Assignments and Tests
Do you think it is necessary for students to have assignments? If so, why is it important to do homework? Many people believe if you are sitting down to do your homework, you realize how much you understand of what’s going on in class. Also it can help you have critical thinking skills. On the contrary, what if you have so many assignments that you can’t finish them?
In Korea, I had enough homework to do after school because in those days, most teachers as well as parents thought homework could help students improve their abilities to solve the questions and improve the grades they got on exams. Whenever I took vacations, I was always concerned about how to manage to do my assignments because I could not ask my parents and I didn’t have any reference books at home. However, on seeing my kids’ assignments, I realized that their teachers do not give so much homework because they know that most students attend various types of classes after school. Even though my kids have some homework, they don’t worry about it because they can ask dad and mom, search the reference books and surf the internet. Nonetheless, many students do not care about the assignments. They only focus on getting good grades on tests. The evaluation of their assignments does not influence their grades significantly. On the other hand, when my kids came here, we didn’t know that teachers gave grades on assignments.
I have thought over what homework’s benefits are. My kids’ ability to bring it home, gather and organize necessary materials to complete it, return it and receive a grade strengthens their sense of responsibility. There is also improved development of personal skills such as the management gained by completing homework. In addition, homework can play a public relations role by keeping parents informed about class activities and policies. It also seems to be a bridge that joins schools and parents. From the school’s perspective, there is the opportunity to monitor students’ independent progress. For parents, there is the potential to gain a greater appreciation of education and to express positive attitudes towards their children’s achievement. For these reasons, I can comprehend why my kids’ teachers give them assignments almost every day.
Next, as I examine and compare the tests, most students in Korea are worried about them, so they spend much time studying. Some students even stay up late or try not to sleep during the test periods. Many people evaluate students with rating grades. According to the rating grades, many students get stressed due to the tests. They have two big tests a semester. However, it seems that the students in the U.S. do not get lots of stress because of tests. As far as I can see, they have one big test a year, for example, STAAR. It doesn’t seem that the test result influences their promotion to the next grade. This is one of the answers why my kids like to study here even though they have assignments and tests very often.
I’d like to conclude by saying that I believe that the educational system and the parents’ mind-set need to be reformed in Korea. It is time to ask again why you study. We know that learning continues throughout our whole life. We also know that those who study hard are good, but they cannot keep up with those who enjoy studying.
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