IELTS ideas 02: Homework

Những đề IELTS Writing về chủ đề Homework có thể gặp:

Some people believe that children should not be given homework every day, while others believe that they must get homework every day in order to be successful at school. Discuss both views and give your opinion

Some people believe that school children should not be given homework by their teachers, whereas others argue that homework plays an important role in the education of children. Discuss both of these views and give your own opinion.

Homework is a part of school life. Many people feel that giving homework daily to school children works well for them, while some feel it is an unnecessary burden on them. What do you think about it?

BENEFITS OF HOMEWORK

Homework teaches students the importance of planning, time management,  staying organized, and taking action.
Homework teaches students how to set priorities.
Homework helps teachers determine how well the lessons are being understood by their students.
Homework teaches students how to problem solve.
Homework gives student another opportunity to review class material and parents can see what is being learned in school.
Homework teaches students that they may have to do things—even if they don’t want to.

1. It encourages the discipline of practice.
Repeating the same problems over and over can be boring and difficult, but it also reinforces the practice of discipline. To get better at a skill, repetition is often necessary. You get better with each repetition. By having homework completed every night, especially with a difficult subject, the concepts become easier to understand. That gives the student an advantage later on in life when seeking a vocational career.

2. It teaches time management skills.
Homework goes beyond completing a task. It forces children (and parents, to some extent) to develop time management skills. Schedules must be organized to ensure that all tasks can be completed during the day. This creates independent thinking and develops problem-solving skills. It encourages research skills. It also puts parents and children into a position where positive decision-making skills must be developed.

3. Homework creates a communication network.
Teachers rarely see into the family lives of their students. Parents rarely see the classroom lives of their children. Homework is a bridge that opens lines of communication between the school, the teacher, and the parent. This allows everyone to get to know one another better. It helps teachers understand the needs of their students better.

DRAWBACKS OF HOMEWORK

1. Children benefit from playing.
Being in a classroom can be a good thing, but so can being on a playground. With too much homework, a child doesn’t have enough time to play and that can impact their learning and social development. Low levels of play are associated with lower academic achievement levels, lower safety awareness, less character development, and lower overall health.

2. School is already a full-time job for kids.
An elementary school day might start at 9:00am and end at 3:20pm. That’s more than 6 hours of work that kids as young as 5 are putting into their education every day. Add in the extra-curricular activities that schools encourage, such as sports, musicals, and after-school programming and a student can easily reach 8 hours of education in the average day. Then add homework on top of that? It is asking a lot for any child, but especially young children, to complete extra homework.

3. There is no evidence that homework creates improvements.
Survey after survey has found that the only thing that homework does is create a negative attitude toward schooling and education in general. Homework is not associated with a higher level of academic achievement on a national scale. It may help some students who struggle with certain subjects, if they have access to a knowledgeable tutor or parent, but on a community level, there is no evidence that shows improvements are gained.