Ban Homework by Ella

Ban Homework by Ella - September 2023 Scholarship Essay

If I had the authority to change my school in a positive way, I would create a policy banning homework. Calls to end homework are nothing new, especially among students. I find myself among those who hate homework, and in the following essay, I will explain why I would ban homework.

My first point is that students have lives outside of school. Home should be a place to rest, not to work. Students spend seven hours a day at school, and deserve time to relax and engage in their personal hobbies. Students have personal interests too. As an example, I love writing and 3d modeling. I wish I could spend more time engaging in these hobbies, but the ever present threat of homework means I can't work on my projects as often as I'd like. No homework would mean more personal time.

As a bonus, students having more free time outside of school and homework would mean more extracurricular and better rounded students. Colleges love students who engage in activities outside of school. Surely the people in charge would love to boost students' college applications, right?

My next point is that homework should not provide any learning opportunity. If the curriculum is properly being taught in class, then there is no need to spend extra time at home learning. If the allotted class time is not enough to cover the curriculum, then the curriculum needs to be revised.

Similarly to my last point, mandatory practice hurts students who can learn quickly. Some students may require more practice in some skills than others. There's nothing wrong with that, I myself often find myself needing to review my history notes. However, when it comes to math, I pick it up quickly. The extra practice does nothing more than waste time for me. I could use that time instead to review history and other subjects I struggle in.

All in all, my change to the school would be to ban homework. Students would have more time to engage in personal interests (that means better college admissions!), relax, and study more efficiently. There's plenty of benefits, and this is the one change I would make to the school. Ban homework.