Ask any student what they would change about school, and there is a good chance the answer will be: "Less homework!" In recent years, some schools around the world have reduced homework or even stopped giving it to younger children. Should schools in Israel do the same? In my opinion, homework should not be banned, but it should be changed.
Supporters of a ban make some strong points. Many teenagers spend long hours at school and then several more hours on homework, which leaves little time for sport, hobbies, family and sleep. Homework can also be unfair. A student whose parents can help, or who has a quiet room and a computer, has a clear advantage over a student who shares a small apartment with four brothers and sisters. In addition, research suggests that for young children, homework does not improve achievement very much.
However, banning homework completely would be a mistake. Some skills, such as reading, writing and solving math problems, simply require practice, and there is not enough time in class for all of it. Homework also teaches responsibility and time management — skills we will need at university and at work, where nobody reminds us of every deadline.
The real problem is not homework itself, but bad homework: long lists of repetitive exercises that nobody checks. A better approach would be short, meaningful tasks, such as reading a chapter of a book we chose ourselves, interviewing a grandparent for a history project or trying a simple experiment at home. Teachers of different subjects could also coordinate, so that students do not get five tasks on the same evening.
In conclusion, homework is like medicine: the right amount helps, but too much can be harmful. Instead of arguing about whether to ban it, we should be talking about how to make it worth doing.