Argumentative Writing: Speech

"Homework is a waste of valuable time which could be used to do something more rewarding." 
Write a speech to be delivered on Report Day to parents, teachers and students giving your views on
this statement.

Good morning parents, teachers, students and members of the academic staff. Recently,
I came across this statement, “Homework is a waste of valuable time which could be used to
do something more rewarding.” The operative word in that statement is ‘rewarding’. What
could be more rewarding than doing homework? Playing a videogame, watching a movie,
going out with friends, procrastinating? Are those really rewarding? I believe that the
aforementioned statement was said by a child. It is believed that homework was possibly
invented by Pliny the Younger, an oratory teacher in ancient Rome when he gave his
followers the task of practicing public speaking at home. This was to help them be more
confident and fluent in their speeches. Isn’t this quite ironic ladies and gentlemen?
Homework was and still should be the backbone in our school system. Homework gives
students the opportunity to be more familiar with class material and not to mention that it
offers practice, which is needed for majority of the subjects that students do, for example,
Mathematics, English, Spanish, Music, Information Technology, among others. Additionally,
homework is a tool that teachers use to determine how well lessons are being understood by
students and lastly, doing homework teaches students how to manage their time well and how
to be independent.

Firstly, homework gives students the opportunity to be more familiar with materials
given in class and it offers practice. According to Ron Kurtus, students typically retain only
50% of the information teachers provide in class, and they need to apply that information in
order to truly learn it. Many argue that homework has no benefits to students, but without
homework, how will students get the extra practice? How will they get more familiarized
with the material? If I were to ask the students to indicate if they read over notes after school,
many of them would say no. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA)
concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college
attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours
of additional homework per week in high school. (Kalenkoski, 2014).
 Secondly, homework helps teachers know where their students are in terms of
understanding the content being taught. When teachers know this, then they will be better
able to prepare lessons or review the content until students have a better understanding. Thus,
issuing homework is not a punishment to students but rather it is a privilege. When
homework is not done my dear students, how will the teachers know if you understand? Can
they read minds? Do you share the reason why it was not done? No, you do not share because
your reason is not valid, you simply could not bother to do it! Life is very busy, there are
many things to do in just one day, but when you have time, make time for your education. If
you are unable to do the homework, simply communicate with your teacher.

Thirdly, doing homework encourages students to manage their time well and to be
independent. If students receive homework in all or most of their subjects, then this may
encourage them to be more serious about their education and will indeed prompt them to be
more organized. In my opinion, this is not unfair, because it plays a part in preparing them for
college life and work life. However, there must be boundaries and students should indeed get
breaks. Research by the City University of New York noted that “students who engage in
self-regulatory processes while completing homework,” such as goal-setting, time
management, and remaining focused, “are generally more motivated and are higher achievers
than those who do not use these processes.”

Homework has gained a bad reputation over the years but that is no fault of its own. We
are the problem; it is because we have changed and degenerated why we dread something
that will help us in the long run. Homework familiarizes students with the contents from class
and offers them practice, it helps teachers determine if students understand the content and it
also encourages students to manage their time well and teaches them to be independent. I will
close with this short but true statement, “To be educated is to be free.”