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Most students would rather do anything else than sit down and work on homework.
Whether it’s frustrating math problems or tedious research papers, homework often feels like the ultimate school punishment. But as much as we all love to gripe about it, the reality is that homework plays a crucial role in our education.
One of the main reasons homework is necessary is because it helps combat something called the forgetting curve, a concept first explored by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. It illustrates how we tend to forget information we learn very quickly after the fact if it isn’t reinforced.
You’ve probably experienced this: you learn something new in class, but by the next day, it’s already slipping out of your memory.
That’s the forgetting curve at work — unfortunately, our brains naturally forget information over time if it’s not revisited. Homework is like your personal refresher course, helping you retain what you’ve learned.
Research shows that frequent homework assignments — even if they’re relatively small — do an incredible job of counteracting the forgetting curve. The more you engage with the material, especially soon after initially learning it, the stronger of a connection you’ll form.
This matters because homework can improve the tedious, stressful cycle of learning that many of us have become accustomed to.
You know the drill: you might understand the material in class initially, but by the time the next test rolls around, only a fraction of that understanding remains. Ultimately, you’ve got to spend an uncomfortable amount of time relearning information in the form of late-night study sessions and cramming.
The real kicker is that you essentially repeat the same process of learning and forgetting that got you there. Chronic crammers like myself can attest that even if a horrific test grade is successfully evaded in the short-term, most of the information is long gone within a few days.
Instead of doing this to yourself, embracing the more frequent homework grind is more efficient and effective for your academic goals.
Just like practicing a sport or a musical instrument, the best way to get better is through consistent and frequent repetitions over a length of time. While tedious, accepting this will likely shave hours and effort off your studying sessions and yield prettier results.
Of course, homework isn’t unpopular amongst students for no reason.
For one, time management can be tough.
Between school, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs and everything else going on in life, it often feels like there’s no time for anything else. For a lot of students, a heavy homework load can lead to burnout and diminished passion for learning.
Additionally, it becomes difficult to argue homework’s effectiveness when students don’t have access to the resources or support they need outside of school.
If you’re already struggling to understand a lesson or grasp critical concepts, then an array of homework problems about it may very well be a frustrating, demotivating loop more than anything.
Despite these drawbacks, however, homework still holds immense when done right. In our education system, it’s one of the easiest ways to learn responsibility.
When you’re handed an assignment, you’re forced to learn how to manage your time and juggle multiple priorities — skills that are essential throughout life.
When done thoughtfully and in moderation, it promotes deeper learning. By revisiting concepts at home, you reinforce material you already learned and get closer to mastering that information. Most of the time, it’s not just busywork; it’s an important part of the learning process.
Of course, much of the frustration surrounding homework is how dependent it is on your teacher. How much work you’re given is largely outside of your control; that fact will inevitably lead to frustration at times.
In such situations, talking it out with your teacher is your best bet. In my experience at Van Nuys High School at least, most teachers are more than willing to hear you out and work alongside you to enhance your education.
In the end, while homework can be stressful and tedious, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And honestly, it shouldn’t. Homework reinforces lessons, boosts memory retention and gives students the chance to master the material.
So, the next time you feel frustration bubbling up over another homework assignment, take a deep breath. It may not be the most exciting part of your day, but in our lives as full-time students, it’s certainly an important one.
