Homework: Necessity or Paper Punishment?

Written by Junior Vuong

Illustrations - Junior Vuong

You barrel through the front door of your house, exhausted and out of breath after enduring seven whole hours within school walls. Sure, learning algebra may be useful, but it really drains a person. You collapse on your bed - just in time for your scheduled procrastination - when you hear  your mom yelling from the living room, her voice blasting out the unforgivable, forbidden words. 

“Have you done your homework?”

Any feeble dream of free time you had disappeared in an instant. 

No matter your age, gender or background, we have all experienced the crushing weight of a worksheet (or four) due tomorrow. We have all had late nights memorizing sentences that seemed utterly useless. We have all asked ourselves,

“What’s the point of homework?”

Well, I might have the answer for you. Said simply, homework helps with memory retention, deepening understanding, and expanding life skills such as responsibility.

Let’s start with memory retention. Many studies have shown that spaced repetition (reviewing material after a period of time, e.g. every week) can help to strengthen memory retention dramatically. 

When you first learn something in school, the brain takes some time to commit that info to your brain. It makes connections between what you know and the concepts you’re learning. Then, when you recall that information (in, say, a five-page “threat to mankind” quiz) the connections in your brain become stronger, allowing you to remember better. Sleep really helps with this process, with many studies showing that homework before bed can enhance short-term to long-term memory conversion and improve your learning. So, you might have to rework that four-hour sleep schedule if you want maximum efficiency in subjects like foreign language (requires lots of memorization).

Secondly, (and more obviously,) homework can help with deepening your understanding. 

It is  easy to get information from lessons and lectures, but homework is your way to apply that information to real problems. You can practice new formulas in Math, use new techniques in English, and get up close and personal with the periodic table.

 Homework helps you to test your skills, and improve if needed. Better to get something wrong in practice, rather than on an exam. 

Finally, homework helps you practice life skills. Not like taking out garbage or cooking –- more general things. Responsibility, punctuality and problem-solving are all important skills for many tasks in the future, and homework is a great place to start. Homework helps you practice tracking your deadlines independently and submitting work early (responsibility and punctuality). The average worksheet really helps to improve your critical thinking or  problem solving skills, and those menial questions help you to think outside the box. 

So, armed with this information and newfound determination, you pop your Google Classroom open, and witness the incomprehensible horror that is 

“Questions one to fifty-nine in Math Booklet (DUE TOMORROW)”.

You sigh, and drag your Little Booklet of Demons™ onto your desk.

As you whip out your pencil for the seventieth time today, you think to yourself…

“I better be a GENIUS after this.”

References

Hojic, N., & Ayala, K. (2023, October 30). Is Homework Actually Useful? Simple Studies. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from https://www.simplestudies.org/blog/is-homework-actually-useful

Raj, S., & Singha, A. (2025, December 29). The Importance of Homework in Students' Life. 21K School. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from https://www.21kschool.com/vn/blog/the-importance-of-homework-in-students-life/