Although your child may sigh at the thought to of it, homework is an essential part of most schooling and your child’s learning can improve just by doing it. Most of the time, students may not view homework as an optimal use of their time, but practising schoolwork at home actually has an array of benefits for your children.

So, what are they?

Well, not only is doing homework a way to consolidate a student’s knowledge within a class, but it also ensures that they build and maintain a solid foundation for future activities. This article will explain why homework is set in schools and tutoring, as well as the benefits homework brings! 

The benefits of homework

To begin with, let us go over the relative benefits associated with homework: 

• It allows the student to improve and self-reflect on their own writing prowess and overall ability within a specific subject. 
• Perfectly tailored homework on a syllabus topic your child is struggling with can help them master tricky tasks. It can make a student practice a hard mathematical equation they are struggling with or master a certain writing style they are trying to perfect. This in turn will lead your child one step closer to their personal best. 
• The old phrase “practice makes perfect” essentially resonates with the purpose of homework. One does not learn how to drive, swim, or even walk without repeated practice, homework is just another form of practice. 
• It consolidates knowledge of topics and makes them easier to understand for your child. 
• It causes your child to stay on top of syllabus requirements, so they never miss out on essential topics they will be tested on! 
• Homework has the benefit of preparing students for future topics before teachers go in depth. Researching a summary of a story before reading it and answering questions about it can prepare your child to better understand and analyse it! 

The non-academic benefits of homework 

A lot of parents may see homework as a way for their child to improve their grades. However, its benefits actually go beyond that. Let’s have a look at what some of the non-academic benefits of homework are. Homework can: 

• instill a sense of discipline within a student
• be a means to calm down and potentially de-stress the student as it provides a sense of routine
• arm your child with extra knowledge that could encourage them to take part in class discussions
• strengthen their memory on the learning content
• boost their confidence and cause them to be more assertive
• encourage students to study together to reap the benefits of social learning and learn from one another’s ideas 
• increase motivation if it is followed by positive re-enforcement of their hard work. 

So, why is homework set at school? 

Now that we have discussed why homework has some inherent value, let’s discuss why your child’s school prescribes homework in the first place. The short answer is that it helps your child reach their potential, but there are other factors as well.

In schools, homework not only works to improve your child, but homework can fill in the gaps of the lesson when there is not enough time in class to go over all the required content. The class may have been confused about a certain aspect or a disruption occurred that takes up time, rather than spending time of the next lesson on that, homework can bridge the gap. 

Another reason why homework is given within schools is that it is a perfect opportunity to arm students with an array of opinions and facts, as well as prepare them for a task that requires those opinions and facts. This is especially true with History and English, as homework can help a class debate run smoothly and effectively. 

Anecdotally, the very best debates adjudicated within the class are due to the advent of teachers setting research homework tasks prior to the debate. 

Why we set homework at tutoring 

Moving on to why we at MWNS set homework, we want nothing but the best for your child. Tutors understand that homework is also given at school; however, your child comes to tutoring to improve their academic skills and gain new knowledge. Therefore, being provided with extra homework at tutoring helps them to continue to build on that knowledge. 

This is especially helpful if your child needs extra support with an area that is not currently being covered at school and may need to practice that area of the curriculum further in tutoring and at home. For example, if a student needs to work on spelling but is currently only focusing on story writing in English, they can come to tutoring to work on spelling with their tutor. Their tutor will then assign homework that is challenging but not overly complex, in order to help them solidify and expand the knowledge they covered during the lesson. 

Tutors ensure that students are recognised for doing their homework and provide it to ensure your child gains a sense of individual responsibility. At school, their teachers may forget to check their homework, or they may not do it as their friends are not either. However, in tutoring the tutor will ask them about it each lesson, and are relying on them to finish it in order to give them constructive feedback. Your child then feels as if their tutor is counting on them, and may be motivated to be even more responsible and finish the homework to the best of their ability. 

What kind of homework is set at MWNS and how is this helpful? 

MWNS provides English and maths tutoring, teachers here love to give students a variety of homework, and tailor homework tasks depending on your childs learning styles, needs and areas of improvement. 

Here is a list of the different types of homework MWNS provides, and how this is useful for your child: 

• Homework from the workbook – MWNS students are provided with their own maths and/or English exercise book depending on which subjects they do with us. They may be assigned pages from this book for homework, which are super handy as they are tailored to match all the curriculum outcomes they cover at school. For students who need to extend their knowledge of particular areas and do not mind answering various questions, this is a great homework task! 
• Homework worksheets – MWNS has a variety of resources! Worksheets can be given to students to work on particular topics they are covering such as practice NAPLAN tests or spelling crosswords. This is a great way to work on specific topics. 
• Finishing off classwork or assignments – some students may need help with assignments or classwork, teachers may teach them how to do them and provide feedback, and then ask them to apply that feedback by editing their tasks for homework. This is an awesome way to improve your child’s grades when they hand in tasks! 
• Practising specific tasks – Students may be asked to continue to practice a task that they need to improve on. For example, they may have written an essay in class and are still getting the hang of it, so the tutor may ask them to write another one for homework. 
• Past papers or exams – For students who have an upcoming test e.g. NAPLAN, teachers may provide a past paper to mimic the upcoming exam and allow them to practice. 

Parents can make homework fun

We understand that not all students feel intrinsically motivated to do homework, and that is totally okay! We are sure that parents have definitely heard the phrase “Homework is so boring, I’m not doing this!” Due to this all too common occurrence, we have put together some useful external resources that provide some strategies to make homework more fun for your child. We hope these help! 

• This is a video that you can show your child. It is more suited to older high school students, who may procrastinate on their phones and have long hours of homework piling up. The video provides some tips to help them complete homework more effectively and feel less bored when doing it! – 
• For younger kids, here are some great ways to make homework fun: 

Of course, everything should be done in moderation. Although we do our best to tailor our student’s homework to target their abilities and needs, it is paramount that every student engages in self-study, and not simply rely on teachers and tutors as the sole people responsible for their own educational journey. We hope this blog has helped you understand the benefits of homework and why it is assigned. We hope that you can use this information to further motivate your child to get their homework done. When they do so, do not forget to congratulate them!

More about Maths Words not Squiggles

At MWNS, we offer primary school tutoring and high school tutoring in Maths and English to ensure students understand their schoolwork, meeting the requirements set out by NESA and achieving grades they are proud of. All our Maths and English tutors tailor their lessons to the individual needs of our students. By working at a pace that suits and benefits each child, we are able to maximise their learning in an enjoyable environment.

Our Maths and English tutoring is available in centre (Central Coast Tutoring, Eastern Suburbs Tutoring, Inner West Tutoring, Northern Beaches Tutoring, South Sydney Tutoring, Sutherland Shire Tutoring) and online. Whether you are looking for a Maths tutor or an English tutor, MWNS is able to help build your child’s confidence.

We are known for our mission of “Building Confident Learners inside and outside our classrooms“. We are experts in educating our students, helping them thrive at school and preparing them for life beyond the classroom. We want to ensure all lessons are related to what they are learning at school while ensuring students see the value in their education.