Homework Should Be Banned (debate: Affirmative)

OPENING SPEECH

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

I, as the captain of the affirmative team, would like to emphasize that, homework should be banned; no matter you're in primary school, or secondary school.

First of all, I would like to define homework. Homework is not about reading at home or working on a special project. Homework should be defined as assignments that have to be done at home and handed in to a teacher someday after.

I would like to ask you, what is the aim of doing homework? You want to get better marks, right? Sadly, one study after another, including the latest one from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, proved that homework doesn't help students get better marks. This is our teamline. Homework doesn't help students get better marks. You might feel a little strange to say that, don't worry, my 1st speaker will prove our teamline by showing you the stress caused by homework and my 2nd speaker will prove it by showing you that the nature of homework has changed.

Now I would like to once again emphasize that, not only is homework unhelpful, it's harmful.

Imagine, children get up at 7:30 in the morning. They are in school for 8 hours. That day is long enough. They should not be forced to work for another hour and a half.

Give them time to be children, to spend quality time with their family, to have fun with their mom without arguing day in and day out.

If a student wishes to review some of the work of the day on their own, great. If the kids have to study for a test or exam, no problem. Because hard-working students will revise what they've learnt on their own. They don't need homework to force them. While for lazy students, they would probably copy others' work. Still this is a waste of time, isn't? Because this cannot help them get better marks.

Homework is a cruel and unusual punishment. Banning it will improve the life of students, parents and teachers in one fell swoop.

What will these kids do with all their new-found spare time? They will relax; they can have some fun; they can play outside; and spend time with their friends. Letting kids be well-rounded -- what a novel concept.

Should homework be banned? Sure, it's crystal clear. Thank you!

REBUTTALS

"We have to have homework. Otherwise, the kids won't have structure and they will just come home and fool around."

Good. That's exactly what they should be doing. They deal with structure from early in the morning until late in the afternoon. That's enough structure for an adult, much less a child. It's time to fess up about homework. It is forced labor. Unpaid forced labor. Homework assignments provide precious little benefit and they cause unnecessary stress for the child and for the parent. (Good teachers can get the job done in class. Those who can't