The honorable, the headmaster of Biarritz College

The Teachers of Biarritz College

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good evening. My name is Joseph McLahlan from Morney University, Fantasia I’d
like first of all to say thank you very much to Biarritz College which had invited me to
speak at the 50th anniversary of Biarritz College. At this precious occasion I’d like to
discuss about “Is homework necessary? Disparities in education and the effects that
they have on students.”
Well, first of all, I have some questions for you. Do teachers at Biarritz College still
give homework to their students? Do you punish students who don’t do their
homework? Do you yell at them when they are too lazy to do it? Do you send them
out of class if they don’t do homework? Do you feel that homework is effective
enough to measure the students’ mastery of the material you teach? How do you feel
when you got angry, yelled out, then sent students out of the class? Do you feel this
chaos can bring you down and affect your performance at school?
I have read a study from Yale University saying that schools in America have
eliminated homework and this does not take away the parents’ dreams of wanting their
children to continue their studies at Harvard, Stanford or Yale universities. Teachers In
America have replaced homework with group projects related to the material being
taught. It turns out that this method has great benefits, especially with regards to
Equity in education. So, from what I have read, I personally believe that homework is
not more effective for measuring the students’ learning achievement. I have at least 3
reasons for saying that.
Firstly, a research conducted by USA Today says students with too much homework
have elevated stress levels. Students regularly report that homework is their primary
stress source. They experience sleep disorder, weight loss, indigestion, and headaches.
Moreover, too much homework has deprived the need of students’ social-emotional
development such as activities, hobbies and socializing.
Secondly, are you sure that every student in your classroom does their homework by
themselves? Yeah, that’s true. The American Journal of Family Therapy proves that
some students are tempted to copy other’s work, they plagiarize or using creative
applications in order to submit homework on time. Even parents help them complete
their homework because they are sympathetic to their children’s stress level.
Thirdly, why do I say education disparity? Do you know that not all students in our
class come from a high-income family? Some of them come from low-income family.
They cannot provide computers or laptops for their children with quite enough internet
access. A source from CNET.com reported that those who could not get Internet
access suffered academically.
So, based on the facts and data from my research, I conclude that homework is no
longer effective. My fellow teachers, we need to redefine the benefits of homework
based on the facts that I have stated to you. Let’s help our students find the right
balance and succeed at school and outside of school. Let the teachers look for a more-
in-depth method in education equity. Let’s renew our paradigm from homework to
class project, or as we call it, Project Based Learning. This method will be presented
by my co-assistant, Miss Julia Herbert during the second session.
Finally, I would like to convey my highest appreciation to the committee who have
taken every effort to carry out the In-House Training Program and thanks to school
committee who has given us the support. I am really grateful for the thoughtful
consideration you have given. Goodbye.