Who Created Homework: And 3 Reasons it Should Be Banned
A universal source of frustration for students and teachers alike, homework continues to be a major point of argument in the modern classroom.
The question of who invented homework has led to serious misinformation in the public domain.
Many would argue that homework is one of the leading causes for student stress.
But who created homework?
And who said we should have to do homework every day?
Why can’t we get rid of it altogether?
I’ll answer all these questions and more as we explore the history behind homework!
Table of Contents
Who Created Homework?
Most people believe that the person who created homework was an educator named ‘Roberto Nevilis‘ from Venice, Italy.
Roberto Nevilis
It is believed that Nevilis invented homework in the year 1905 to punish his lazy students and force them to learn their lessons.
Except there’s just one problem, he never existed.
There is zero documentary evidence on the existence of Roberto Nevilis, and much less, any facts to prove that he is the person who created homework.
In fact, all mentions of him come from non-authoritative Internet blogs that copy each other with no fact checking to prove his existence.
Even Wikipedia has debunked his existence stating:
“It is often thought that the Venetian teacher Roberto Nevilis invented homework as a punishment for his students in 1905. However, due to the lack of historic evidence, this claim appears to be an internet myth.” -Wikipedia
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homework#History
So if it’s not him…
Then the question remains…
Who Invented Homework?
To really answer the question of who invented homework and why, we need to go back in time.
It is likely that there is no single inventor of homework as educators worldwide would have formed their own learning mechanisms to enhance their students’ learning abilities.
But not all educators would have been thoroughly documented enough by historians to take any credit for the invention of homework.
Having said that, historically the most documented person that points to being the inventor of homework is Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
He developed a compulsory school system in Germany called Volksschule.
At the time, he wanted support for a unified German state which is actually why homework was invented.
Fichte thought that if students were given work to do at home, that it would help to increase German nationalism and force citizens to give time to their country.
Eventually this idea spread across Europe throughout the 19th century and became known as the time when homework was invented.
Horace Mann: The Guy Who Brought Homework to America
Horace Mann
As an American educational reformer, Horace Mann traveled to Prussia in 1843.
It was there he came across Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s Volksschule system.
Mann liked it so much he brought it back to America where it was adopted into the American school system known today has homework.
Horace Mann has since been known as the guy who invented school homework in America.
Benefits of Homework
As painful as homework is, there are many quick facts about homework which sustain the activity even to this day:
- Helps to strengthen the lessons taught in class
- Aids in the preparation for the next classroom session
- Encourages students to work together
- Promotes the development of proper time management in students
- Fosters constructive communication between parents and students
- Tool for punishing students
Even with all these potential benefits of homework, there is still great ongoing debates about the importance of homework.
One thing is for sure though: homework has been proven to serve as a useful tool for educators to gauge how much of a lesson is truly understood by students.
Is Homework Illegal?
While homework can, at times, feel more like a punishment than an opportunity, homework is not illegal in any state of the U.S.
Of course, the legal implications of homework depend on the child’s age and the presence of any learning disabilities.
Children that are too young or have a learning disability may not be able to complete their homework on time or at all.
Forcing children to do homework while having learning disabilities can amount to child abuse.
For those students, it’s important for parents and educators to work together so that the child is both provided with all necessary accommodations and given additional support when completing both schoolwork and homework.
The other side of illegalizing homework assumes that if it were banned, children would spend more time on other productive activities, like participating in sports or spending more time with their family.
Why Should Homework Be Banned?
Even with all the potential benefits of homework, some still believe that homework should be banned because spending more time doing it costs students too much time, creates a stress-filled environment at home and school, and fosters unequal access to resources among rich and poor families.
In addition to these concerns, some opponents of homework believe that it is unfair for parents who work long hours or have multiple jobs outside the house to help their children with homework.
The other side of illegalizing homework assumes that if it were banned, children would spend more time on other productive activities, like participating in sports or spending more time with their family. The idea is rooted in the belief that students will be better-equipped to participate in these types of pursuits when they have a day off from school.
The final argument is that homework does not necessarily improve learning or grades – in fact, some studies show that there may be a negative correlation between the amount of time spent on homework and standardized test scores.
The quality of work declines as students get tired or bored doing it and don’t learn from homework if all they’re thinking about is finishing it.
Those who are against banning it suggest assigning shorter amounts of work for students to do each night instead of giving them an entire night of homework.
Students would much rather play kahoot which is another form of learning where they get to have fun.
Quick Facts About Homework
- Roberto Nevilis is not the person who created homework.
- Homework was invented by Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
- Homework was brought to the U.S. in the 19th century by Horace Mann who incorrectly gets all the credit as the person who created homework.
Conclusion
Homework is here to stay regardless of who created homework.
While there are many benefits to homework, educators need to know when and how to effectively use it as a tool to complement classroom learning and not as a replacement.
Kids who are assigned too much homework experience anxiety, depression and anger.
Homework is not always beneficial for students because it can take away from their time to study or play outside which is necessary for the holistic development of children.
About the Author: Jian Brant
