class learning. Students often have extra-curricular activities; taking up anywhere from one to three hours a day. This, combined with a four hour a day job, will take up five to eight hours a day leaving many students awake until midnight, furiously abiding by a command that has no other purpose than exemplifying their obedience. The lack of sleep could, in fact, be detrimental to their in-class focus and may result in a decrease of test grades. To intentionally put such an excess of pressure on a student would be simply inhumane.

Logically, it isn't justified. What constitutes a teacher to generalize the needs of students by expecting obedience