Homework; A good revision tool but don’t abuse it

With the beginning of the third term a couple of weeks ago, the pressure to deliver results for the learners, teachers and even parents is at an all-time high. This is a promotional term and for all and for primary seven, Senior Four and Senior Six students is the term that national exams will be sat. For schools, the performance put forth by these learners especially those in candidate classes will mean more business for them if the performance is excellent and reduced business if the performance is less than desirable. Teachers and school administrations are pulling off all the stops to ensure that learners perform well enough to be listed on the list of top performing schools in the country.
Some of the old age methods is homework. While this is a good method to keep learners in tune with what they study, it can be abused especially during high pressure seasons like this one. In our September 23 edition, we published a story of how homework can affect learners. In the story, Mr John Bosco Mutebi, the head teacher of Silver Spoon School points out that homework is used as an assessment and revision tool but that learners must not be given a heavy load. He says the work given should be able to be completed in 30 to 40 minutes and should not go beyond one page to allow learners time to rest and engage in other activities as children.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many parents and guardians are witnesses to the huge workload learners carry home every day in the name of homework. After enduring hours in traffic jam after a full day of schooling, learners have to spend another two or more hours tending to homework that must be presented the next day. The learners end up spending the entire school term trudging to and from school will all work and no play or adequate rest.
It is surprising that some schools claim that the pressure to load learners with homework comes from parents who deem teachers unserious if they go light on homework.
As already stated here, homework is a good assessment and revision tool but it must not be abused and learners turned into work horses in pursuit of high grades to make some players shine. Don’t give learners too much homework, allow them enough time to actually learn rather than cram.
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