If ever you think that you are the only student getting stressed about homework, you are wrong. The fear of getting homework and its accompanying stress after getting homework is known as Homework Anxiety, which affects countless students. It begs the question, why was homework invented? And was it invented as a punishment?
Why was homework invented?
In the early 1900s in Italy, an educator called Roberto Nevilis was facing an age-old intriguing question: how to improve the academic performance of his students. His students’ academic performance was skewed: some students were excelling whereas some students had lower than expected academic performance.
Who invented homework?
In 1905, Roberto Nevilis came up with the brilliant idea to invent homework as a solution to the challenges he was facing. He invented homework to ensure his underperforming students engaged in additional learning during their free time.
Was homework invented as a punishment?
It just feels like homework is evil. It might be the reason it was invented as a punishment.
Nevilis invented homework as a punishment for underperforming students. Underperforming students barely concentrated in class and as such, were not learning anything in class. By giving them homework, he aimed for these students to learn the concepts that they failed to grasp while in class.
This punishment was successful as all students were deterred from not concentrating in class to avoid getting homework whereas underperforming students were inspired to excel to avoid getting homework again.
Eventually, Nevilis’ teaching practices became highly recognized as an effective way for ensuring students excel in their classes. The success of using homework as a punishment for underperforming students led to its adoption globally.
Is the claim that “homework was invented as a punishment” valid?
After extensive research, we have uncovered that the claim that Roberto Nevilis invented homework is a myth. Our team at Write Paper 4 Me, came to this conclusion after evaluating extensive evidence that homework existed even before 1905. For example, California banned Homework in 1901. Indicatively, homework existed before 1905 when it's claimed that Neveilis invented homework as a punishment.
Why is homework so difficult?
Even if the claim that homework was invented as a punishment is a myth, it is a valid claim according to students.
- They are more interesting this to do
Doing homework is Boring. There is so much one can do at home. Distractions are too many: from pets, social media, gaming, and relationships. Such activities seem more fun to do than handling homework.
- Homework requires so much studying
Take MathXL homework as an example. It just requires too much studying to complete all assigned homework. Instructors give homework on topics learnt in class or future topics that students will learn in class. Either way, it requires students to thoroughly read and research for them to understand concepts necessary to complete homework. This effort is a deterrent to students who often have other priorities to handle.
- Homework feels harder than classwork or even tests
Teachers often give homework that is harder than classwork or tests in order to challenge students to undertake more studying. As such, students will become more prepared to handle tests and classwork.
What can I do to excel in homework?
- Improve studying strategies
Students often deploy poor studying strategies when handling homework. Rather than doing homework in isolation, students should have a scheduled time for studying each day. The study time should begin by reviewing all concepts learnt in class followed by studying the topic further. After this study session, students can complete their homework easily.
- De-escalate the stress of receiving homework
Rather than viewing homework as a burden, students should view it as an opportunity to undertake more learning.
- Allocate time for leisure activities
Without allocating time for leisure activities, homework seems as draining all free time.