'Work' at home

HOMEWORK has always been the subject of much debate and discussion with the votes against and for it being almost evenly balanced depending on what is often politically correct. But there seems to be no clearcut answer to whether children need that "daily dose" of homework or not.

To most children of course, it is anathema. Many cannot understand why after spending a gruelling day at school they have to bring work back home.

Interestingly, a group of academics at the University of Durham, London, found that most 11-year-olds who did the most homework gained lower test scores in maths, science and reading than children who were set homework only once a month. This was a follow up to a study by King's College, London, which observed that nine year olds who did maths homework once or twice a week did no better than those who tackled it occasionally.

I can almost hear irate parents thumping their chests and teachers looking cross. But in all fairness one has to examine both sides to the issue.

Do we really need all this homework? Despite the talk of liberalising education, of taking away the burden of forced learning by rote on children by asking teachers to create an atmosphere of creativity in classrooms, homework still remains a major issue. As one eight-year-old who takes home the usual weekend homework rued: "It seems that ma'am thinks we have nothing better to do. We get Maths, English and Hindi and then we also have project work." That of course takes care of parents' weekends too. Today, homework has become a major part of the literacy initiative in primaries in the hope that eventually, it will help raise falling standards of education.

Whether this will really happen or not remains to be seen. Homework may be the butt of much ridicule but there are some aspects of it that most parents, teachers and the government seem to agree on. One is that it should reinforce skills and understanding, to be a continuation of what is being taught in the class and which finally leads to independent learning skills.

Ideally, it should make for close cooperation between parents and teachers. Eventually, the biggest challenge lies in making this task as creative as possible and this is where the drwabacks occur. Like teaching, homework too is treated as a routine - to be done with and got out of the way.

The time spent on homework seems to be the uppermost thing in the teacher's mind as homework is marked rather than the emphasis being made on the quality of tasks that are being set. Of course there are no specific guidelines that the education authorities have worked out. But an interesting study in the West suggests that an hour a week of homework is enough for five to six year olds, 90 minutes for seven to eight year olds and 30 minutes a day for 10 to 11 year olds. As the age increases, so does the study time to be spent at home. In the end, it is up to the child to decide how to tackle their subject.

The most important ingredient is to use imagination. Setting tasks means that children must be allowed to use informal resources easily available. Faced with the dilemma of homework, one teacher has an interesting story to tell. On an average day, in his class, at least five to six hands go up - the homework has not been done. Gradually the number goes up. This includes the ridiculous reasons given. A sample: "I am sorry, Sir, I could not do my homework because my little sister was too ill and my mum was too busy to help. When my dad came home he was a bit drunk and mum and he had this awful row. I was sent to bed when I asked if someone could help me." Yet another one: "I could not do my homework because my worm is very sick and I was distraught."

However differentiated home work might be, for some children it will always remain a necessary evil which can lead to poor learning and pressures that teenagers can do without. According to this teacher, as soon as a class is given work, the school sends a message that it does not make for a oneness of response from the students. There will always be those for whom it is no big deal. For some, the task set might eventually create a permanent schism in his/her attitude towards learning, maybe due to a dissonance in the home environment. Just as there will always be students who excel, there will always be parents who are not interested in helping their children - some may genuinely have no time, others may not know the subject well enough. Is that not discrimination?

This is one view. On the other hand there are teachers who feel that homework can be a useful tool in bringing about a more positive home-school relationship, with homework being a good guide, from the point of view of parents getting to know what their children are doing. Indeed, in senior school this is one grouse that most parents have - they just do not have a clue about what their children are doing - specially when it comes to the classroom.

Most parents find that they are at sea since their children will not deign it necessary to tell them very much on a daily basis. "The whole truth stumbles out when there is a crisis, usually around examination time. By then it is pretty late to really help," says a parent.

Homework should be used by teachers to encourage children to develop finer skills - mainly, that they should learn to reflect on what they may have learnt. Homework should be balanced so that it does not stop children from participating in other activities once home. Football or tennis is just as important to a youngster as his mathematical abilities/skills.

SUCHITRA BEHAL

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