Vee Gani, chairperson for the Parents Association in KwaZulu-Natal.
Image: Motshwari Mofokeng Independent Newspapers
PARENTS are increasingly concerned about the growing amounts of homework assigned to their children, leading to stress and anxiety. Teachers and parents share their perspectives on the impact of excessive homework on pupils' well-being.
Concerned parents said their children returned home daily from school with increased amounts of homework, leaving them with no time to relax.
One parent said her child was overwhelmed with the quantity of homework and could not complete the daily tasks.
“My daughter waits for her dad and I to come home to help her. By the time she's finished with her homework, her hands are cramping and she often bursts out crying from exhaustion. She also gets stressed if her work is not completed because she is afraid of being reprimanded by her teachers.
“My husband and I work full-time jobs. By the time we return home, we are exhausted. It becomes difficult to assist the children with their homework. Especially my primary school daughter who receives too much homework for such a young child,” said the concerned mother.
Dawood Marther, a parent and a teacher, said even though he noted the excessive amount of homework his children brought home, he still sympathised with teachers.
“I can’t fully fault the teachers, who receive direction from the Department of Education to meet curriculum deadlines. Unfortunately we are in a generation where our children complain and instead of compromising, we give in to their complaints.
“As parents we need to deal with our children and not let them guilt us into feeling bad for them. Yes, we have seen an increase in homework but we need to teach our children time management. We need to motivate them to have schedules in order not to get overwhelmed. I know my children feel overwhelmed at times but they work through it because the homework has to be done,” said Mather.
Retired teacher, Kumseela Naidoo, who had been in the profession for 33 years, said she saw the amount of homework increase year on year.
“There is an enormous amount of homework prescribed. I certainly think that it is too much for pupils. It has taken away valuable play time when kids should be running around and playing outside.
“Parents nowadays talk of hours of complicated homework, which requires a skill set far beyond the child’s ability. It is also becoming a challenge for parents who have to try their hand at wood work, art, choreography and maths,” said Naidoo.
She believed homework should be done in school and the syllabus should be designed accordingly so it could allow children to be free at home.
“In this way, when pupils get projects and self-study assignments it would be met with a degree of enthusiasm. So much homework is given because the syllabus is vast and there is not enough time to finish all the work in class," she said.
Naidoo said pupils in senior grades needed to be assigned self-study tasks to empower them to work independently while junior grades should have homework in moderation.
“I certainly feel bad for pupils who are struggling with busy school days, after school extra murals, extra tuition, tests, assignments and hours of homework. I wish we could look at ways for the syllabus to be consolidated within school hours. Pupils will have the rest of their adult lives to meet deadlines so let's cut them some slack now,” said Naidoo.
Kumseela Naidoo.
Image: Supplied
Retired principal, Kola Govender, who has 41 years of experience under his belt, said homework had increased but that was the ruling of the DoE.
“The DoE has prescribed time allocated for homework in different subjects for primary and high school. More time is allowed, especially in languages and mathematics compared to other subjects. Schools have a homework timetable with a number of sessions that each subject should be allocated.
“Schools normally have a homework timetable for the week which lays down for each day the subjects that homework is allowed as well as time dedicated to each subject. Teachers are normally guided by this timetable in terms of allocation of homework during the week. Sometimes it may be exceeded by the demands of the subject. Generally English and mathematics are allocated more time,” said Govender.
He said some of the newly qualified teachers relied on the homework tasks only to do syllabus coverage, sometimes without teaching the section.
“This is to justify syllabus coverage and thus puts the pupils at a disadvantage. This is unacceptable. Several parents complained about the abnormal volume of homework given to pupils. Certain cases were not really the teachers fault.
“Homework is given to consolidate work done or to prepare for a new section. A well prepared teacher balances the homework in his or her subject. Giving homework to pupils without reviewing the work is futile . Therefore no teacher should give homework in excess,” he said.
Govender said too much homework was not necessary if your teaching was effective in the classroom.
“Homework should not be punitive but purposeful. The quantity is not as important as the quality of the homework. Pupils who are diligent sometimes feel overwhelmed by the volume of work given. It is a fact that not all teachers are well planned in the execution of the curriculum requirements. When teachers realize that they are behind with syllabus coverage, that's when pupils are put under pressure and feel stressed.
“Pupils must not be given too much homework so that they develop a negative attitude. Homework must motivate the students to go the extra mile because of the intrinsic motivation that the work creates. Homework should be like a drug that they look forward to rather than a medicine that they want to avoid,” he said.
Govender shared the same sentiment as Marther, in that pupils defaulted with their homework because parental supervision was poor.
“Thus the quality of learning is being compromised. Homework prepares pupils for independent study which is critical when they get to the senior phase of school and even more important during the tertiary studies,” said Govender.
Kola Govender.
Image: Supplied
Naveen Bullyraj, a teacher for the past 10 years, said there was no prescribed amount of homework set out by the DoE.
“However, it is suggested that teachers need to test and retest the work taught in class. Activities conducted in class must be done, and due to the different rate of learning for pupils, whatever is not completed in class must be done as homework. This does pile up as pupils tend to waste time in class and are easily distracted. They are then forced to take the work home.
“As an English teacher, I plan my lessons for 55 minute periods, with teaching new content for 30 minutes and then allowing application or activities for 25 minutes,” said Bullyraj.
“The other reality is that there is also not much parental supervision and many parents are in the dark about what their children need to do. I know this because I write comments in their books which require parent supervision/ acknowledgment. It is never acknowledged by parents. This tells me that parents know very little to nothing about what children are required to do,” he said.
Bullyraj said homework gave many pupils anxiety and stress, resulting in many not completing the required tasks.
However, there are many pupils who strive for academic excellence through proper planning, preparation and working from study/homework time tables.
“I believe that pupils make too many excuses for incomplete work and there are little or no consequences for this. The sad reality is whether the hmework is completed or incomplete all we can do is notify the parent and carry on with the lesson. The worst case scenario is to keep them in detention. Ultimately the pupil is responsible for whether or not they complete the task or not.
“Homework is not punishment it never was and it never will be considered punishment, in fact it is a method of strengthening the child's learning abilities,” he added.
Vee Gani, chairman of the KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association, said they had received complaints from parents regarding the increased amounts of homework.
“The complaints are with regard to the volume of homework. In a school environment, you have various subjects designed around the prescribed curriculum.
“We need to understand that there is a short time frame in class to teach concepts and the teachers are only allowed a certain amount of lessons to finish sections. The work which is not completed in class is homework.
“However, schools should have a schedule in place to help balance the subjects daily so teachers know how much homework has already been given. This will help pupils with not being pressured and overworked,” said Gani.