Homework is an opportunity to learn and retain information in an environment where they feel most comfortable, which can help accelerate their development.

Why is Homework Important?

Why is Homework Important? Homework can be a divisive topic. In this article, we will discuss why it’s important and how it helps with your child’s development.

There is a strong connection between regularly completing homework and higher accomplishments in subjects such as English, Maths and Science. The Department of Education in the United Kingdom advises that spending time doing homework brings several benefits, more so for the students who put in two to three hours a night. Understanding the value of homework can help increase motivation and productivity. In this article, we’ll help you understand why homework is important and discuss all its benefits for both children and parents.

Benefits of Homework

Homework is important because it develops core skills in young children that will serve them throughout school and working life. Improved grades, discipline, time management, using resources and improving communication are all vital life skills that will open the door to unique opportunities and help children find success in their careers. Doing regular homework should be considered as an investment in your child’s future.

Through encouraging regular homework and supporting your child with their assignments, you can expect to see the following advantages:

1. Discipline of Practice

Repeating a task multiple times can feel arduous, but it’s necessary to help increase your child’s skill and understanding of a subject. Regular homework will make certain concepts easier to understand and put them in an advantageous position should they seek a vocational career.

2. Time Management Skills

Homework goes beyond just the task itself; it helps children take control of their workload and increase their time management skills. Homework is set with a deadline and taking ownership of this deadline helps them think independently and develop problem-solving skills. This is a prime example of why homework is important because time management is a vital life skill that helps children throughout higher education and their careers.

3. Communication Network

Homework acts as a bridge and can help teachers and parents learn more about how students like to learn, providing a deeper understanding of how to approach their learning and development. Many parents also want their child to receive homework so they can understand what they’re learning at school.

4. Comfortable Work Environment

Some children struggle to learn outside of their comfort zone, and while classrooms are designed to be warm and welcoming, there is often no place like home. Homework is an opportunity to learn and retain information in an environment where they feel most comfortable, which can help accelerate their development.

5. Using Learning Materials

Throughout a child’s education, understanding how to use resources such as libraries and the internet is important. Homework teaches children to actively search for information using these resources to complete tasks, and this is a skill that will be fundamental throughout their lives.

6. Revision Discipline

Regular homework helps children discover a pattern that will help them when they’re required to study for important tests and exams. Children who are familiar with a routine of completing homework will find it easy to adapt to a schedule of doing regular revision at home. Skills such as accessing learning materials, time management, and discipline will help improve how children revise, and ultimately, improve their grades.

7. Additional Time to Learn

Children learn at different paces, and the time spent in the classroom might not be enough for some students to fully grasp the key concepts of a subject. Having additional time for learning at home can help children gain a deeper understanding than they would if they were solely reliant on their time in school. Homework is important because it gives parents and children the freedom and the time to focus on subjects that they may be struggling with. This extra time can make a big difference when it comes to exams and grades.

Helping Your Child With Homework

We’ve discussed why it is important to do regular homework, but children may still find it difficult to stay motivated. Parents can play an important role in supporting their child with homework, so here are some of the ways you can help.

1. Homework-friendly Area

Having a dedicated space for children to do homework will help them stay focused. Make sure it is well-lit and stocked with everything they’ll need for their assignments.

2. Routine Study Time

A regular routine helps children get used to working at home. Some children work best in the morning, while others may prefer the afternoon. Work out a routine where your child is their most productive.

3. Make Sure They’re Learning

Homework is important, but only if children use this time to learn. If you do the work for them, they’re not going to see any of the benefits we listed above. It’s important you’re there to support and help them understand the work, so they can do it themselves.

4. Praise Work and Effort

Recognising the hard work that they’re putting in and praising them for it is a great way to get children to respond positively to homework. Pin their impressive test grades up in their homeworking space or around the house for extra motivation.

5. Make a Plan

Children can get overwhelmed if they have a lot of work to do. On homework-heavy nights, help them make a plan and break down the work into sections. This will help make the work more manageable. If your child responds well to this, you could do this each time they sit down to do work at home.

Understanding why homework is important and oftentimes necessary helps improve both motivation and productivity in young children. It also makes parents aware of the role they can play in supporting them. At Nord Anglia Education, we focus on bringing children, parents, and teachers together in a common effort to improve student learning through homework. You can learn more about our schools and the curriculum we teach by exploring our schools.

Improves Study Habits

This is because when they are doing homework, they are actually practicing using their knowledge rather than simply following the process shown in textbooks. This enables them to develop a strong work ethic and cooperate better with others through doing group assignments if there s homework that needs to be done together with other students.

Therefore, homework prevents students from wasting valuable hours playing or watching television and encourages them to spend time studying instead. It also makes them more efficient as they have to learn from their mistakes and find a way to maximize their time.

Resources:

https://fosburit.com/education/reasons-why-students-should-have-homework/
https://www.througheducation.com/should-students-get-homework/
https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/news/2023/03/31/why-is-homework-important
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Marvin Gaye s family was quick to accuse the performers of ripping off his hit from 1997, Got To Give It Up.

The most famous accusations of musical plagiarism

Plagiarism is officially defined as taking someone else’s idea or work and passing them off as your own. Musical plagiarism can take a few different forms, and it often goes unrecognized. Someone may copy a part of a melody and “get inspired by it,” so the final result won’t sound exactly like it. Copying the motif of a song also falls within the area of plagiarism. Lyrics can be translated in between languages without giving credit to the original author.

Music copyright laws are straightforward. One must not present the work of another author as their own. Still, there are several famous cases of musicians being accused of plagiarism throughout history.

What’s the Problem with Plagiarism in Music?

Creating an original piece of music takes time, effort, and a great deal of talent. Composers and authors often get into a blocked state of mind. No matter what tricks they try, they cannot get their creativity flowing. In such a state, it’s possible to get too inspired by someone else’s work. Inexperienced musicians may also fall into the trap of unintentional plagiarism. They create a tune without being aware that it’s a copy of a song that got stuck in their mind from a long time ago.

When it comes to lyrics, it’s rather easy to make sure they aren’t completely plagiarized. All you need to do is use a free plagiarism checker website, which compares your content to text that’s already been published. But melody itself is more complicated to recognize as unique. If only one part of it has been used from another piece without authorization, you’ll be accused of plagiarism.

Famous Examples of Musical Plagiarism

“Shakermaker” was a huge hit in the summer of 1994. No one can trick the listeners, though. They quickly noticed that the opening lines were almost identical to “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” – a song performed by The New Seekers in the 1970s.

Oasis came to a settlement with the authors of the original tune. The sum wasn’t revealed, but it’s speculated to be half a million dollars.

This collaboration quickly became recognized for its lively video launched in 2015. Marvin Gaye’s family was quick to accuse the performers of ripping off his hit from 1997, “Got To Give It Up.” The court found Williams and Thicke liable for copyright infringement. They had to pay Gaye’s family $5.3 million in damages (calculated as half of the song’s royalties).

There was a lot of drama around this case, and both Williams and Thicke aren’t proud of the song.

Radiohead sued Lana Del Rey over obvious similarities between her “Get Free” and their “Creep.” She claimed that she offered 40% of the song’s royalties to settle the dispute, but they refused, aiming for 100%.

“Creep” is a classic song, which listeners easily recognized in Del Rey’s work. It’s surprising to see such a creative musician falling into the trap of plagiarism. It happens more often than we assume. When the creative flow hits, it’s easy to be convinced that you’re onto something entirely original.

Coldplay’s fans were disappointed to find out that their song “Viva La Vida” wasn’t original. Joe Satriani accused the band of using substantial original portions of his “If I Could Fly” from 2004. The case was dismissed, but the fans never found out if a settlement was achieved. Coldplay’s members swore that they had never heard the song they were accused of plagiarizing.

To make things even more interesting, US band Creaky Boards also accused Coldplay for plagiarizing their tune. Fortunately, Coldplay proved their song to be older (with demos dating before Creaky Boards’ track was released).

We can’t help but wonder: are these settlements outside the court fair to fans and music? Copyright laws allow them, but it doesn’t feel right knowing that one of your favorite songs is not entirely original.

Morris Levy, a song publisher, quickly noticed that “Come Together” was quite similar in rhythm and lyrics with “You Can’t Catch Me,” a 1956 song by Chuck Berry (who was his client). This was yet another case that was settled outside the court. Lennon agreed to record some of Levy’s songs, and then backed out. Levy tried to release the recorded track, but legal steps were taken by Lennon’s record company. Now that is a messy situation.

Plagiarism Is NOT Cool

Even when the issue occurs unintentionally and it’s quickly settled out of court, plagiarism is never cool. The sole accusation is considered a dark spot in any musician’s career. Songs and entire genders of music have been based on liberal improvisation upon someone else’s work. When musicians do that on purpose, they have to obtain approval from the copyright holder. In addition, they have to reference their source, so the audience won’t feel like they’ve been tricked.

Even the most talented musicians aren’t prone to plagiarism accusations. After finding out that some famous songs aren’t completely original, they don’t sound so impressive any longer, do they?

Lana Del Ray v. Radiohead v. Albert Hammond

Oddly, that old tune started as a jingle for Coca-Cola, and Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher intended the song as a cultural tribute to his own childhood. Originally written in 1971 for a Coke ad, it was later a huge hit for The New Seekers and the Gallaghers had to come to a settlement with the writers – some sources cite half a million dollars.

This may be the strangest music copyright case in history. John Fogerty, the former leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, hit it big as a solo artist with "The Old Man Down the Road." CCR’s old record label, Fantasy, sued, saying it sounded too much like the old CCR song "Run Through the Jungle." The twist: Fogerty wrote "Run Through the Jungle" himself. In other words, he had to prove that he wasn’t sounding too much like himself. He brought his guitar to court to demonstrate the differences between the two songs and prevailed.

Resources:

https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/x-lists/most-famous-accusations-of-musical-plagiarism/

The most famous accusations of musical plagiarism

https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/legally-weird/the-top-10-music-plagiarism-cases-of-all-time/
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Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree.

The Worsening Homework Problem

My son does an average of five or six hours of homework every night. Is this normal?

Editor’s Note: Every Tuesday, Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer take questions from readers about their kids’ education. Have one? Email them at [email protected].

My son, who is in ninth grade, is a really good student, but I’m worried he’s working far too much. He does an average of five or six hours of homework every weeknight, and that’s on top of spending most of the weekend writing essays or studying for tests. His school says that each of his five main classes (English, history, math, language, and science) can assign no more than 30 minutes a night and that electives can assign no more than one hour a week. That should look like something around three hours a night, which is a lot but at least more manageable.

On some nights, a math problem set can take him more than two hours, and then, after 8 p.m. and sometimes after 9, he turns to his English reading, science textbook, Spanish paragraph, or history outline. He’s working until after midnight and then up at 6 a.m. to get ready for school, beyond exhausted. Is this normal?

Homework—when assigned in appropriate amounts and with the right goals in mind—is an indispensable tool for educators. But students should never be put in the position of having to choose between their academic success and their overall well-being.

To understand what constitutes the right amount of homework, we should be clear on what it’s meant to accomplish. We believe it should perform four basic functions. First, homework should be assigned in order to make the most of class time. In an English class, for example, teachers need to ask students to read at home in order to do the important work of leading in-class discussions. Second, at-home assignments help students learn the material taught in class. Students require independent practice to internalize new concepts. Third, these assignments can provide valuable data for teachers about how well students understand the curriculum. Finally, homework helps students acquire the skills needed to plan, organize, and complete their work.

Unfortunately, many schools assign homework for its own sake, in amounts that are out of proportion to these basic functions—a problem that seems to have gotten worse over the past 20 years. This isn’t necessarily intentional. Some of your son’s teachers probably underestimate the time it takes their students to complete assignments. But your description makes clear that homework has taken over your son’s life. That’s why he should make sure to tell his teachers that he’s been working past the nightly limits prescribed by the school.

Additionally, he should use those limits for his own well-being: If he can’t get through a math worksheet in half an hour, he should stop, draw a line after the final problem he was able to complete, and talk with his teacher the following day. That way he will be able to spread his time more evenly among classes, and his teachers will get a better sense of how long their homework is taking. Sometimes teachers aren’t aware of how much other work our students have on their plate, not to mention their extracurricular responsibilities. Fill us in! Most teachers would prefer to recalibrate our students’ workload than find ourselves responsible for keeping them up so late.

But the goodwill of individual teachers may not be enough to solve the issue. Schools have any number of incentives to assign a lot of work, one of which is the pernicious assumption that “good” schools provide as much of it as their students can pack into a day. If your son’s workload doesn’t get lighter after he talks with his teachers, contact the administration and explain the situation. Hopefully this will prompt a larger conversation within the school about the reasons to assign homework in the first place—and the reasons not to.

By submitting a letter, you are agreeing to let The Atlantic use it—in part or in full—and we may edit it for length and/or clarity.

Small Benefits for Elementary Students

In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time often for reasons beyond their control. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support OECD, 2014.

Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.

Resources:

https://www.edutopia.org/article/whats-right-amount-homework/
https://www.whitbyschool.org/passionforlearning/how-much-homework-is-too-much
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2023/04/homeroom-how-much-homework-too-much/618580/
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