Question: Is Assigning Homework Advantageous?

Does homework offer any advantages? Homework is often seen as a futile exercise, particularly given the considerable amount that children are compelled to complete annually. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks Con, and good luck!Procrastination affects everyone and can show up in many different ways. For instance, when a student procrastinates, it not only affects his grade and the quality of his content, but also the teacher’s opinion of him as a student. I believe procrastination should be carefully documented before we say that it is beneficial.Argument 1: Breathing is a task which needs to be accomplished.According to Ann Brown, the average person takes between 17,280 and 23,040 breaths a day.[4] Not only do we breathe constantly, but it also seems that we need to breathe to stay alive.[5] For these reasons, I believe that breathing is, for all practical purposes, necessary. Holding one’s breath in can result in brain damage,[6] temporary blindness,[7] and even death.[8] While certain forms of holding air in can have some temporary soothing effects, there are usually other long term problems involved. For instance, according to Breathing.com, “Breath holding can give some relief from hyperventilation but at the cost of tightening the stomach muscles, worsening the startle response and over time inviting shallow breathing.”[9] I believe it follows that not breathing, or avoiding breathing, is bad. We can now structure a syllogism from the scientific evidence and definitions provided at the beginning of this debate.1. Breathing is a task which must be accomplished.2. Avoiding the act of breathing is bad.C. Therefore, in this way, procrastination is bad.This argument shows that procrastination is bad for something that we do constantly. I challenge my opponent to find something we do more than breathing which would be beneficial for us to procrastinate. Argument 2: Types of procrastination.According to Joel Brown, there are 6 different types of procrastinators, and only one type is said to feel that they work best when under pressure.[10] Unless there is a huge inequality in the population, I assume that procrastinating is only very useful for (roughly) 1/6 of the population. But for my opponent to win, he has to show how procrastination is beneficial (at least) 51% of the time.Even websites that emphasis the good traits of procrastination always have to remind us of all the bad forms it can easily become.[11] Chrissy Scivicque, who wrote an article claiming that procrastination isn’t always bad, said, “Procrastination becomes a problem, however, when it’s not being used productively or when it becomes a mindless form of escape.”[12]We can organize each form of procrastination based on this statement.• Procrastination that is productive and is not a mindless form of escape – good• Procrastination that is productive and is a mindless form of escape – problem• Procrastination that is not productive and is not a mindless form of escape – problem• Procrastination that is not productive and is a mindless form of escape – problem.If these forms of procrastination are relatively balanced, it follows that procrastination is generally beneficial for only 1 out of 4 cases. This would indicate that procrastination is not generally beneficial.Argument 3: JUST DO ITGET OFF OF YOUR BUM AND JUST DO IT!!!!!![13] Shia LaBeouf is a famous motivational speaker who has affected the lives of many individuals. His motivational speech “Just Do It” received over 13 million views and 200,000 likes on Youtube alone. His message is targeted towards people who want to procrastinate.Recently, Shia LaBeouf helped Goku to turn Super Saiyan.[14] Without Shia’s help, Goku might have procrastinated and never got around to turning into a super powerful blonde. This is extremely important to everyday life because Goku is pretty cool.[15] Also, good anime role models help inspire younger kids to find true meaning in their lives. For instance, a user posted this message on an anime forum: “I would say Luffy from One Piece has been one of my biggest role models in my life. I keep a one piece symbol on me pretty much 99% of the time. kind of obsessive but it reminds me to keep chasing my dreams.”[16]It seems, based on the testimony, that anime characters can inspire people to do great things. Who knows how many kids will feel inspired by Goku’s magical transformation, all thanks to Shia LaBeouf. JUST DO IT!!!!!!!Argument 4: Procrastination is not possible.Procrastination is not possible because time is an illusion.[17] We cannot prove that the past ever existed, or that the future will exist.[18] In fact, according to Josh Richardson, Quantum Theory proves that time does not exist. He states, “There is no past moment that flows into a future moment. Instead all the different possible configurations of the universe, every possible location of every atom throughout all of creation, exist simultaneously. Barbour’s Nows all exist at once in a vast Platonic realm that stands completely and absolutely without time.”[19] To illustrate the impossibility of time, ask yourself whether you were the same person you were five minutes ago. How about five years ago? What gives a person their individuality throughout time?The only sensible answer is that we are actually different people for each ‘second’ of our existence. This makes sense if every ‘second’ is actually a parallel universe, and there are multiple versions of me, each having a different experience. With so many parallel universes, it is no wonder that in some of them, I might have the illusion of a memory (or different thoughts which I falsely believe are memories). But for each universe, I have a different understanding, a different thought in my head, and I am even composed of different atoms.[20] This hypothesis has a bonus of nicely answering Meno’s Paradox (how can one learn what he does not know). The answer is that we are not learning; we are inherently static.Now this shows us that time does not exist. But is time philosophically possible?Let us turn to Zeno’s famous paradox to consider the answer. A runner is racing a tortoise, who receives a 10 meter head start to accommodate for its slow pace. The gun goes off. The runner fully expects to catch up with the tortoise, but each time he approaches his opponent, his opponent has moved a short distance. So the runner has to match that short distance. But each time he does, the tortoise would have moved an even shorter distance, which the runner again has to match. In the end, the runner cannot ever catch up with the tortoise. Here is a chart to help us visualize this idea.Runner Tortoise1 step ½ step½ step ¼ step¼ step 1/8 step… And so on… And so on…But if this can be applied to a full step, then it can also be applied to a ½ step, and a ¼ step, and a 1/8 step…Dr. Grimes has this to say. “So it sounds like I’m saying that you can complete an infinite process. Now an infinite process doesn’t have a last step. So how can something without a last step be completed?”[21]In short, motion is moving between an infinite amount of distances. Therefore, motion is a supertask, which is logically impossible.[22] In the same way, moving through time, forwards or backwards, is logically impossible. Therefore time is impossible.So if time is impossible, then procrastination is also impossible. For what static individual needs to accomplish certain tasks?And if procrastination is impossible, how can it be beneficial? I take it that impossibilities cannot exist. Therefore they cannot be beneficial. Note that this is about something which inherently CANNOT exist, not just something which does not exist. For instance, a 17$ bill could be beneficial if it existed. But if a 17$ bill could not exist, then it could not produce anything good in any possible universe. Ergo it is not beneficial. My arguments are the best.Sources:[4] https://blog.epa.gov...[5] http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk...[6] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...[7] https://www.quora.com...[8] http://www.nbcnews.com...[9] http://www.breathing.com...[10] http://addicted2success.com...[11] http://www.lifehack.org...[12] http://www.forbes.com...[13] [14] [15] http://www.ign.com...[16] http://www.anime-forums.com...[17] https://www.google.com...[18] http://rationalwiki.org...[19] http://themindunleashed.org...[20]http://www.science20.com...[21] https://youtu.be...[22] https://en.wikipedia.org...

There was this boy in our neighbourhood called Bob. What made Bob so unique is that I never saw him on the bus on the way to school. This made me wonder how he got to school. I asked him if he teleported to school using his mind. He replied "no". "Don't you go to school?" I asked him, shortly after he replied "I go to school at home." I thought that having all your education at home is a bit weird and backwards, but I probably shouldn't have been so surprised. Bob was a backwards kind of guy. He even spelt his name backwards.I then tried to think all backwards the way he does, and soon I came up with a brilliant idea; doing everything a normal person does at home at school. Brushing your teeth, getting dressed, going to sleep, eating breakfast and dinner, that sort of thing. I then thought that I should be as imaginative as the advocates of homsechooling, so I named my idea "Schoolhoming". So that's what I want to debate today, whether my idea of schoolhoming is revolutionary, as I currently believe. I thank you.

While your argument is valid there is also increasing evidence to show that the idea of year round schooling is not going to increase student achievements nor will it be an easy adjustment for students, parents and teachers. According to an article in the New York Times, schools that recently instituted a year round school plan did not improve achievement scores or ratings as compared to other schools in the state.

It has been a pleasure debating with you, you've made some excellent and interesting points, thanks. 1. China/U.K. There is no doubt that abolishing exams will reduce stress, and possibly eliminate teen suicides, but I don't think it is the right solution. Homework could be abolished at one of Britain's most prestigious schools to combat teenage depression [1]. This makes a lot of sense because homework doesn't actually help students. Homework is unlike coursework, as it's based on what is taught in class, and doesn't count toward the final grade, so students will feel **unnecessarily tested** especially when given excessive amounts which are compulsively graded. [1] http://news.sky.com... Exams are necessary, so some stress should be expected. A lot more is done to prevent exam stress than stress from homework e.g. teachers tell students when to begin revising, what they need to know, and will give them a mock exam a year earlier to prepare them etc. For this reason I think that people who take psychiatric drugs before exams, do because homework has damaged their confidence. 2. Structure of Exam Exams help students to find ways to learn new things by consolidating notes, doing role play etc, this can help later in life when they need to pass higher level exams or the driving theory test. There is usually an adequate amount of time given to complete exams, even in Maths, but there are some papers like English Literature where you may have to write a story quickly or give a detailed explanation, these should be coursework. Spreading exams out and giving them less weight was just an idea I had to reduce stress, in practice it would probably cause students to learn that rote learning is the only method they need. 3. Ramifications of Abolition Employers are more interested in someone with a low A-level than someone with a high G.C.S.E grade. Therefore coursework should ideally be worth more due to reflecting greater knowledge. However at school, exams have to be worth more due to the amount of time spent in class. The stuff taught in lessons may seem basic but it is the foundation to learning, thus most important. It is important therefore that students feel it is important by testing them on this knowledge so they don't become unruly. 4. Bell Curving Exam papers change every year, they can be harder or easier, the fairest way to reflect someone's ability in my opinion is by grading on a curve. 5. Cheating It is difficult to cheat in an exam. Even if you were going to cheat in an exam it would only be practical to record small things like facts and equations. An understanding of them, and how to apply equations etc is still needed, whereas if you were to cheat in coursework e.g. by having someone do it for you, you wouldn't need to understand anything, which is clearly worse. However both exams and coursework are needed to minimize cheating. The purpose of school is to give students the best education, and I think that exams help with this. Please vote, and leave your comments, many thanks, and thanks again to my opponent. Kirk

School is a very boring place, with few breaks, lot of home and class work, tension of exams, and little appreciation for effort even if you only got a small thing wrong. Pro has to prove that it is easy to get interested in school, while I have to prove it is very difficult.

First off I'd like to say, thank you for debating with me. I have enjoyed our discussion. Here is part of a paper I wrote on the mental health of students. This paragraph pertains to how stress impacts mental health: The byproducts of these hormones are said to have the ability to act as sedatives. When large amounts of stress hormones are released it can contribute to low energy or depression. It"s normal to experience highs and lows from day to day, but an extensive release of byproducts from stress can cause people to be down in the dumps for long periods of time and develop what is known as Major Depression. According to Mills, Reiss and Dombeck, "Symptoms of Major Depression may include: sleep problems; fatigue; appetite changes; feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt; an inability to concentrate or make decisions; agitation, restlessness, and irritability; withdrawal from typical pleasurable activities; and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness." In a research study focusing on the coping mechanisms among students conducted by Deasy et al. states, "coping is defined as cognitive and emotional attempts to deal with the internal or external demands of the encountered situation. It is perceived as a process as opposed to a trait or outcome ". The results of this study showed three prevalent methods that students used to cope with psychological distress: escape/avoidance, support and taking control. The most frequent of these methods was the escaping and avoidance method. This included substance abuse, oversleeping, eating disorders and other detrimental habits. (http://journals.plos.org... http://mhn.centersite.org...) To me creating means that it is the sole perpetrator of anxiety and depression. I am stating that it is a contributor due to the stress that homework and tests can place on students. I am also stating that school is not the only reason why people have anxiety and depression. However, my claim is that the American education system increases stress, therefore, increasing the likelihood for depression and anxiety. Here is another article stating the influence on how tests can take a toll on students. http://brainconnection.brainhq.com... I will have to agree with you on the idea that teaching kids about coping mechanisms and how to deal with mental illnesses should not fall completely on the school. However, most parents don't have the right knowledge and resources to help their kids either. Part of the teaching that I believe schools should offer is helping the students recognize patterns of depression and anxiety so they can get the help they need whether it be from the school or from an outside source. I also think another part of the issue is the stigma place on mental illnesses. This article : http://www.newsweek.com... talks about how college specifically have a negative view on mental health. It talks about how some students who went to seek help ended up getting kicked out of college. This then caused students to be afraid of what might happen and therefore not going and seeking help when needed. You talk about how it is mostly home life that is causing mental illnesses. From that point of view I could see how you could come to the conclusion that its not the school's responsibility to provide the resources to help deal with these mental illnesses. So I must ask then, would you say that the school then have no effect on a students mental health? I would say by nature, because students spend an average of 7 hours a day at school during the school year, it must have some effect on the student. I also feel as if you are taking an all or nothing approach. Are you stating that the only way that our American education system can negatively impact students is if it is the only contributor? Say everyone is working on a group project, and five people work on it and get an A. From what I am getting from your statement " if it isn't only the tests and homework that is causing these issues, then the school is not pushing these students to have these mental illnesses." I would assume with the same logic, you'd be saying only one of the students ("home life') got the A on the project and the other student ("the American education system") did not contribute at all to get the A even though every student worked on it collectively. The impact that the American education system has on students is one a piece of what influences a students mental health. There are many others such as home life as you mentioned and social life. It is that the American education system has a negative impact because of the high levels of stress it places on the students with tests and excessive homework amounts (not the only contributors to stress just 2 of the examples I used). If we were to argue that the American education system is the only factor that impacts students health then I could agree with you that it is not the system at totally at fault. I believe it does play a part of it though.

people dont take notes in class often. Homework is proof for the teachers that you understand the material and are able to excell at it. YOU NEED TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU LEARNED. You have forgoten about people who have strugles learning material. They need an education to. You have failed to refute any of my points and have not developed and argument. You put a 500 charecter limit on this.

Although YouTube may have helpful videos pertaining to the subject a student is looking for, as my opponent has stated, YouTube also may be considered a distraction to students as many students have favorite channels on YouTube, and they may be quickly sidetracked. I know this because of a distinct increase of 13-18 year-olds watching YouTube.

to truthfully say how many people do their homework after memorizing and studying hard on the topic. What we actually do is search the internet or take help from elders. So no point in doing homework

Hello and thanks for your reply. I am not sure if you are familiar with cyber schooling or not, but your point about cyber schooling helping students knowledge with the World Wide Web (Internet) is basically not true in most cases. Yes a student gets a laptop, and yes they use the program, but it is pretty much step by step setup for them. They use only one program and that one program surly cannot teach them much of anything about the web. Now for my argument. I believe there shouldn't be any type of homeschooling/cyber schooling. ( I meant them both in my title and you somewhat addressed homeschooling. Anyways, I believe it messes with a students social life, and all the benefits of going to an actual high school. First off, a college wont think as much of a student who got good grades in a cyber school, as much as they would a student who did it in a regular high school. I think we can all agree on that for obvious reasons. Secondly, the student misses out on all of the clubs and extracurricular activities the schools offer. Those are big things colleges look at. Also just the social impact of being apart of those clubs or sports usually has a great impact on students. (http://www.public.iastate.edu...) Lastly, imagine if everyone went to cyber schools, then teachers would loose jobs. (In an economy that we are vigorously trying to get jobs for people) Many jobs would be lost. No such thing as a school board, all the food companies loose lots of business because the schools wont need to buy any food from them. Janitors loose jobs, lawn care company's, bus company's, lots of company's will suffer. I just see Cyber school having a lot more cons than pros.


Question: Is Assigning Homework Advantageous?

Homework Should Not Be Eliminated

To begin, let's define the key terms: Homework refers to tasks assigned by teachers for students to complete at home, while Eliminated means to officially end an activity or practice. My argument will unfold as follows: in the initial round, I'll argue that homework is advantageous for students in reasonable quantities. In the third round, I'll explain how homework can facilitate shorter school days. Lastly, in the final round, I'll address and counter my opponent's well-intentioned but potentially misguided stance.

To start, homework is beneficial for students when given in moderation. As the opposition, I acknowledge that excessive homework can overwhelm students and cause undue stress. However, when managed appropriately, homework can be highly advantageous. A key benefit is the obvious enhancement of academic performance. A study involving over 18,000 10th-grade students revealed little correlation between the amount of time spent on homework and higher grades in math and science. Yet, there was a positive link between standardized test scores and homework time. This finding underscores the relationship between homework and test performance.

Moreover, homework offers lesser-known benefits for students. Pryor-Johnson highlights four traits that students develop through homework completion: responsibility, time management, perseverance, and self-esteem. Although these qualities cannot be measured by standardized tests, perseverance has become a critical skill for successful students. Regular achievements like finishing homework foster self-esteem, which supports students' mental and physical health. Responsibility and time management are also valuable traits that benefit students long after graduation.

In conclusion, based on the arguments presented and the supporting sources, homework should not be eliminated. It is advantageous for students in controlled amounts. Sources: [1] http://dictionary.cambridge.org... [2] http://dictionary.cambridge.org... [3] http://education.cu-portland.edu... [4] https://www.washingtonpost.com...

You didn't post any arguments so I won't either. I will rather post reasons why this debate is ridiculous and should result in an automamtic vote against CON. 1. This is not a homework help site. Most of us go to school, have homework of our own but don't go around littering the site with random questions. If you need help with homework try this site. answers.yahoo.com/ 2. At the least you could make an attempt to make a few arguments which then I could respond and introduce some arguments of my own.

When you refer to the "American education system", are you talking about the K-12 public education system or other? Also can you clarify on what you mean by mental illnesses and mental health? Assuming, when you state "the amount of homework given", you mean that the amount is to large for students to handle. Even if this were the case, I'd like to argue that over the past ten years schools have in fact added multiple homework clubs, and other opportunities for students to attend and be assisted with their school work. What would you like to see schools implement to assist with the mental health of students?

:P! NOTE: Before We start I will state that i'm okay with home schooling I just don't think it's always the best decision! In some situations you have to homeschool! So, CHEERS! Yes, I'm not saying there aren't pros! =================================Starting Argument=================================I believe that Public Schooling and and Private Schooling give you an oppurtunity that homeschooled kids don't normally get!1. The ability to Socialize.2. Usually better Education.3. The ability to learn life-needed skills. You need to have the ability to have good social skills to run big industrys or be succesfull entrepenuars. I don't beleive that homeschooling gives you the sufficient amount of rescources and knowledge to get a big edge on taday's world! (Not to sound rude! ) They need the ability to socialize to have pretty much any job out there! - Teacher- IT Service- Customer Service Agent- Health Care Provider- ETC!

"After revieweing the source you listed, turns out that they are the cerators of educational learning material and obviously they are going to make claims in the favor of their products."These are all independent studies that arent in any way linked to those who cerate school textbooks, try again. Also it doesnt help to criticize my sources when the only sources you ever give are just people speaking their own opinion...."If you actually think that someone is going to learn much more efficiently with boring text in a book.... I can't say you know what you're saying."So just because I disagree with you, that must mean that I dont know what im talking about? Spectacular conduct pro..."we should instead be shown everything we'll be learning with computer software and everyone can have visual and interactive learning opportunities....."So your alternative to reading boring text in cheap textbooks is to have students read the same kind of boring text on computers and expensive gadgets? Schools are already under a massive budget crunch and can barely afford to give students textbooks made 9 years ago, how the hell are they supposed to afford giving every student their own computer to do the exact same thing a textbook would give them?"I am currently in Gr.12 so I've experienced everything first hand and truth be told, my marks have been much better when its visual and interactive"Opinions =/= Definite facts pro...."Your given source is the supplier of our learning materials and we don't want them to be the ones who benefit from student education"Saying the same false statement over and over also doesnt make it true pro...."you're link also states textbook weaknesses and ways to overcome them, instead overcoming the problem, you should find a mroe efficient way entirly"And how exactly is it 'efficient' to spend money that schools dont have to avoid having a problem that can be easily fixed?http://www.ehow.com...;

For many different reasons, there are parents out there who feel that public, or even private schools, aren"t the right environments for their children to thrive in education. People who feel strongly about this matter often opt to homeschool their kids. Firstly, you make the decision about what your children learn. You have total control over what subjects your children are learning. Secondly, you make the decisions about how your children learn. There is no way a school classroom can tailor its teaching style for each child. Yet each child differs. As a home schooling parent, you can teach your child in the style that best fits him or her, and you can tweak your teaching style as needed. Thirdly, you get to choose the curriculum. You can decide how many books, worksheets, crafts, and so forth that your student does. You can reject or accept aspects of various curricula and/or design your own. And finally, your child gets one-on-one instruction. Time and again, studies have shown that children learn well with individual instruction.

Hello and thanks for your reply. I am not sure if you are familiar with cyber schooling or not, but your point about cyber schooling helping students knowledge with the World Wide Web (Internet) is basically not true in most cases. Yes a student gets a laptop, and yes they use the program, but it is pretty much step by step setup for them. They use only one program and that one program surly cannot teach them much of anything about the web. Now for my argument. I believe there shouldn't be any type of homeschooling/cyber schooling. ( I meant them both in my title and you somewhat addressed homeschooling. Anyways, I believe it messes with a students social life, and all the benefits of going to an actual high school. First off, a college wont think as much of a student who got good grades in a cyber school, as much as they would a student who did it in a regular high school. I think we can all agree on that for obvious reasons. Secondly, the student misses out on all of the clubs and extracurricular activities the schools offer. Those are big things colleges look at. Also just the social impact of being apart of those clubs or sports usually has a great impact on students. (http://www.public.iastate.edu...) Lastly, imagine if everyone went to cyber schools, then teachers would loose jobs. (In an economy that we are vigorously trying to get jobs for people) Many jobs would be lost. No such thing as a school board, all the food companies loose lots of business because the schools wont need to buy any food from them. Janitors loose jobs, lawn care company's, bus company's, lots of company's will suffer. I just see Cyber school having a lot more cons than pros.

people dont take notes in class often. Homework is proof for the teachers that you understand the material and are able to excell at it. YOU NEED TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU LEARNED. You have forgoten about people who have strugles learning material. They need an education to. You have failed to refute any of my points and have not developed and argument. You put a 500 charecter limit on this.

Homework is waste of time and all students hate it. People who enjoy what they are doing are more likely to give their full effort. Homework is not one of those things. People like to do things they enjoy.

I would like to start of this debate by quoting your opening statement "The education system in the USA is actually very laid back compared to the rest of the world to the point that it's laughed at by many for its ridiculousness." That is totally irrelevant to this topic, because it has not much to do with this topic. The education system may be more difficult in other countries, but we are not talking about other countries, we are talking about the irregularity of assignments in my school system. Do you really think you could write an 18 page paper in one night? Most of us probably could do it in one night, but we want a grade better than a D on our paper. (Answering a question in the comments below) We cannot use any tricks to fool our teacher that would make out paper longer. She has been a teacher for a long time, and she would recognize any variation in the size. We are also not allowed to add pictures, if we do, we get points taken off. Any other tricks we try would also end in loss of points. I am offended that you would be so oblivious that you would say that we are just a bunch of lazy kids who want people to do everything for them. Most of us are straight A students, and we actually care about our grades compared to people who just do it all in one night. I'm sure many of us would be quite upset if someone wrote it for us. "You have such a sense of entitlement, but you haven't earned such." Interesting you would say that, its almost as you are contradicting yourself. You are actually the one with the sense of entitlement my friend, for you think you can just say that the youths of the USA are lazy and spoiled, without experiencing what we are going through. Very stereotypical.

You may say that students should have after school jobs right, well as being a student in high school in modern day society, the schooling is getting harder and harder, we have a lot of homework, and usually most of the time the age for a job is not for 15 years or younger so most students can't get a job. Now there is the homework task, it is hard to have homework form the teachers in school, but add to that about 1/3 of the students are in either AP or Honors classes, the homework would be so much harder. So trying to juggle a job and all the homework would have each of the students up very late and may have a chance to fail each of the classes. The students like me should finish high school first then get a part time job so we can pay for college.


Question: Is Assigning Homework Advantageous?

Homework doesn't serve its intended purpose. To honestly assess how many students do their homework after thoroughly memorizing and studying the subject matter. What we actually do is look up answers online or seek assistance from older family members. Therefore, there's no real benefit to doing homework.

I do agree with you. But my main point is that internet should be used for homework and research but i mean for games anf stuff the students can do that at home. Plus they can also do their homework and research at home too.

You didn't post any arguments so I won't either. I will rather post reasons why this debate is ridiculous and should result in an automamtic vote against CON. 1. This is not a homework help site. Most of us go to school, have homework of our own but don't go around littering the site with random questions. If you need help with homework try this site. answers.yahoo.com/ 2. At the least you could make an attempt to make a few arguments which then I could respond and introduce some arguments of my own.

In my high school and I am sure others, service learning hours are something forced upon us students. Unlike homework however, service learning is a requirement to graduate, we need around 200 hours of community service, services are presented to us in and out of school. In school we are given homework projects such as finding out how many hazardous materials are in our house. Out of school a "Teen Court" is provided and we are to sit as the jury. Granted they give us ways to get these hours, it is not enough, homework projects are worth a measly 5 hours and are only given twice a year, the teen court is worth about 10-15 hours a visit but some students simply cannot make the trip to the court, they dont have the time or way to get there. This forces students to use their free time to "help out". It's wrong to force students to perform community service, some students simply do not have the time to get these hours because they are bogged down enough as is with school work. Students fail to graduate not based on poor academics but simply because they didn't have the needed number of hours. Service learning is not a legitamate academic program and should not be included as a requirment for graduation.

"True, you are free to choose the curriculum taught to your child, BUT the same CORE curriculum is taught whether it be home school or public school. Still being free to choose your schedule doesn't really mean anything since the parent will still set a schedule for the child, just with different hours."Yes but in home school you get taught the same core. Also they get better test scores in those core curriculums: In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released. It was entitled, "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America." The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects. A significant finding when analyzing the data for 8th graders was the evidence that homeschoolers who are homeschooled two or more years score substantially higher than students who have been homeschooled one year or less. The new homeschoolers were scoring on the average in the 59th percentile compared to students homeschooled the last two or more years who scored between 86th and 92nd percentile. [1]So bot teach the curriculum, and on average homeschooling does it better. "If you have the right teachers teaching you, then public school could be better for the child. What if the parent doesn't know English that well?"All of these are what if questions, Home schooling out preforms public schools in reading, (50% in public ve 65-75 in hpmeschool) So once again, on average the home schooling method trums a public school in all subjects, well maybe except art ad such, but your argument here doesnt work because the numbers are against you. Also the numbers here can be found in my second source. "I will agree home school can be more educational, BUT does harm by sheltering the child and not letting them experience what real life is"False! A study of adults who were home educated found that none were unemployed and none were on welfare, 94% said home education prepared them to be independent persons, 79% said it helped them interact with individuals from different levels of society, and they strongly supported the home education method. [2]So in the job world t benifits to be homeschooled, and 79% of them say it helps them interact with others. So most homeschooling helps kids larn to interect (I do not know how) and they can experience the 'real world', So facts here also trump your argument. Also home schooling is cheaperAnother obstacle that seems to be overcome in homeschooling is the need to spend a great deal of money in order to have a good education. In Strengths of Their Own, Dr. Ray found the average cost per homeschool student is $546 while the average cost per public school student is $5,325. Yet the homeschool children in this study averaged in 85th percentile while the public school students averaged in the 50th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests. [1]So home schools are cheaper, and you get better scores on average, best of both worlds, cheap ad good. Saves the taxpayer money:Home education families are not dependent on public, tax-funded resources - they likely save American taxpayers over $10 billion per year. [2]So overall they save 10 billion dollars a year in tax money for americans, so thank them. Conlusion: 1. kids learn better in home schooling, in every subject, which includes the core curriculum. 2. Helps kids interact with others when they are an adult, I do not know how but facts are facts. 3. It is cheaper4. It saves tax dollars5. Kids in homeschools get a better life compared to those that did public schooling, i.e. the non unemployed and none on wellfare statistic. I await your response. :)http://www.hslda.org... [1]http://www.nheri.org... [2]

But according to a website: ( www.independent.co.uk/news/warning-homework-can-harm-your-child-1198820.html ) States that homework is not a good thing. It also states in there that a reporter told "Is homework really necessary? "

:P! NOTE: Before We start I will state that i'm okay with home schooling I just don't think it's always the best decision! In some situations you have to homeschool! So, CHEERS! Yes, I'm not saying there aren't pros! =================================Starting Argument=================================I believe that Public Schooling and and Private Schooling give you an oppurtunity that homeschooled kids don't normally get!1. The ability to Socialize.2. Usually better Education.3. The ability to learn life-needed skills. You need to have the ability to have good social skills to run big industrys or be succesfull entrepenuars. I don't beleive that homeschooling gives you the sufficient amount of rescources and knowledge to get a big edge on taday's world! (Not to sound rude! ) They need the ability to socialize to have pretty much any job out there! - Teacher- IT Service- Customer Service Agent- Health Care Provider- ETC!

Thank you. Nice to be debating you too! Opening Arguments Only!!!!! Whether you home school your kids or put them in a government provided (public) school is an option you as a parent may decide as one of our precious freedoms that we as Americans have. How do you decide on which environment is better for your children to grow up in? Here are some interesting facts I have found when researching home school.•Children who are home schooled "... may be more socially mature and have better leadership skills than other children ..." - Richard G. Medlin, Ph.D. (NHERI)•Recent studies demonstrate that 98% of home taught children are involved in two or more social/community beyond the home each week, including such things as 4-H, Bible Clubs, Scouts, Ballet Classes, Music Lessons, Sports, Field Trips and Sunday School.•The Galloway-Sutton Study, which examines five success indicators, showed home schooled children (with the exception of the psychomotor) excelling above other students in the academic, cognitive, spiritual and affective-social categories.•On average, home school students, grades 1–4, perform one grade level above their public and private school counterparts. The achievement gap grows in grade 5; by 8th grade the average home school student performs four grades higher than the national average. (SADC)•Students who have been home schooled their entire academic lives have the highest scholastic achievement. The difference is more pronounced during the higher grades; students who home school throughout high school continue to flourish while in that environment. (SADC)•Kate Grossman, Chicago Sun-Times reported noted, "The number of homeschoolers receiving National Merit Scholarships has increased more than 500 percent: from 21 in 1995 to 129 in 2003." (HSLDA)Not only does home school help a child succeed socially and academically but it also provides them with a secure stable educational environment and does not force them to face peer pressure, sex, drugs, bullies, and all other immoral things the secular world has to often. Although they may face it in the future, It is proved that if faced with these these things while the child is still ageing, they are almost 6 times as likely to give in as if they were faced with it as an adult.Home school gives parents more say in how their children grow up, and what kinds of things they are exposed to. It also gives more Religious Freedom. Many families feel their religious and spiritual beliefs are an important part of who they are. Home schooling provides the opportunity for parents to incorporate their beliefs into their daily lives.Well-Rested Kids. As more and more studies are illustrating, sleep is vital to the emotional and physical well-being of kids, especially teens and preteens. The effects of early morning classes can be devastating to many children, especially those who are not morning people. After realizing that lack of sleep and hours of busywork often left her boy in a zombie-like stupor, Haya has decided to try home schooling: "My oldest (age 13), is up at 6:30 in order to catch the bus at 7:15 and start school at 7:30. He comes home at 3:00 and does homework — sometimes until midnight. He's often exhausted. I'm hoping that when we home school next year, the dark circles under his eyes will disappear and his real personality will emerge again."This also provides parents with a better schedule as they don't have to work around the public school schedule and are free to go on vacation or go to public places during the week where otherwise it would be prohibited or discouraged.Hopefully, in my argument I have disproved the false theories that home schooled children lack academic and social skills and home schooling is far fetched for the average family.I am interested in Cons point of view. Remember this round is only for opening arguments. You may rebuttal in the next round. Thank You!!!!

may I point out that homework is bad so god is bad. we know this god created everything so he created homework humans and your mum

Parents can control what they want their children to learn and WHEN they learn it, if your child is not mature enough to learn a subject (i.e. Biology) the tutor will not teach biology until further instructions from the parents. In a class, there are lots of children (30-40 where I live) Since the child is not receiving individual attention, he/she will tend to get bored and lose interest in learning. In home-schooling, that does not happen, the child is given individual attention and it makes learning fun and interesting. Another advantage is taking vacations whenever you feel like it, and there's no catching up to do. In public schools, you can't take a vacation or you are going to miss so much in school.

Good afternoon. In today's case, I shall prove beyond the notion of a doubt that computers are more beneficial to education than books. Let us start by examining a few crucial definitions which I feel may present a problem in this debate (which are both provided by Merriam Webster's dictionary): Definition 1: Beneficial: 1 : conferring benefits : conducive to personal or social well-being 2 : receiving or entitling one to receive advantage, use, or benefit Definition 2: Education: 1 a: the action or process of educating or of being educated; also : a stage of such a process b: the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process 2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools. Observation: One must note that education isn't merely limited to schools; one can be educated without being involved with a formal institution. Furthermore, one is being educated when they are inheriting knowledge and developing mentally (as suggested by the definition). Any action which causes individuals to inherit knowledge and develop mentally is to be considered education during this debate. Onto to my arguments: CONTENTION 1) COMPUTERS HAVE THE INTERNET: a) Research: With it, students (or people who just wish to educate themselves) have been able to speedily gather information they wanted at their own leisure; one merely needs type in a brief description of the information (on a search engine or online database) which they need and in no time, they will have access to it. It is far more time consuming to go to a physical library, look for books that may POSSIBLY help out in research, and spend hours searching for pieces of information inside the countless pages of books. Clearly, when comparing both methods of research, one has the bigger advantage in using the Internet via computer. b) Interactivity: When using the Internet via computer, one has the ability to educate themselves by carrying out thought provoking discussions/debates with other individuals. This website is proof of that. Furthermore, online/offline games such as online/offline chess and checkers serve as means of developing oneself mentally as well as giving one knowledge of how to think tactically, hence are a means of education. This is yet another advantage which computers have other books as actions like these cannot even be performed via books. c) Films: Through using the Internet, one has the ability to watch entire films, as well as listen to radio clips. This is highly beneficial as there are many education films and radio clips. In fact, many of these are difficult to locate in the physical world, much less impossible to locate inside a book. Once more, a clear advantage which makes computers more beneficial to education than books. d) Updates: Whereas books can have their information updated every year or decade, Internet authors don't have to go through all the trouble of publishing and such and can update their information instantly. Thus, there is the potential for more accurate information when using the Internet via computer. e) Institutionalized classes (especially for colleges) can be taught via Internet, via computer. Many education institutions have classes that are strictly conducted through the Internet. This way, students who cannot afford to make it to the physical classes at the usual scheduled times or individuals who are disabled have a much easier time at attending class and being educated. Not that it needs to be said, but books possess no such advantage. Basically, the Internet provides significant advantages which books cannot even come close to reproducing or competing with when it comes to education. CONTENTION 2) COMPUTERS CAN STORE MORE INFORMATION THAN BOOKS: Whereas it may seem long for a book to possess thousands of pages, one computer has access to (and can hold) an exponential amount of information (in comparison). In fact, with the Internet, one computer can be more beneficial than one billion books combined. CONTENTION 3) DVD CAPABILITIES: One can purchase educational DVDs and watch them on their computer. This differs from previous film point as I was referring to films which had to be found on the Internet. In any case, yet another advantage which computers have over books when it comes to education. CONTENTION 4) CALCULATOR FUNCTIONS: Most computers come with Calculator software. As real world calculators benefit math students and mathematicians through making it easier and less time consuming to solve complex equations, computer calculators can do the same. Once more, and advantage which one doesn't have with a book. CONTENTION 5) WORD PROCESSOR: Through using a computer, one can work on their writing skills (hence educate themselves) a seemingly infinite number of times through using a word processor (whether it be Word pad, notepad, Microsoft word, etc). This can also benefit students who need to type out essays. Can this be done through a book? Of course not. For these reasons, a computer is obviously more beneficial to education than a book is (especially when it comes to self-education). We must note that although books were great educational tools of the past, they are (for the most post) vastly outdated when compared to the educational capabilities of a computer. Of course, there are more advantages which a computer has over a book, but I feel no need to mention them (not just because I've listed the primary advantages) as I guarantee you that my opponent will unknowingly end up exposing these other advantages when he presents his case. I now stand ready for CON's case/rebuttal.


Question: Is Assigning Homework Advantageous?

This House Believes Homework is Ineffective in Modern Society

Essentially, compelling students to tackle assignments after enduring a taxing day at school and participating in various activities is counterproductive. Teachers should be responsible for imparting knowledge in the classroom rather than expecting students to learn independently. This approach impedes children from leading balanced lifestyles, compromising their sleep and engagement in activities promoting physical health. How can a student be expected to dedicate three to four hours to homework, study for numerous exams, engage in sports, contribute to the community, consume nutritious meals, and secure adequate sleep, all within a single day? It's simply unfeasible.

The stress homework imposes on students is disproportionate, especially considering the immense pressure they already face to excel academically, secure college admission, and maintain social relationships. Homework is unnecessary, as it merely adds to the workload students already shoulder during school hours. Upon returning home, children yearn for relaxation, socializing, or engaging in hobbies. The amount of time spent at school performing tasks, excluding breaks, is already substantial. Homework is irrelevant to children's needs, as indicated by a survey conducted at school, which revealed that the majority of students advocate for its elimination due to the stress and procrastination it induces.

Homework is a hindrance to family time. According to the research in "Homework Should be Banned," schools have expanded from a 9-to-3 schedule with an hour for recess and lunch to an 8:40-to-3:15 schedule with only 30 minutes for lunch and recess. This quote underscores the excessiveness of homework. Moreover, countries renowned for academic excellence, such as Finland and Japan, do not assign homework. We can achieve similar academic success without burdening students with assignments. This demonstrates the lack of academic benefits associated with homework.

As a student, I arrive home from school between 4:30 and 5:00 PM and often engage in homework until 8:30 PM almost every night. It's overwhelming to manage seven classes with homework in each, in addition to preparing for exams. I wake up at 5:30 AM to catch the bus at 6:40 AM, resulting in sleep deprivation due to homework and studying for two or three tests the following day. Eliminating homework could potentially enhance test scores, as students would have more time to study and prepare, rather than juggling assignments across multiple subjects.

One rationale for abolishing homework is its excessive nature. Schools have expanded, rendering homework unnecessary

Unlike my other arguments, my round 4 statements will be brief and straight to the point. On the usage of stem programs:Due to the fact that the pro truly didn't clarify how these programs are helpful there is nothing to debate on this topic on getting Access to information: as i have stated earlier technology can be useful for research but can also be a distraction to many students. So on this topic i believe that it would be better to research from home. Increase the popularity of distance learning: technology can be helpful for students to apply for colleges and scholarships but there would be no time during school for students to do these task(unless a new class was made). This would be a task best meant for home where there is much more time. Lastly i would like to say that although using technology in school would be a much more enjoyable for students, the amount of students that would be off task would outweigh the amount of students that would benefit. With this i will bring my final argument to an end, thanking the pro for a good debate.

Hi. This is a 3-round, 72 hour, 10,000 word limit polite conversation whether homeschooling is beneficial or not. If you believe homeschooling is detrimental, then I want to hear why. If you've been around enough, you know how this goes. For the new guys, welcome, and the pattern is traditionally "The first round is the challenge and acceptance, the second round consists of the main arguments, and everything else after that is rebuttals." This is my observation from this very site. If it is done differently for anyone else here, no problem.

Thank you for expressing your opinion and thought about self-learning and your argument was a splendid one, no doubt.Now I would like to state my argument about self-learning and I will also try to make you understand that, your opinion was a little wrong. Firstly, I want to show your mistake, you said that without academic education one, may get an undisciplined and wrong education. Yes, I agree with your information but I didn't say that, a person who is trying to make himself educated can't go to an academic institution, I meant by my argument that, one can be properly educated by possessing the method of self-learning while going to an academic educational institute like normal students. You may have a misunderstanding about my argument or unclear conception about my thought. I am saying that, one should possess the method my 'so called' self learning besides going to an institution. Because, in this modern era, academic education is a must for all people, rich or poor. And academic learning is helpful and is quite like an assistant to 'self learning'. So, I am trying to explain that I am not avoiding academic education at all. I'll mention some advances of self-learning.

Thats why there are lots of different resources available online. When one source isn't reliable you can go to another of the over 1,000,000 available sources online. Also what about online schools where you can sit at home while still going to a 7 hour school day. Kids get up at 6:00 every week day and go to school, but with online education you get too sleep in for a while and you can take your time until your online lesson starts. Even if you go to school while using a laptop kids enjoy it more then a text book. Textbooks are VERY heavy and can hurt your back, but if you have a laptop you have more information for less weight. Also what about the horrible hand writing that some kids have. You wont need to write anymore when you have a laptop, Plus its faster to type then write. You wont have the risk of loosing any important papers because you can just save them in a file. :D

You have some good solid arguments and make a fabulous debater! 1. This may be true but it still shows the achievement most of the times 2. Your first part may be true but your second part was getting off topic with my statement. 3. That dosent make sense, because the teacher HAS to make sure that the students know what they need to know. 4. I am sorry to say this, but that's life, stress, we all have to deal with it to reach our goals. 5. You should have taken the second part from 1# and make it 5# 6. This statement dosent make any sense. Children have to be able to take a test and even though it may be stressful, it dosent matter in the long run. "Same sources as last time"

as a student myself I have disagree with my opponent due to the fact that I have ask many educated individuals on what reason was service learning hours has been in any from useful? their so-called educated answer was that students just have to do it so they can graduate. Me personality I believe that's a load of BS. I agree that the info my opponent presented is indeed true but a percent of students are still in school because of not having all of their service learning hours. Some refuse to even get the hours due believing that unwilling serving the community for free is some how suppose to help them in school which makes since because who in there right mind would willing to do free manual labor. True I am speaking for my personal experience and the actions of others but service learning hours has NEVER not one bit was need. Last year 3,030,000 students dropped out of school and 8,300 a day. In 2013 the dropout rate was 7.9 but only decreasing by .2 every year. http://www.statisticbrain.com...

I think homework in schools should be optional because homework is a leading cause of stress in teens and tweens, and this generation is more stressed over school than the last. Also, I know homework is made for extra help, but what if students don't need that extra help? Should they risk failing school for not needing extra help? They come to school to learn, and most would enjoy that, but the homework is too much. it should at least be optional.

Thanks for the conformation. Firstly, the pro dominant problem with this method of homeschooling comes with homeschooling on a school day. Around elementary level a child is expected to attend around 6-7 hours of schooling per day, with homework then added on top of that (expected to be 30 - 60 mins per night). Do you not think then adding 2-3 hours of home tutoring on top of this would not be extremely overworking the child? Adding up to 9-10 hours per day of schooling this would allow little free time, restricting the child's ability to attend clubs and extra curricular activities. This all seems a bit much, especially at elementary level.

School is a very boring place, with few breaks, lot of home and class work, tension of exams, and little appreciation for effort even if you only got a small thing wrong. Pro has to prove that it is easy to get interested in school, while I have to prove it is very difficult.

Sad to see a closing round =( I had a lot of fun with this =) "My opponent says homeschooled children are taught the same core curriculum. If you look at my source, then you will see that weeding a vegetable garden can be considered a science lesson and walking a dog can be a nature experiment. Seriously? You say to me this is core curriculum? To me it is almost laughable. "Well since they are doing better on national standerdize tests on all subjects, then then be learning more. " When I stated my source and told my opponent that weeding is a science lesson and walking a dog is a nature experiment his only argument was that "Well since they are doing better on national standerdize tests on all subjects, then then be learning more. " As I said before tests are self-selective and I do not believe he has tried to deny that it is a self-selected test and he also stated it is mandatory for them to take the SAT test. That is true, but only if you are planning on going to college =). "Yes true, but it is mandatory to take the SAT's, and those tests where considered in the studies above. Also most kids take ERB's or the EXPLORE tests. And they still get better scores. So the ones take it do better, and just because a parent choses doesnt deny the valididy of the studies. Just because you have an option doesnt mean that the studies are flawed. And also that should hurt your case, since there are less kids than it would be harder to get a good average, so these kids must be smarter. " Most take ERB's or EXPLORE tests? I didn't find anything that said homeschooled children take this test. Also, that test is for private schools, I think? We are talking about public vs homeschool, so a private school test is irrelevant to our debate =). But I'll go on what you say and think that homeschooled children do take these tests. I have pointed out and you also have point out, that the tests are self-selecting. You try to tell me that the parents choosing to opt out of these tests don't hurt the validity of the studies? And that this hurts my case since less homeschooled children would make it harder to get a good average? It is time for a Math lesson my young friend =) Let me show you how by using a baseball team's average pay (I choose baseball since it is popular in America XD). If a baseball team has 25 players, with the highest paid player making $30 million, the next highest player making $20 million, and the other 23 players each making $500,000, the average is $2,460,000. But since 23 of the players make only $500,000, that can be misleading. Now, you tell me how less homeschooled children's scores hurt me? The way I see it, if you have a smaller number of very intelligent children taking a test instead of all the kids, then you will produce a greater average =). So, again your whole argument is based on test scores that are self-selecting, which you even stated as true. So tests are flawed due to the total number of homeschoolers are unknown and being able to refuse to take the tests. " "Also, I would like to point out, like I mentioned above, that typically a homeschool student belongs to a family that have obtained bachelor degrees and masters; by law, the only qualification a parent or guardian needs is a high school diploma or GED at best. " Hey, wait a second, you are critizising the teachers in home schools. Yet it seems as though this doesnt matter much ecause the kids are doing better in life, socially (yu didneven refute that) and on standardised tests. So if the teachers in homeschools are so bad, why are their stidents doing better? Just ask thet to yourself. " Actually, I'm only showing you that the qualifications for homeschooling your child is very low and that if every parent decided to homeschool their kids then the end result would be bad. I would think kids from rich families would have a better social life, lol, their rich! "Do you need every single person? Many stidies that are accurite only have a smalle of the population, yet they are accurute. Also the self-selection still means nothing. Most of the homes and the public schoolers are average intelegence, you needn't be smart to do well on those tests, yet one must be. .. educated. So according to this on average a home schooler is smarter. Self-selection means nothing. You think only smart homeschoolers get forced to do it, but that is false, this argument to has some flaws. " I never said smart homeschoolers get "forced" to do anything. Don't be silly. I merely showed that parents with kids that do exceptionally well are more inclined to let their children take these tests =). Self-selecting means everything, but you are too young and inexperienced to see that. You say you hope to be a politician, correct? Look at polls that MSM has been doing on the republican candidate, Ron Paul. There you will see if you limit the polls to a certain few just like with these tests, then you will get the desired results =) "Well, heres the thing, they do save every one money, not just you, ebcaus of taxes. Many people get taxed, so saving 10 billion dollars a year means you save someone somwhere in america some money. So you save your money, and someone elses. Also you claim that some people t a free ride, which is true, but the majority of taxpaers in america pay these taxes. " Taxes will be paid whether it's for a child going to school or a man going to prison. And you did not argue that it is only cheaper to the parent that is homeschooling the child depending on the methods they choose to use to educate that child, so it could turn out MORE expensive =) "1. This is contradictory to your statement above, you are saying that most people that h their kids in homeschool are smart and educated, but up their you said they werent. So you contradicted yourself. Also if they are highly educted and wealthy than the kids are in good hands. 2. Jus because people are rich and smart means what their k does in the futere? I am in an upper class family, and my parentsnew other rich people when they where young, and some of them are poor, drugies, and murderers. So the class doesnt matteu do later in life, look at bill gates, started poor, and is now rich. The same can happen to rich people, started rich, ended poor. So this argument is flawed. " My point is that as a whole, homeschooling is NOT the right chose for the majority of children. If you are rich and have the available resources; then yes, it could be better, but let's face it, most Americans are poor these days and so public school is going to be able to provide a better education to the child. In your last statement, are you trying to say teachers do poor jobs? ? I have no idea what you wanted me to understand from that, so I will not comment. Final conclusion: A majority of my opponents argument was based around test scores, which I think I proven is very flawed and my example further in forces that it can be misleading and he has agreed that these tests are self-selecting for the homeschooled children. He said it is cheaper to homeschool a child. He did not deny that it is only cheaper depending on the methods one chooses to educate the child; and so, it could prove more expensive to homeschool. He said it gives taxpayers a break, but I have shown you get educational credits on your taxes at the end of the year and as I said, taxes will be paid out whether it is for a child in public school or a person in prison. When I told you that people with a GED probably dropped out of school due to the fact that they lacked the interest, drugs, alcohol, pregnancy to complete traditional schooling, it was to show you that since the qualifications to be a homeschool parent where low could subject the child to a poor education and I used the "weeding could be considered a science lesson and walking a dog could be a nature experiment" to show that. My argument was homeschooling is not for the majority, which I have proven.