Homework for primary school children: IELTS Writing Task 2 sample essay

Whether young children should do homework is a topic on which educators disagree. I largely agree that primary school pupils should not be given homework, although I think that some very light tasks, such as reading, can be useful.

The main reason is that children aged six to eleven need time to rest and play after a full day at school. Play is not a waste of time; it develops creativity, social skills and physical health. When children spend several hours on exercises every evening, they become tired and stressed, and some begin to dislike school. In addition, homework reduces the time that families can spend together, which is important for emotional development.

Some people claim that homework teaches discipline and helps children remember what they have learned. This may be true to a certain extent, but young children can develop good habits through other routines, such as tidying their own room or reading a short story before bed. Furthermore, if children need extra work to understand the lesson, the problem may lie in the teaching method rather than in a lack of homework.

Parents are often also under pressure to help with assignments they do not understand, which can lead to arguments at home.

Teachers can also improve the situation by making lessons more interactive, so that learning happens in the classroom instead of at the kitchen table. When children use practical activities, group work and short discussions, they remember the material better, and the need for extra exercises at home becomes much smaller.

In conclusion, heavy homework brings more harm than benefit at primary level, so schools should limit it to a small amount of reading and encourage children to learn through play.