did homework start as a punishment

The Surprising History of Homework Reform

Really, kids, there was a time when lots of grownups thought homework was bad for you.

Homework causes a lot of fights. Between parents and kids, sure. But also, as education scholar Brian Gill and historian Steven Schlossman write, among U.S. educators. For more than a century, they’ve been debating how, and whether, kids should do schoolwork at home .

At the dawn of the twentieth century, homework meant memorizing lists of facts which could then be recited to the teacher the next day. The rising progressive education movement despised that approach. These educators advocated classrooms free from recitation. Instead, they wanted students to learn by doing. To most, homework had no place in this sort of system.

Through the middle of the century, Gill and Schlossman write, this seemed like common sense to most progressives. And they got their way in many schools—at least at the elementary level. Many districts abolished homework for K–6 classes, and almost all of them eliminated it for students below fourth grade.

By the 1950s, many educators roundly condemned drills, like practicing spelling words and arithmetic problems. In 1963, Helen Heffernan, chief of California’s Bureau of Elementary Education, definitively stated that “No teacher aware of recent theories could advocate such meaningless homework assignments as pages of repetitive computation in arithmetic. Such an assignment not only kills time but kills the child’s creative urge to intellectual activity.”

But, the authors note, not all reformers wanted to eliminate homework entirely. Some educators reconfigured the concept, suggesting supplemental reading or having students do projects based in their own interests. One teacher proposed “homework” consisting of after-school “field trips to the woods, factories, museums, libraries, art galleries.” In 1937, Carleton Washburne, an influential educator who was the superintendent of the Winnetka, Illinois, schools, proposed a homework regimen of “cooking and sewing…meal planning…budgeting, home repairs, interior decorating, and family relationships.”

Another reformer explained that “at first homework had as its purpose one thing—to prepare the next day’s lessons. Its purpose now is to prepare the children for fuller living through a new type of creative and recreational homework.”

That idea didn’t necessarily appeal to all educators. But moderation in the use of traditional homework became the norm.

Weekly Newsletter

Get your fix of JSTOR Daily’s best stories in your inbox each Thursday.

Privacy Policy   Contact Us You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message.

“Virtually all commentators on homework in the postwar years would have agreed with the sentiment expressed in the NEA Journal in 1952 that ‘it would be absurd to demand homework in the first grade or to denounce it as useless in the eighth grade and in high school,’” Gill and Schlossman write.

That remained more or less true until 1983, when publication of the landmark government report A Nation at Risk helped jump-start a conservative “back to basics” agenda, including an emphasis on drill-style homework. In the decades since, continuing “reforms” like high-stakes testing, the No Child Left Behind Act, and the Common Core standards have kept pressure on schools. Which is why twenty-first-century first graders get spelling words and pages of arithmetic.

Support JSTOR Daily! Join our new membership program on Patreon today.

JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR.

Get Our Newsletter

More stories.

Confucius in the European Enlightenment

Watching an Eclipse from Prison

The Alpaca Racket

Make Your Own Poetry Anthology

Recent posts.

• Who Can Just Stop Oil?
• The Industrial Revolution and the Rise of Policing
• Colorful Lights to Cure What Ails You
• Ayahs Abroad: Colonial Nannies Cross The Empire
• A Brief Guide to Birdwatching in the Age of Dinosaurs

Support JSTOR Daily

Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

History Cooperative

The Homework Dilemma: Who Invented Homework?

The inventor of homework may be unknown, but its evolution reflects contributions from educators, philosophers, and students. Homework reinforces learning, fosters discipline, and prepares students for the future, spanning from ancient civilizations to modern education. Ongoing debates probe its balance, efficacy, equity, and accessibility, prompting innovative alternatives like project-based and personalized learning. As education evolves, the enigma of homework endures.

Table of Contents

Who Invented Homework?

While historical records don’t provide a definitive answer regarding the inventor of homework in the modern sense, two prominent figures, Roberto Nevelis of Venice and Horace Mann, are often linked to the concept’s early development.

Roberto Nevelis of Venice: A Mythical Innovator?

Roberto Nevelis, a Venetian educator from the 16th century, is frequently credited with the invention of homework. The story goes that Nevelis assigned tasks to his students outside regular classroom hours to reinforce their learning—a practice that aligns with the essence of homework. However, the historical evidence supporting Nevelis as the inventor of homework is rather elusive, leaving room for skepticism.

While Nevelis’s role remains somewhat mythical, his association with homework highlights the early recognition of the concept’s educational value.

Horace Mann: Shaping the American Educational Landscape

Horace Mann, often regarded as the “Father of American Education,” made significant contributions to the American public school system in the 19th century. Though he may not have single-handedly invented homework, his educational reforms played a crucial role in its widespread adoption.

Mann’s vision for education emphasized discipline and rigor, which included assigning tasks to be completed outside of the classroom. While he did not create homework in the traditional sense, his influence on the American education system paved the way for its integration.

The invention of homework was driven by several educational objectives. It aimed to reinforce classroom learning, ensuring knowledge retention and skill development. Homework also served as a means to promote self-discipline and responsibility among students, fostering valuable study habits and time management skills.

Why Was Homework Invented?

The invention of homework was not a random educational practice but rather a deliberate strategy with several essential objectives in mind.

Reinforcing Classroom Learning

Foremost among these objectives was the need to reinforce classroom learning. When students leave the classroom, the goal is for them to retain and apply the knowledge they have acquired during their lessons. Homework emerged as a powerful tool for achieving this goal. It provided students with a structured platform to revisit the day’s lessons, practice what they had learned, and solidify their understanding.

Homework assignments often mirrored classroom activities, allowing students to extend their learning beyond the confines of school hours. Through the repetition of exercises and tasks related to the curriculum, students could deepen their comprehension and mastery of various subjects.

Fostering Self-Discipline and Responsibility

Another significant objective behind the creation of homework was the promotion of self-discipline and responsibility among students. Education has always been about more than just the acquisition of knowledge; it also involves the development of life skills and habits that prepare individuals for future challenges.

By assigning tasks to be completed independently at home, educators aimed to instill valuable study habits and time management skills. Students were expected to take ownership of their learning, manage their time effectively, and meet deadlines—a set of skills that have enduring relevance in contemporary education and beyond.

Homework encouraged students to become proactive in their educational journey. It taught them the importance of accountability and the satisfaction of completing tasks on their own. These life skills would prove invaluable in their future endeavors, both academically and in the broader context of their lives.

When Was Homework Invented?

The roots of homework stretch deep into the annals of history, tracing its origins to ancient civilizations and early educational practices. While it has undergone significant evolution over the centuries, the concept of extending learning beyond the classroom has always been an integral part of education.

Earliest Origins of Homework and Early Educational Practices

The idea of homework, in its most rudimentary form, can be traced back to the earliest human civilizations. In ancient Egypt , for instance, students were tasked with hieroglyphic writing exercises. These exercises served as a precursor to modern homework, as they required students to practice and reinforce their understanding of written language—an essential skill for communication and record-keeping in that era.

In ancient Greece , luminaries like Plato and Aristotle advocated for the use of written exercises as a tool for intellectual development. They recognized the value of practice in enhancing one’s knowledge and skills, laying the foundation for a more systematic approach to homework.

The ancient Romans also played a pivotal role in the early development of homework. Young Roman students were expected to complete assignments at home, with a particular focus on subjects like mathematics and literature. These assignments were designed to consolidate their classroom learning, emphasizing the importance of practice in mastering various disciplines.

READ MORE: Who Invented Math? The History of Mathematics

The practice of assigning work to be done outside of regular school hours continued to evolve through various historical periods. As societies advanced, so did the complexity and diversity of homework tasks, reflecting the changing needs and priorities of education.

The Influence of Educational Philosophers

While the roots of homework extend to ancient times, the ideas of renowned educational philosophers in later centuries further contributed to its development. John Locke, an influential thinker of the Enlightenment era, believed in a gradual and cumulative approach to learning. He emphasized the importance of students revisiting topics through repetition and practice, a concept that aligns with the principles of homework.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, another prominent philosopher, stressed the significance of self-directed learning. Rousseau’s ideas encouraged the development of independent study habits and a personalized approach to education—a philosophy that resonates with modern concepts of homework.

Homework in the American Public School System

The American public school system has played a pivotal role in the widespread adoption and popularization of homework. To understand the significance of homework in modern education, it’s essential to delve into its history and evolution within the United States.

History and Evolution of Homework in the United States

The late 19th century marked a significant turning point for homework in the United States. During this period, influenced by educational reforms and the growing need for standardized curricula, homework assignments began to gain prominence in American schools.

Educational reformers and policymakers recognized the value of homework as a tool for reinforcing classroom learning. They believed that assigning tasks for students to complete outside of regular school hours would help ensure that knowledge was retained and skills were honed. This approach aligned with the broader trends in education at the time, which aimed to provide a more structured and systematic approach to learning.

As the American public school system continued to evolve, homework assignments became a common practice in classrooms across the nation. The standardization of curricula and the formalization of education contributed to the integration of homework into the learning process. This marked a significant departure from earlier educational practices, reflecting a shift toward more structured and comprehensive learning experiences.

The incorporation of homework into the American education system not only reinforced classroom learning but also fostered self-discipline and responsibility among students. It encouraged them to take ownership of their educational journey and develop valuable study habits and time management skills—a legacy that continues to influence modern pedagogy.

Controversies Around Homework

Despite its longstanding presence in education, homework has not been immune to controversy and debate. While many view it as a valuable educational tool, others question its effectiveness and impact on students’ well-being.

The Homework Debate

One of the central controversies revolves around the amount of homework assigned to students. Critics argue that excessive homework loads can lead to stress, sleep deprivation, and a lack of free time for students. The debate often centers on striking the right balance between homework and other aspects of a student’s life, including extracurricular activities, family time, and rest.

Homework’s Efficacy

Another contentious issue pertains to the efficacy of homework in enhancing learning outcomes. Some studies suggest that moderate amounts of homework can reinforce classroom learning and improve academic performance. However, others question whether all homework assignments contribute equally to learning or whether some may be more beneficial than others. The effectiveness of homework can vary depending on factors such as the student’s grade level, the subject matter, and the quality of the assignment.

Equity and Accessibility

Homework can also raise concerns related to equity and accessibility. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds may have limited access to resources and support at home, potentially putting them at a disadvantage when it comes to completing homework assignments. This disparity has prompted discussions about the role of homework in perpetuating educational inequalities and how schools can address these disparities.

Alternative Approaches to Learning

In response to the controversies surrounding homework, educators and researchers have explored alternative approaches to learning. These approaches aim to strike a balance between reinforcing classroom learning and promoting holistic student well-being. Some alternatives include:

Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning emphasizes hands-on, collaborative projects that allow students to apply their knowledge to real-world problems. This approach shifts the focus from traditional homework assignments to engaging, practical learning experiences.

Flipped Classrooms

Flipped classrooms reverse the traditional teaching model. Students learn new material at home through video lectures or readings and then use class time for interactive discussions and activities. This approach reduces the need for traditional homework while promoting active learning.

Personalized Learning

Personalized learning tailors instruction to individual students’ needs, allowing them to progress at their own pace. This approach minimizes the need for one-size-fits-all homework assignments and instead focuses on targeted learning experiences.

The Ongoing Conversation

The controversies surrounding homework highlight the need for an ongoing conversation about its role in education. Striking the right balance between reinforcing learning and addressing students’ well-being remains a complex challenge. As educators, parents, and researchers continue to explore innovative approaches to learning, the role of homework in the modern educational landscape continues to evolve. Ultimately, the goal is to provide students with the most effective and equitable learning experiences possible.

Unpacking the Homework Enigma

Homework, without a single inventor, has evolved through educators, philosophers, and students. It reinforces learning, fosters discipline and prepares students. From ancient times to modern education, it upholds timeless values. Yet, controversies arise—debates on balance, efficacy, equity, and accessibility persist. Innovative alternatives like project-based and personalized learning emerge. Homework’s role evolves with education.

How to Cite this Article

There are three different ways you can cite this article.

1. To cite this article in an academic-style article or paper , use:

<a href=" https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-homework/ ">The Homework Dilemma: Who Invented Homework?</a>

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

The History of Homework: Why Was it Invented and Who Was Behind It?

• By Emily Summers
• February 14, 2020

Homework is long-standing education staple, one that many students hate with a fiery passion. We can’t really blame them, especially if it’s a primary source of stress that can result in headaches, exhaustion, and lack of sleep.

It’s not uncommon for students, parents, and even some teachers to complain about bringing assignments home. Yet, for millions of children around the world, homework is still a huge part of their daily lives as students — even if it continues to be one of their biggest causes of stress and unrest.

It makes one wonder, who in their right mind would invent such a thing as homework?

Who Invented Homework?

Pliny the younger: when in ancient rome, horace mann: the father of modern homework, the history of homework in america, 1900s: anti-homework sentiment & homework bans, 1930: homework as child labor, early-to-mid 20th century: homework and the progressive era, the cold war: homework starts heating up, 1980s: homework in a nation at risk, early 21 st century, state of homework today: why is it being questioned, should students get homework pros of cons of bringing school work home.

Online, there are many articles that point to Roberto Nevilis as the first educator to give his students homework. He created it as a way to punish his lazy students and ensure that they fully learned their lessons. However, these pieces of information mostly come from obscure educational blogs or forum websites with questionable claims. No credible news source or website has ever mentioned the name Roberto Nevilis as the person who invented homework . In fact, it’s possible that Nevilis never even existed.

As we’re not entirely sure who to credit for creating the bane of students’ existence and the reasons why homework was invented, we can use a few historical trivia to help narrow down our search.

Mentions of the term “homework” date back to as early as ancient Rome. In I century AD, Pliny the Younger , an oratory teacher, supposedly invented homework by asking his followers to practice public speaking at home. It was to help them become more confident and fluent in their speeches. But some would argue that the assignment wasn’t exactly the type of written work that students have to do at home nowadays. Only introverted individuals with a fear of public speaking would find it difficult and stressful.

It’s also safe to argue that since homework is an integral part of education, it’s probable that it has existed since the dawn of learning, like a beacon of light to all those helpless and lost (or to cast darkness on those who despise it). This means that Romans, Enlightenment philosophers, and Middle Age monks all read, memorized, and sang pieces well before homework was given any definition. It’s harder to play the blame game this way unless you want to point your finger at Horace Mann.

In the 19 th century, Horace Mann , a politician and educational reformer had a strong interest in the compulsory public education system of Germany as a newly unified nation-state. Pupils attending the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given mandatory assignments that they needed to complete at home during their own time. This requirement emphasized the state’s power over individuals at a time when nationalists such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte were rallying support for a unified German state. Basically, the state used homework as an element of power play.

Despite its political origins, the system of bringing school assignments home spread across Europe and eventually found their way to Horace Mann, who was in Prussia at that time. He brought the system home with him to America where homework became a daily activity in the lives of students.

Despite homework being a near-universal part of the American educational experience today, it hasn’t always been universally accepted. Take a look at its turbulent history in America.

In 1901, just a few decades after Horace Mann introduced the concept to Americans, homework was banned in the Pacific state of California . The ban affected students younger than 15 years old and stayed in effect until 1917.

Around the same time, prominent publications such as The New York Times and Ladies’ Home Journal published statements from medical professionals and parents who stated that homework was detrimental to children’s health.

In 1930, the American Child Health Association declared homework as a type of child labor . Since laws against child labor had been passed recently during that time, the proclamation painted homework as unacceptable educational practice, making everyone wonder why homework was invented in the first place.

However, it’s keen to note that one of the reasons why homework was so frowned upon was because children were needed to help out with household chores (a.k.a. a less intensive and more socially acceptable form of child labor).

During the progressive education reforms of the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, educators started looking for ways to make homework assignments more personal and relevant to the interests of individual students. Maybe this was how immortal essay topics such as “What I Want to Be When I Grow Up” and “What I Did During My Summer Vacation” were born.

After World War II, the Cold War heated up rivalries between the U.S. and Russia. Sputnik 1’s launch in 1957 intensified the competition between Americans and Russians – including their youth.

Education authorities in the U.S. decided that implementing rigorous homework to American students of all ages was the best way to ensure that they were always one step ahead of their Russian counterparts, especially in the competitive fields of Math and Science.

In 1986, the U.S. Department of Education’s pamphlet, “What Works,” included homework as one of the effective strategies to boost the quality of education. This came three years after the National Commission on Excellence in Education published “ Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform .” The landmark report lambasted the state of America’s schools, calling for reforms to right the alarming direction that public education was headed.

Today, many educators, students, parents, and other concerned citizens have once again started questioning why homework was invented and if it’s still valuable.

Homework now is facing major backlash around the world. With more than 60% of high school and college students seeking counselling for conditions such as clinical depression and anxiety, all of which are brought about by school, it’s safe to say that American students are more stressed out than they should be.

After sitting through hours at school, they leave only to start on a mountain pile of homework. Not only does it take up a large chunk of time that they can otherwise spend on their hobbies and interests, it also stops them from getting enough sleep. This can lead to students experiencing physical health problems, a lack of balance in their lives, and alienation from their peers and society in general.

Is homework important and necessary ? Or is it doing more harm than good? Here some key advantages and disadvantages to consider.

• It encourages the discipline of practice

Using the same formula or memorizing the same information over and over can be difficult and boring, but it reinforces the practice of discipline. To master a skill, repetition is often needed. By completing homework every night, specifically with difficult subjects, the concepts become easier to understand, helping students polish their skills and achieve their life goals.

• It teaches students to manage their time

Homework goes beyond just completing tasks. It encourages children to develop their skills in time management as schedules need to be organized to ensure that all tasks can be completed within the day.

• It provides more time for students to complete their learning process

The time allotted for each subject in school is often limited to 1 hour or less per day. That’s not enough time for students to grasp the material and core concepts of each subject. By creating specific homework assignments, it becomes possible for students to make up for the deficiencies in time.

• It discourages creative endeavors

If a student spends 3-5 hours a day on homework, those are 3-5 hours that they can’t use to pursue creative passions. Students might like to read leisurely or take up new hobbies but homework takes away their time from painting, learning an instrument, or developing new skills.

• Homework is typically geared toward benchmarks

Teachers often assign homework to improve students’ test scores. Although this can result in positive outcomes such as better study habits, the fact is that when students feel tired, they won’t likely absorb as much information. Their stress levels will go up and they’ll feel the curriculum burnout.

• No evidence that homework creates improvements

Research shows that homework doesn’t improve academic performance ; it can even make it worse. Homework creates a negative attitude towards schooling and education, making students dread going to their classes. If they don’t like attending their lessons, they will be unmotivated to listen to the discussions.

With all of the struggles that students face each day due to homework, it’s puzzling to understand why it was even invented. However, whether you think it’s helpful or not, just because the concept has survived for centuries doesn’t mean that it has to stay within the educational system.

Not all students care about the history of homework, but they all do care about the future of their educational pursuits. Maybe one day, homework will be fully removed from the curriculum of schools all over the world but until that day comes, students will have to burn the midnight oil to pass their requirements on time and hopefully achieve their own versions of success.

About the Author

Emily summers.

What Do the Crane Operation Signals Mean?

Why You Should Learn a New Language

Top Tips to Pass Your Medical Billing Certification Exam

What programs can you find at early learning centers?

Debunking the Myth of Roberto Nevilis: Who Really Invented Homework?

Is the D Important in Pharmacy? Why Pharm.D or RPh Degrees Shouldn’t Matter

How to Email a Professor: Guide on How to Start and End an Email Conversation

Everything You Need to Know About Getting a Post-Secondary Education

Grammar Corner: What’s The Difference Between Analysis vs Analyses?

Who Invented Homework? A Big Question Answered with Facts

Crystal Bourque

Delving into the intriguing history of education, one of the most pondered questions arises: Who invented homework?

Love it or hate it, homework is part of student life.

But what’s the purpose of completing these tasks and assignments? And who would create an education system that makes students complete work outside the classroom?

This post contains everything you’ve ever wanted to know about homework. So keep reading! You’ll discover the answer to the big question: who invented homework?

Who Invented Homework?

The myth of roberto nevilis: who is he, the origins of homework, a history of homework in the united states, 5 facts about homework, types of homework.

• What’s the Purpose of Homework? 
• Homework Pros
• Homework Cons

When, How, and Why was Homework Invented?

Daniel Jedzura/Shutterstock.com

To ensure we cover the basics (and more), let’s explore when, how, and why was homework invented.

As a bonus, we’ll also cover who invented homework. So get ready because the answer might surprise you!

It’s challenging to pinpoint the exact person responsible for the invention of homework.

For example, Medieval Monks would work on memorization and practice singing. Ancient philosophers would read and develop their teachings outside the classroom. While this might not sound like homework in the traditional form we know today, one could argue that these methods helped to form the basic structure and format.

So let’s turn to recorded history to try and identify who invented homework and when homework was invented.

Pliny the Younger

Credit: laphamsquarterly.org

Mention of homework appears in the writings of Pliny the Younger, meaning we can trace the term ‘homework’ back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger (61—112 CE) was an oratory teacher, and often told his students to practice their public speaking outside class.

Pliny believed that the repetition and practice of speech would help students gain confidence in their speaking abilities.

Johann Gottlieb Fichte

Credit: inlibris.com

Before the idea of homework came to the United States, Germany’s newly formed nation-state had been giving students homework for years.

The roots of homework extend to ancient times, but it wasn’t until German Philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762—1814) helped to develop the Volksschulen (People’s Schools) that homework became mandatory.

Fichte believed that the state needed to hold power over individuals to create a unified Germany. A way to assert control over people meant that students attending the Volksshulen were required to complete assignments at home on their own time.

As a result, some people credit Fichte for being the inventor of homework.

Horace Mann

Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

The idea of homework spread across Europe throughout the 19th century.

So who created homework in the United States?

The history of education and homework now moves to Horace Mann (1796—1859), an American educational reformer, spent some time in Prussia. There, he learned more about Germany’s Volksshulen, forms of education , and homework practices.

Mann liked what he saw and brought this system back to America. As a result, homework rapidly became a common factor in students’ lives across the country.

Credit: medium.com

If you’ve ever felt curious about who invented homework, a quick online search might direct you to a man named Roberto Nevilis, a teacher in Venice, Italy.

As the story goes, Nevilis invented homework in 1905 (or 1095) to punish students who didn’t demonstrate a good understanding of the lessons taught during class.

This teaching technique supposedly spread to the rest of Europe before reaching North America.

Unfortunately, there’s little truth to this story. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that these online sources lack credible sources to back up this myth as fact.

In 1905, the Roman Empire turned its attention to the First Crusade. No one had time to spare on formalizing education, and classrooms didn’t even exist. So how could Nevilis spread the idea of homework when education remained so informal?

And when you jump to 1901, you’ll discover that the government of California passed a law banning homework for children under fifteen. Nevilis couldn’t have invented homework in 1905 if this law had already reached the United States in 1901.

Inside Creative House/Shutterstock.com

When it comes to the origins of homework, looking at the past shows us that there isn’t one person who created homework. Instead, examining the facts shows us that several people helped to bring the idea of homework into Europe and then the United States.

In addition, the idea of homework extends beyond what historians have discovered. After all, the concept of learning the necessary skills human beings need to survive has existed since the dawn of man.

More than 100 years have come and gone since Horace Mann introduced homework to the school system in the United States.

Therefore, it’s not strange to think that the concept of homework has changed, along with our people and culture.

In short, homework hasn’t always been considered acceptable. Let’s dive into the history or background of homework to learn why.

Homework is Banned! (The 1900s)

Important publications of the time, including the Ladies’ Home Journal and The New York Times, published articles on the negative impacts homework had on American children’s health and well-being.

As a result, California banned homework for children under fifteen in 1901. This law, however, changed again about a decade later (1917).

Children Needed at Home (The 1930s)

Formed in 1923, The American Child Health Association (ACHA) aimed to decrease the infant mortality rate and better support the health and development of the American child.

By the 1930s, ACHA deemed homework a form of child labor. Since the government recently passed laws against child labor , it became difficult to justify homework assignments. College students, however, could still receive homework tasks as part of their formal schooling.

Studio Romantic/Shutterstock.com

A Shift in Ideas (The 1940s—1950s)

During the early to mid-1900s, the United States entered the Progressive Era. As a result, the country reformed its public education system to help improve students’ learning.

Homework became a part of everyday life again. However, this time, the reformed curriculum required teachers to make the assignments more personal.

As a result, American students would write essays on summer vacations and winter breaks, participate in ‘show and tell,’ and more.

These types of assignments still exist today!

Homework Today (The 2000s)

The focus of American education shifted again when the US Department of Education was founded in 1979, aiming to uplevel education in the country by, among other things, prohibiting discrimination ensuring equal access, and highlighting important educational issues.

In 2022, the controversial nature of homework in public schools and formal education is once again a hot topic of discussion in many classrooms.

According to one study , more than 60% of college and high school students deal with mental health issues like depression and anxiety due to homework. In addition, the large number of assignments given to students takes away the time students spend on other interests and hobbies. Homework also negatively impacts sleep.

As a result, some schools have implemented a ban or limit on the amount of homework assigned to students.

Test your knowledge and check out these other facts about homework:

• Horace Mann is also known as the ‘father’ of the modern school system and the educational process that we know today (read more about Who Invented School ).
• With a bit of practice, homework can improve oratory and writing skills. Both are important in a student’s life at all stages.
• Homework can replace studying. Completing regular assignments reduces the time needed to prepare for tests.
• Homework is here to stay. It doesn’t look like teachers will stop assigning homework any time soon. However, the type and quantity of homework given seem to be shifting to accommodate the modern student’s needs.
• The optimal length of time students should spend on homework is one to two hours. Students who spent one to two hours on homework per day scored higher test results.
•   So, while completing assignments outside of school hours may be beneficial, spending, for example, a day on homework is not ideal.

Explore how the Findmykids app can complement your child’s school routine. With features designed to ensure their safety and provide peace of mind, it’s a valuable tool for parents looking to stay connected with their children throughout the day. Download now and stay informed about your child’s whereabouts during their academic journey.

Ground Picture/Shutterstock.com

The U.S. Department of Education provides teachers with plenty of information and resources to help students with homework.

In general, teachers give students homework that requires them to employ four strategies. The four types of homework types include:

• Practice: To help students master a specific skill, teachers will assign homework that requires them to repeat the particular skill. For example, students must solve a series of math problems.
• Preparation: This type of homework introduces students to the material they will learn in the future. An example of preparatory homework is assigning students a chapter to read before discussing the contents in class the next day.
• Extension: When a teacher wants to get students to apply what they’ve learned but create a challenge, this type of homework is assigned. It helps to boost problem-solving skills. For example, using a textbook to find the answer to a question gets students to problem-solve differently.
• Integration: To solidify the student learning experience , teachers will create a task that requires the use of many different skills. An example of integration is a book report. Completing integration homework assignments helps students learn how to be organized, plan, strategize, and solve problems on their own. Encouraging effective study habits is a key idea behind homework, too.

Ultimately, the type of homework students receive should have a purpose, be focused and clear, and challenge students to problem solve while integrating lessons learned.

What’s the Purpose of Homework?

LightField Studios/Shutterstock.com

Homework aims to ensure individual students understand the information they learn in class. It also helps teachers to assess a student’s progress and identify strengths and weaknesses.

For example, school teachers use different types of homework like book reports, essays, math problems, and more to help students demonstrate their understanding of the lessons learned.

Does Homework Improve the Quality of Education?

Homework is a controversial topic today. Educators, parents, and even students often question whether homework is beneficial in improving the quality of education.

Let’s explore the pros and cons of homework to try and determine whether homework improves the quality of education in schools.

Homework Pros:

• Time Management Skills : Assigning homework with a due date helps students to develop a schedule to ensure they complete tasks on time. Personal responsibility amongst students is thereby promoted.
• More Time to Learn : Students encounter plenty of distractions at school. It’s also challenging for students to grasp the material in an hour or less. Assigning homework provides the student with the opportunity to understand the material.
• Improves Research Skills : Some homework assignments require students to seek out information. Through homework, students learn where to seek out good, reliable sources.

Homework Cons:

• Reduced Physical Activity : Homework requires students to sit at a desk for long periods. Lack of movement decreases the amount of physical activity, often because teachers assign students so much homework that they don’t have time for anything else. Time for students can get almost totally taken up with out-of-school assignments.
• Stuck on an Assignment: A student often gets stuck on an assignment. Whether they can’t find information or the correct solution, students often don’t have help from parents and require further support from a teacher. For underperforming students, especially, this can have a negative impact on their confidence and overall educational experience.
• Increases Stress : One of the results of getting stuck on an assignment is that it increases stress and anxiety. Too much homework hurts a child’s mental health, preventing them from learning and understanding the material.

Some research shows that homework doesn’t provide educational benefits or improve performance, and can lead to a decline in physical activities. These studies counter that the potential effectiveness of homework is undermined by its negative impact on students.

However, research also shows that homework benefits students—provided teachers don’t give them too much. Here’s a video from Duke Today that highlights a study on the very topic.

Homework Today

The question of “Who Invented Homework?” delves into the historical evolution of academic practices, shedding light on its significance in fostering responsibility among students and contributing to academic progress. While supported by education experts, homework’s role as a pivotal aspect of academic life remains a subject of debate, often criticized as a significant source of stress. Nonetheless, when balanced with extracurricular activities and integrated seamlessly into the learning process, homework continues to shape and refine students’ educational journeys.

Maybe one day, students won’t need to submit assignments or complete tasks at home. But until then, many students understand the benefits of completing homework as it helps them further their education and achieve future career goals.

Before you go, here’s one more question: how do you feel about homework? Do you think teachers assign too little or too much? Get involved and start a discussion in the comments!

Elena Kharichkina/Shutterstock.com

Who invented homework and why?

The creation of homework can be traced back to the Ancient Roman Pliny the Younger, a teacher of oratory—he is generally credited as being the father of homework! Pliny the Younger asked his students to practice outside of class to help them build confidence in their speaking skills.

Who invented homework as a punishment?

There’s a myth that the Italian educator Roberto Nevilis first used homework as a means of punishing his students in the early 20th century—although this has now been widely discredited, and the story of the Italian teacher is regarded as a myth.

Why did homework stop being a punishment?

There are several reasons that homework ceased being a form of punishment. For example, the introduction of child labor laws in the early twentieth century meant that the California education department banned giving homework to children under the age of fifteen for a time. Further, throughout the 1940s and 1950s, there was a growing emphasis on enhancing students’ learning, making homework assignments more personal, and nurturing growth, rather than being used as a form of punishment.

The picture on the front page: Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock.com

Even in today’s world, child trafficking is still a huge problem. Incidents of human trafficking…

Every parent wants to see their child happy and successful in their life. However, are…

We encourage children not to complain and to cope with all hardships themselves. Yet at…

Subscribe now!

Glad you've joined us🎉🎉.

Who Invented Homework and Why

Who Invented Homework

Italian pedagog, Roberto Nevilis, was believed to have invented homework back in 1905 to help his students foster productive studying habits outside of school. However, we'll sound find out that the concept of homework has been around for much longer.                                                                                                                                                              

Homework, which most likely didn't have a specific term back then, already existed even in ancient civilizations. Think Greece, Rome, and even ancient Egypt. Over time, homework became standardized in our educational systems. This happened naturally over time, as the development of the formal education system continued.                                                        

In this article, we're going to attempt to find out who invented homework, and when was homework invented, and we're going to uncover if the creator of homework is a single person or a group of them. Read this article through to the end to find out.

Who Created Homework and When?

The concept of homework predates modern educational systems, with roots in ancient Rome. However, Roberto Nevilis is often, yet inaccurately, credited with inventing homework in 1905.Depending on various sources, this invention is dated either in the year 1095 or 1905.

The invention of homework is commonly attributed to Roberto Nevilis, an Italian pedagog who is said to have introduced it as a form of punishment for his students in 1905. However, the concept of homework predates Nevilis and has roots that go back much further in history.

The practice of assigning students work to be done outside of class time can be traced back to ancient civilizations, such as Rome, where Pliny the Younger (AD 61–113) encouraged his students to practice public speaking at home to improve their oratory skills.

It's important to note that the idea of formalized homework has evolved significantly over centuries, influenced by educational theories and pedagogical developments. The purpose and nature of homework have been subjects of debate among educators, with opinions varying on its effectiveness and impact on student learning and well-being.

It might be impossible to answer when was homework invented. A simpler question to ask is ‘what exactly is homework?’.

If you define it as work assigned to do outside of a formal educational setup, then homework might be as old as humanity itself. When most of what people studied were crafts and skills, practicing them outside of dedicated learning times may as well have been considered homework.

Let’s look at a few people who have been credited with formalizing homework over the past few thousand years. 

Roberto Nevilis

Stories and speculations on the internet claim Roberto Nevilis is the one who invented school homework, or at least was the first person to assign homework back in 1905.

Who was he? He was an Italian educator who lived in Venice. He wanted to discipline and motivate his class of lackluster students. Unfortunately, claims online lack factual basis and strong proof that Roberto did invent homework.                                                                                                        

Homework, as a concept, predates Roberto, and can't truly be assigned to a sole inventor. Moreover, it's hard to quantify where an idea truly emerges, because many ideas emerge from different parts of the world simultaneously or at similar times, therefore it's hard to truly pinpoint who invented this idea.

Pliny the Younger

Another culprit according to the internet lived a thousand years before Roberto Nevilis. Pliny the Younger was an oratory teacher in the first century AD in the Roman Empire.

He apparently asked his students to practice their oratory skills at home, which some people consider one of the first official versions of homework.

It is difficult to say with any certainty if this is the first time homework was assigned though because the idea of asking students to practice something outside classes probably existed in every human civilization for millennia. 

Horace Mann

To answer the question of who invented homework and why, at least in the modern sense, we have to talk about Horace Mann. Horace Mann was an American educator and politician in the 19th century who was heavily influenced by movements in the newly-formed German state.

He is credited for bringing massive educational reform to America, and can definitely be considered the father of modern homework in the United States. However, his ideas were heavily influenced by the founding father of German nationalism Johann Gottlieb Fichte. 

After the defeat of Napoleon and the liberation of Prussia in 1814, citizens went back to their own lives, there was no sense of national pride or German identity. Johann Gottlieb Fichte came up with the idea of Volkschule, a mandatory 9-year educational system provided by the government to combat this.

Homework already existed in Germany at this point in time but it became a requirement in Volkschule. Fichte wasn't motivated purely by educational reform, he wanted to demonstrate the positive impact and power of a centralized government, and assigning homework was a way of showing the state's power to influence personal and public life.

This effort to make citizens more patriotic worked and the system of education and homework slowly spread through Europe.

Horace Mann saw the system at work during a trip to Prussia in the 1840s and brought many of the concepts to America, including homework.   

Who Invented Homework and Why?

Homework's history and objectives have evolved significantly over time, reflecting changing educational goals. Now, that we've gone through its history a bit, let's try to understand the "why". The people or people who made homework understood the advantages of it. Let's consider the following:                                                  

• Repetition, a key factor in long-term memory retention, is a primary goal of homework. It helps students solidify class-learned information. This is especially true in complex subjects like physics, where physics homework help can prove invaluable to learning effectively.
• Homework bridges classroom learning with real-world applications, enhancing memory and understanding.
• It identifies individual student weaknesses, allowing focused efforts to address them.
• Working independently at their own pace, students can overcome the distractions and constraints of a classroom setting through homework.
• By creating a continuous learning flow, homework shifts the perspective from viewing each school day as isolated to seeing education as an ongoing process.
• Homework is crucial for subjects like mathematics and sciences, where repetition is necessary to internalize complex processes.
• It's a tool for teachers to maximize classroom time, focusing on expanding understanding rather than just drilling fundamentals.
• Responsibility is a key lesson from homework. Students learn to manage time and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines.
• Research skills get honed through homework as students gather information from various sources.
• Students' creative potential is unleashed in homework, free from classroom constraints.

Struggling with your Homework?

Get your assignments done by real pros. Save your precious time and boost your marks with ease.

Who Invented Homework: Development in the 1900s

Thanks to Horace Mann, homework had become widespread in the American schooling system by 1900, but it wasn't universally popular amongst either students or parents. 

The early 1900s homework bans

In 1901, California became the first state to ban homework. Since homework had made its way into the American educational system there had always been people who were against it for some surprising reasons.

Back then, children were expected to help on farms and family businesses, so homework was unpopular amongst parents who expected their children to help out at home. Many students also dropped out of school early because they found homework tedious and difficult.

Publications like Ladies' Home Journal and The New York Times printed statements and articles about the detrimental effects of homework on children's health. 

The 1930 child labor laws

Homework became more common in the U.S. around the early 1900s. As to who made homework mandatory, the question remains open, but its emergence in the mainstream sure proved beneficial. Why is this?

Well, in 1930, child labor laws were created. It aimed to protect children from being exploited for labor and it made sure to enable children to have access to education and schooling. The timing was just right.

Speaking of homework, if you’re reading this article and have homework you need to attend to, send a “ do my homework ” request on Studyfy and instantly get the help of a professional right now.

Progressive reforms of the 1940s and 50s

With more research into education, psychology and memory, the importance of education became clear. Homework was understood as an important part of education and it evolved to become more useful and interesting to students. 

Homework during the Cold War

Competition with the Soviet Union fueled many aspects of American life and politics. In a post-nuclear world, the importance of Science and Technology was evident.

The government believed that students had to be well-educated to compete with Soviet education systems. This is the time when homework became formalized, accepted, and a fundamental part of the American educational system. 

1980s Nation at Risk

In 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education published Nation at Risk:

The Imperative for Educational Reform, a report about the poor condition of education in America.  Still in the Cold War, this motivated the government in 1986 to talk about the benefits of homework in a pamphlet called “What Works” which highlighted the importance of homework. 

Did you like our Homework Post?

For more help, tap into our pool of professional writers and get expert essay editing services!

Who Invented Homework: The Modern Homework Debate

Like it or not, homework has stuck through the times, remaining a central aspect in education since the end of the Cold War in 1991. So, who invented homework 😡 and when was homework invented?

We’ve tried to pinpoint different sources, and we’ve understood that many historical figures have contributed to its conception.

Horace Mann, in particular, was the man who apparently introduced homework in the U.S. But let’s reframe our perspective a bit. Instead of focusing on who invented homework, let’s ask ourselves why homework is beneficial in the first place. Let’s consider the pros and cons:

• Homework potentially enhances memory.
• Homework helps cultivate time management, self-learning, discipline, and cognitive skills.
• An excessive amount of work can cause mental health issues and burnout.
• Rigid homework tasks can take away time for productive and leisurely activities like arts and sports.

Meaningful homework tasks can challenge us and enrich our knowledge on certain topics, but too much homework can actually be detrimental. This is where Studyfy can be invaluable. Studyfy offers homework help.

All you need to do is click the “ do my assignment ” button and send us a request. Need instant professional help? You know where to go now.

Frequently asked questions

Who made homework.

As stated throughout the article, there was no sole "inventor of homework." We've established that homework has already existed in ancient civilizations, where people were assigned educational tasks to be done at home. 

Let's look at ancient Greece; for example, students at the Academy of Athens were expected to recite and remember epic poems outside of their institutions. Similar practices were going on in ancient Egypt, China and Rome. 

This is why we can't ascertain the sole inventor of homework. While history can give us hints that homework was practiced in different civilizations, it's not far-fetched to believe that there have been many undocumented events all across the globe that happened simultaneously where homework emerged. 

Why was homework invented? 

We've answered the question of "who invented homework 😡" and we've recognized that we cannot pinpoint it to one sole inventor. So, let's get back to the question of why homework was invented. 

Homework arose from educational institutions, remained, and probably was invented because teachers and educators wanted to help students reinforce what they learned during class. They also believed that homework could improve memory and cognitive skills over time, as well as instill a sense of discipline. 

In other words, homework's origins can be linked to academic performance and regular students practice. Academic life has replaced the anti-homework sentiment as homework bans proved to cause partial learning and a struggle to achieve conceptual clarity.

Speaking of, don't forget that Studyfy can help you with your homework, whether it's Python homework help or another topic. Don't wait too long to take advantage of expert help when you can do it now. 

Is homework important for my learning journey?

Now that we've answered questions on who created homework and why it was invented, we can ask ourselves if homework is crucial in our learning journey. 

At the end of the day, homework can be a crucial step to becoming more knowledgeable and disciplined over time. 

Exercising our memory skills, learning independently without a teacher obliging us, and processing new information are all beneficial to our growth and evolution. However, whether a homework task is enriching or simply a filler depends on the quality of education you're getting. 

Who Invented Homework And Why? The Facts Everyone Should Know

• Post author By admin
• September 17, 2022

Homework is now an essential part of the educational process; it facilitates and improves learning.

We’ve been completing tasks since we were in elementary school. And few of us were considering who invented homework. Why was homework invented?

Who was Robert Novelis? Who was Horace Mann? Was homework invented as a punishment?  

In this blog, we’ll learn who invented homework and why, and the brief history of homework.

Table of Contents

Who invented homework?

We have no clear idea who invented homework although many people do homework most days of the week.

Many names are included with the invention of homework. 

In reality, anyone who has attempted to learn something has most probably practiced it in their own place and time, so homework is simply a part of the learning process.  

Homework was first mentioned in ancient Rome, in the writings of Piny the Younger, in 1AD.

Pliny, an oratory teacher, is said to have asked his students to practice public speaking at home to boost their confidence.

At the end of the 19th century, homework became universal as school/colleges became compulsory worldwide.

Why Was Homework Invented?

Over the years, supporters of homework have given a variety of reasons for its creation.

These are some of them:

• Students can consolidate their learning by practising what they’ve learned in school;
• Teachers and students can uncover learning gaps when students hand in assignments that they’ve completed independently;
• It provides students extra time to study something; 
• It helps students manage their time.

On the other hand, homework has not always been popular, and in the early 1900s, it was even banned in the state of California for 15 years.

Who Was Roberto Novelis?

Roberto Novelis might well not be anyone.

It is frequently said that this name is responsible for the invention of homework.

But he might not even be real, because no one appears to know whether he developed homework in 1095 or 1905.

He is supposed to have devised the concept of homework to punish what he saw to be lazy students.

However, there is no formal confirmation of this story or even his existence.

Who Was Horace Mann?

Horace Mann was a nineteenth-century politician and educational reformer.

He believed strongly in compulsory education and was essential in the establishment of state-funded education in the United States.

After seeing it in the German Volksschulen, or “People’s Schools,” when he visited in 1843, he brought the idea of mandatory assignments to be done at home – homework – to the United States.

Brief History of Homework

• 1901-1917 : All students under the age of 15 in the state of California were prohibited from doing homework. A number of letters and statements opposing homework were published in the Ladies Home Journal and the New York Times.
• 1930: The American Child Health Association proclaimed homework to be a kind of child labour, which was a novel legal idea in the United States at the time.
• 1950: During the Cold War, the United States went on a large homework push in order for American children to thrive, particularly in math and science.
• 2000 onwards: The idea that homework was harmful to a child’s or family’s health resurfaced with the publication of homework books.

Meanwhile, students in the United Kingdom often have more homework than kids in many other European countries. I hope you have known about who invented homework.

• 16 Powerful Tips on How to Finish your Homework Faster

Was Homework Invented As a Punishment?

Yes, at first, Roberto used homework as a form of punishment. however, He also used it to guarantee that students fully absorbed and comprehended what they had studied. But because homework was created at a time when the globe was creating a formal education system, it became a vital part of that system.

People in countries like the United States, on the other hand, did not take education seriously until the twentieth century. Parents considered schooling as a hindrance in such places because they wanted their children to help them with household tasks. However, During World War II things changed when such countries realized they required educated personnel, such as scientists.

Homework in the public school system in the United States

Homework is given in schools for several different reasons. One reason is to give students a chance to put what they’ve learned in class into practice. Homework can also help kids learn how to study and handle their time. Students can also learn how to work independently by doing their schoolwork.

But there are different opinions on how much study is too much. Some experts say that giving kids too much schoolwork can harm them. They say it can cause stress, worry, and burnout. They also say that it can cut into students’ free time, which is important for their social and mental growth.

The amount of homework given changes from school to school and teacher to teacher. But some broad rules can be used as a guide. The National Education Association (NEA) says that elementary school students shouldn’t have more than an hour of schoolwork per night, middle school students shouldn’t have more than two hours of homework per night, and high school students shouldn’t have more than three hours of homework per night.

These are, of course, just suggestions. The right amount of homework for each student will depend on their needs and how well they can do it. Parents and teachers must work together to find the right balance for each kid.

Here are some ways to get your homework done:

• Set aside a certain amount of time every day to do homework.
• Find a place to work where it’s quiet and no one will bother you.
• Break up big chores into smaller ones that are easier to handle.
• When you need a break, take one.
• Ask for help if you are suffering.

Benefits Of Homework

Is homework actually beneficial? Of course, there are numerous advantages for students. Let’s take a look at all of the advantages that homework can give to students in various ways.

Encourages Students To Be Disciplined In Their Practice.

Homework assists in the installation of discipline in students. Frequently, you will receive the same type of work for homework as you did in class. Practicing the same task over and over will improve your abilities in that area. You will gain a clearer and more informed understanding of the subject. If you are studying mathematics and solving a hundred numerical problems, you will gain knowledge in that subject. Reading the same material twice or three times at home will also help you gain a good grasp of the subject. Discipline like this will benefit you in other aspects of your life as well.

Involvement of Parents In Children’s Life

Parents are perplexed when they see their children’s homework. That’s quite normal. However, homework has helped in the development of a close bond between parents and children. Parents that assist their children with schoolwork learn about their child’s weak areas. Furthermore, parents want to see the homework since it will help them understand what their children are learning in school. This particular benefit is primarily for school students.

Students Learn Time Management And Research Skills

Students frequently struggle with time management. Homework helps with time management. Students will recognise the importance of time and abandon their procrastinating habits. Make a schedule and stick to it when you get your homework. A well-planned timetable will keep you motivated and on track. While doing your assignment, you will also gain research skills. You must conduct extensive research on a certain work in order to prepare for research papers and dissertations.

Homework Creates a Safe Environment For Learning.

Despite the fact that school and college are places where students should be studying, they are frequently distracted. Distractions from friends and other activities cause them to lose attention. A home is a place where one can be completely comfortable while also being able to concentrate. It is possible to learn effectively at home as well. Home is the ideal place to study because it is free of interruptions and has a quiet environment.

Demerits of homework

Due To Homework, There Is a Lack Of Physical Activity.

Being studious is a great thing, but physical activity is also required for a healthy lifestyle. You may have noticed that universities and institutions have begun to overburden students with homework. They don’t have any spare time at home to do other things. Due to a lack of time for outdoor activities, homework has become a barrier to students’ growth and physical development. Furthermore, a lack of physical activities causes tension among students. This has a direct impact on academic performance. As a result, many students have begun to seek online homework assistance. They prefer to hire professional writers to help them manage their academic and personal lives.

Stuck At Various Points

Students get stuck at various stages when working on their assignments. They don’t understand the concept of clarity, and they never get the right solution to a math issue. They may require assistance from some teachers or professors in such situations. Most of the time, it is not available at home. 

No Time For Vacations

Students who study abroad spend little time with their families. They have so much homework and assignments that they don’t have time to spend with family or friends even on vacation. That is why most students perceive homework to be a difficult academic activity to complete and want to know “who invented homework.”

Part-Time Job Students Find It Tough

Many students work part-time jobs while pursuing their studies at the university level. Homework is difficult for such students. They have to sit with schoolwork after working for nearly half a day for their bellies. In a nutshell, homework is destroying their physical and social life. Thanks to online assignment help services, students may get support when they need it.

Increasing Stress In a Student’s Life

As you can see, there are a variety of factors that make homework a nightmare for students. As a result, students frequently ask, “Who invented homework?” They are so frustrated that they want to track down the culprit and punish him for his crime. In fact, however, this is not achievable. However, it is true that homework has contributed to a variety of mental health issues among kids. They are constantly under pressure to perform effectively and complete the assignment on schedule. Their health is unquestionably deteriorating, and homework is the primary cause.

• 10 Best Homework Help Websites- Here Are the Ones You Should Go For!

How Homework Improves the Quality of Education 

You must realize that the main goal of homework is not to manage people or to punish children! This is just a fantastic approach to organizing and memorizing all of the material that has been studied. Many critical talents cannot be developed without homework. Of course, professors provide them with a wealth of material during class, but the purpose of homework is to integrate that knowledge with practical assignments in order to demonstrate how effectively the student has studied and comprehended the subject.

Many experienced psychologists believe that assimilation of both knowledge and activity approaches is critical. It encourages students to think outside the box, discover the information they need to complete a task, learn new abilities, manage their time, and apply their new skills and knowledge in the future. Every student receives their homework grades, which motivates students to spend more time studying at home, absorb the content thoroughly in class, achieve good grades, and be noticed and encouraged by their teachers.

Why Should Homework Be Banned?

Even with all the potential benefits of homework, some people say it should be prohibited because spending more time on it costs children too much time, produces a stressful environment at home and at school, and fosters unequal access to resources between rich and poor families.

In addition to these concerns, some opponents of homework argue that helping their children with homework is unfair to parents who work long hours or have numerous jobs outside the home.

The other side of the argument for making homework illegal is that if it were made illegal, students would spend more time doing other constructive things like sports or spending time with their families. The concept is based on the premise that children will be better prepared to engage in these activities if they had a day off from school.

The final point is that homework does not always boost learning or grades; in fact, some research suggest that the amount of time spent on homework and standardised test scores may be negatively correlated.

Students’ work quality deteriorates when they become tired or bored while completing it, and they don’t learn from homework if all they care about is finishing it.

Those who oppose banning it propose giving children smaller amounts of work to do each night instead of an entire night’s worth of homework.

Quick Facts About Homework

• Roberto Nevilis isn’t the person who invented homework.
• Johann Gottlieb Fichte invented homework.
• Horace Mann, who is wrongly credited with inventing homework, brought it to the United States in the nineteenth century.

Conclusion (Who Invented Homework)

In this blog, we have discussed who invented homework in detail. Regardless of who invented homework, it is here to stay.

While homework has many advantages, educators must know when and how to use it as a tool to classroom learning rather than as a replacement.

anxiety, depression and anger are common symptoms of overworked children.

Homework is not always useful for students because it might take time away from studying or playing outside, both of which are essential for a child’s holistic development.

If you have other ideas and questions about who invented homework and why feel free to share your comments in the below section.

FAQs Related To Who Invented Homework

Is it normal to cry over homework.

Sometimes, homework upsets our children. Executive function deficits, learning disabilities, or difficult subjects can make children cry or lash out during homework time.

How is homework harmful?

“The findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high-stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children’s lives; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives,” according to the CNN story.

• australia (2)
• duolingo (13)
• Education (265)
• General (69)
• How To (16)
• IELTS (127)
• Latest Updates (162)
• Malta Visa (6)
• Permanent residency (1)
• Programming (31)
• Scholarship (1)
• Sponsored (4)
• Study Abroad (187)
• Technology (12)
• work permit (8)

Recent Posts

• Best Essay Writing Services

Posted by Diana B.

The History of Homework

Is homework a punishment? It sure seems like it at times! When you consider the facts, you’ll understand why. If you’re interested in learning more about the origin of home assignments along with other interesting facts, keep reading!

When and Why Was Homework Invented

You may wonder who was the first person to give homework. It turns out those are two different people. If you live in the United States, you can thank Horace Mann for your school system. Of course, education goes back much further than that. In fact, school systems existed in Ancient Europe, The Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, in Africa, the Far East, etc. Essentially, as long as there have been people living communally, education has happened.

Now, when it comes to who invented school homework, that credit goes to an Italian teacher Roberto Nevilis. He assigned work for his students to take home as a punishment. So, the answer to the question, ‘was homework invented as a punishment?’ is yes! Although the true story is probably a bit more complex. The idea of sending work home for students is something that teachers likely did out of necessity even before Roberto Nevilis. However, he may have been the first one to make it punitive.

Homework and Schools

Now that you know who invented homework and school let’s consider its pros and cons. Schools give information about homework for a variety of reasons. Some of these are more valid than others. Let’s start with the good reasons first!

• It helps students further their mastery of topics.
• Some schoolwork is about memorization. Home practice helps with this.
• It keeps parents in tune with their child’s progress and struggles.
• Kids benefit from spending a small amount of time at home, engaging in a task that is productive and requires self-discipline.
• Home assignments help kids take ownership of their education.
• When school tasks are tied to completion points, kids have the opportunity to boost their grades.
• Students may be able to explore topics of interest to them through additional tasks at home.

After this list, it seems reasonable why do schools give homework, doesn’t it? Well, the negatives about homework tend to be reflected in the ways in which schools use homework, not that they assign it in the first place. Here are some of the most common issues:

• When teachers fail to coordinate homework loads with one another, students can end up with more than they can handle.
• Not all students have equal access to the internet, school supplies at home, parental support, or time.
• Excessive studying causes stress, even physical symptoms.
• When a student doesn’t understand the work at school, having them an attempt at home can simply lead to frustration and feelings of failure.
• Too many assignments can interfere with family time and activities.
• Kids benefit more from playtime, exercise, and other activities than doing schoolwork.
• Assigning homework in the early grades has no benefit and can be detrimental.
• High school students often suffer from anxiety and sleep deprivation because of excessive homework.
• For students struggling to bond with the school environment, punitive or excess homework can give them one more reason to dislike school.

Read also: How a reliable essay review service can help you boost your academic performance.

Homework Statistics and Facts

While it’s interesting to learn about the origin of homework, it’s even more important that schools use homework as a way to benefit students. If homework frustrates students, highlights disparities in privilege, or causes other issues, it doesn’t matter who started homework originally. The only important thing is to implement policies that make homework fair. Here are some best practices:

• Provide students with devices and hotspots if a home task requires connectivity.
• Work with low income families to ensure there are supplies for home.
• Consider keeping school libraries open later and providing homework support for students.
• Avoid assigning additional tasks in the early grades.
• Give no more than 10 minutes of homework for each grade level.
• Students in high school should have no more than one hour of homework unless they are participating in AP or other challenging programs.
• Teach older kids time management by giving them long term assignments that they manage themselves.
• Answer the question, “why is homework important?”. Students will be more motivated if they understand the reasoning behind an assignment.

Useful information: Expert Grab My Essay review to help you choose the best writing service.

Student Best Practices for Homework

You can find all the statistics against the homework that you want. The truth is that most students will have to deal with homework. Here are some tips you can use to make it more manageable.

• Use a bulletin board or calendar to store information about homework. This is especially helpful for long term assignments.
• Bookmark acceptable research sources on your computer. Be careful of Wikipedia. It’s okay for basic info and locating other sources, but it isn’t original source material.
• Try to create a workspace that works for you.
• Prioritize studying each day even if you don’t have extra assignments.
• Be proactive and talk to your instructors if you are having difficulty with home tasks.

Finally, know when it’s time to get help. Even better, know where to get the help you need. We can assist you in finding an online homework assistance provider.

Posted by Diana B., November 23, 2020

Similar Posts

Best homework help websites review for college students: experts are nearby.

Most college students use online academic services at least once during their studies. With this best homework help websites review, you'll know wh...

How to Write a Dissertation Proposal: Ultimate Guide

Do you want to learn how to write a dissertation proposal? Just follow the 6 simple steps from our ultimate guide.

Thank you for sharing your comment!

Your opinion means a lot!

Homework has been the topic of much debate for all teachers and students. While students are completely against it, teachers believe that it is an important part of academic life. Therefore, a tug-of-war is always the result. Is homework helpful or harmful is the topic of a different discussion.

Who invented homework is something we will look at in this piece. But before we move on, let’s look at some of the perceptions of homework students and teachers have. 

Who Invented Homework: A Teacher’s Perspective

According to a majority of teachers and educators, homework is very important for a student’s academic growth. It helps the students practice and at the same time reinforces their classroom learning. Invariably, teachers contend that unless students practice at home what they learn at school, their learning will be incomplete. In general, there are a variety of reasons that the homework helper supports your request to pay someone to do my homework :-

• Better learning
• Continuous improvement
• Reinforcement learning
• Practice 
• Deeper understanding
• Conceptual clarity
• Doubt generation
• Constant revision
• Self-motivated learning

Keeping in mind these major benefits, teachers argue that homework is an essential part of learning.

Who Invented Homework: A Student’s Perspective

Students, on the other hand, despise homework on most occasions. They view it as an additional burden that circumvents their free time. More often than not, students argue that homework is given in excess and is a part of what the teacher is unable to finish in class. Invariably, there are some strong points students use to illustrate their stand. Stanford Research shows pitfalls of homework for the following reasons-

• Wastage of time
• Additional burden
• Lack of consistency
• Lack of motivation
• Inability to add value to grades
• The extreme level of difficulty
• Absence of holistic growth
• Excessive time commitment
• Health-related problems
• Stress and frequent episodes of anxiety

The above list clearly indicates that homework is not all rosy. There are demerits to it that students explicitly claim. However, to completely negate the importance of homework in light of a few disadvantages is not the right approach.

Who Invented Homework: Walk into History

We can debate whether homework is helpful or harmful for hours without a break. However, it might be a good idea to pause and understand who invented homework and what was its objective. Going back in time, we see that homework was invented by Roberto Nevilis, an Italian pedagog. The idea behind homework was simple. As a teacher, Nevilis felt that his teachings lost their essence when they left the class.

Disappointed by the fact that students failed to outperform themselves despite his hard work, he decided to take different measures. Therefore, homework was born. Homework, as we understand it today, was not the objective of Nevilis. He rather saw it as an alternative means to punishment as physical punishment was not an option. 

Digging Deeper

With the advent of formal schooling, the idea of homework also took a formal shape and form. It became a means to make learning more effective and ensure retention. The practice of giving homework is said to have existed before Nevilis in the ancient Roman and Greek empires.

However, it was only with Nevilis that it became formalized. Homework came to be seen as a means of motivation for students to engage in classroom learning post-school hours. In the absence of such motivation, students hardly made any effort to indulge in learnings from school. 

Historically, thus, homework came around as a means to improve student learning and was seen in two lights. As an alternative way to punish students and make them pay close attention to learning post-class. Secondly, as a motivation for students to indulge in greater learning after school hours.

Irrespective of the approach, the objective was to ensure that students do not leave behind classroom learning. Rather they carry it along and work upon it after school to perform better in the longer run.   

Who Invented Homework: The Objectives

Let us take a brief look at the objectives with which homework was invented. Invariably, the earliest objective of homework was not to burden students with unnecessary work, but rather to add to their learning. Some of the objectives include-

Reinforcement of learning

There was a common conception that students seldom paid attention to classwork once they left the premises, An out-of-sight, out-of-mind phenomenon was taking place. In such a situation, students came to class the next day with a clean slate, and almost no connection to the previous class.

In such a situation, establishing a connection between lessons of two consecutive days became difficult. Therefore, the first objective of homework is to reinforce learning. The idea is simple, if students practice what they learn in class, it will establish a strong foundation. Consequently, students will recall it easily in the next class, facilitating their learning.

Considerations of Time

Whether desirable or not, each class and lesson with a time limit. This means that a teacher has to complete his or her syllabus within that time frame. However, at times, some topics and students require more time than that. Inability to dedicate extra time results in partial learning.

Here comes the second objective for those who created homework. The idea is to encourage students to look back on their lessons and achieve conceptual clarity when they have no time to bind them. Thus, homework is a way to facilitate learning which is not within the confines of time, like classroom learning. 

Practice and Application

In addition to facilitating inter-class linkage from one day to the next, homework also enables practice and application. There are several facets to this claim. Firstly, in the absence of an obligation, students seldom practice. Despite the fact that practice has proven time and again its ability to score better grades, it is underutilized by students.

Homework plays an important role in reversing this trend. As a formal obligation, homework encourages students to practice their lessons and learning. Secondly, it also enables students to apply their learning in real life. Some of the best homework assignments are the ones that require the practical application of theory learned in class. 

Who Invented Homework: What Went Wrong?

The final section of this discussion will focus on what went wrong with homework. It is clear from the above points that those who invented homework were well-intentioned. However, its use and application have some major flaws. This is what has made students despise homework.

Firstly, contrary to helping students practice and create a connection in class the next day, teachers assign irrelevant sections of work. Mostly these sections have not been touched in class and thus, seem very difficult to students. Secondly, the amount of homework often surpasses the maximum threshold.

In an attempt to facilitate maximum learning, teachers go overboard and burden students with more than what they can handle. In such a situation, students feel mental pressure and often succumb to depression and anxiety. These are but a few reasons that online homework has been unable to achieve its true objectives.

But nowadays, the circumstances have changed as some sites like Instasolving Homework Help USA are coming to the forefront with homework assistance. It ensures students improve their knowledge base and their academic performance gets better.

Whether we like it or not, homework is an important part of student life. Unless the education system is overhauled, there is no way out of homework. Therefore, it might be a good idea to embrace its benefits and view it as a way to improve one’s grades. Owing to the technological revolution, students can now shoulder the burden of their homework with online homework help platforms.

Such interventions like TutorBin help students to complete their homework by seeking assistance from global subject matter experts and skyrocket their grades.

Our Trending Services >> Homework Help | Assignment Help | Live Sessions | Essay Writing Help | Lab Report Help | Project Report Help | Speech Writing Service | Presentation Writing Service | Video Solutions | Pay Someone To Do My Homework

Our Popular Subjects >> Math Homework Help | Physics Homework Help | Chemistry Homework Help | Civil Engineering Homework Help | Finance Homework Help | Electrical Engineering Homework Help | Mechanical Engineering Homework Help | Computer Science Homework Help | Economics Homework Help | Calculus Homework Help | Fluid Mechanics Homework Help

• E- Learning
• Online Learning

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*

Comment * NEXT

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

This made me do.homework now 🥺💕

I wish homework was improved. It’s a heavy burden designed to kill us.

I do consider all the ideas you have introduced to your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are very brief for novices. May you please extend them a bit from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.

you are in reality a good webmaster. The site loading pace is amazing. It seems that you are doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork. you have performed a wonderful activity in this topic!

Ahaa, its fastidious discussion about this post here at this webpage, I have read all that, so now me also commenting at this place.

Greetings! I’ve been following your blog for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the great work!

Investing in cryptocurrency has changed my life tremendously due to the fact it has helped me attain that.

You May Also Like

10 Simple Python Projects for Beginners to Build Confidence

From Zero to Hero: Learning Python Through Online Resources

Real-World Java Projects to Enhance Your Portfolio and Skills

Challenges of Doing Calculus Homework & How You Can Overcome It? 

Math Homework Help- Guidance to Excel in Math Learning

Online homework help, get homework help.

Get Answer within 15-30 minutes

Check out our free tool Math Problem Solver

About tutorbin, what do we do.

We offer an array of online homework help and other services for our students and tutors to choose from based on their needs and expertise. As an integrated platform for both tutors and students, we provide real time sessions, online assignment and homework help and project work assistance.

Who are we?

TutorBin is an integrated online homework help and tutoring platform serving as a one stop solution for students and online tutors. Students benefit from the experience and domain knowledge of global subject matter experts.

How Homework Became A Thing In The US

For many U.S. students, homework is an unfortunate certainty — the childhood equivalent of death and taxes. But the truth is that it has been controversial since it was introduced. A major player in the initial spread of homework in the U.S. was 19th-century education reformer Horace Mann, Study  explained. Mann was inspired by the developing public education system in Germany, which had recently become unified as a single nation-state. The Volksschulen , or "People's Schools," assigned students work to be completed at home. Mann, who helped develop a state-funded public school system in the U.S., adopted the homework concept from the German system. 

As school attendance became mandatory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, homework became a reality for more U.S. families, Slate explained. This led to a rising backlash against it. In 1900, Edward Bok wrote in the Ladies' Home Journal that forcing children to complete homework rather than play was a "rank injustice." His editorial received support from parents and teachers and, by 1901, 2/3 of U.S. city school districts had limited homework. California went so far as to ban homework for any child under 15. In the 1930s, the American Child Health Association listed homework with child labor as a cause of tuberculosis and heart disease in children, according to The Washington Post .

The rise of homework

Attitudes toward homework shifted in a big way during the Cold War , according to History . The Russian launch of Sputnik in 1957 led to concerns that U.S. students were falling behind their Russian counterparts, and homework became an important part of revamping the high school curriculum. In 1948, only 8% of U.S. students studied for two or more hours a night. By 1962, 23% of high-school juniors studied that long.

Since then, feelings about homework have gone in roughly 15-year cycles, Slate explained. There was another backlash during the counter-cultural 1960s and 1970s, followed by another pro-homework push in the 1980s. The 1983 government report "A Nation at Risk" argued that high schoolers should be doing more homework to compete with students in South Korea, Japan, and Germany. The 1990s saw another period of anti-homework sentiment, with articles like "The Homework Ate My Family" appearing in Time . Today, homework is being assigned to children as young as kindergarten. Yet other schools are experimenting with homework bans, according to The Washington Post . The future of homework in the U.S. is as controversial as its past.

Was Homework Created As a Punishment?

Homework was not created to punish the students . Roberto Nevilis, an Italian teacher, invented it in 1905. The motivation behind Homework was quite simple. 

As a teacher, Nevilis believed that his lessons had lost meaning when they quit the classroom and went back to the comfort of their homes.

Saddened that the students could not perform better than themselves, he decided to adopt different strategies despite his efforts. This led to Homework being invented . 

The concept of Homework, as we know, is not the primary goal of Nevilis. Nevilis saw it more as a means to punishment since physical punishment was not an option.

Homework is essential to learning in school and is here to stay. But sometimes, kids need extra help to complete assignments, and schools and teachers should understand that every child is unique and should create homework assignments for each student versus generally for the whole class.

Table of Contents

History of Homework in the United States

In American culture, Homework was always frowned upon. Many students could not attend higher school, and many teenagers had to do chores and farm work. This made Homework a disliked subject by both parents and schools. 

Students dropped out of school because they couldn’t keep up with Homework. This was due to them mainly memorizing a text at home.

Parents complained at every level of society. In 1880, Francis Amasa Walker persuaded the Boston school board to ban math homework assignments for children under 15. Some people supported reforming Homework and, for example, making the lessons more relevant to students’ lives outside school.

After the Cold War ended, Homework became less popular.

United Kingdom

Students in Britain do more Homework than students from other European countries. The average weekly homework time for this subject is 5 hours. 

The significant difference in UK homework is that middle-class teenagers get more Homework than those from Europe and Asia.

Here are some things that might help your child learn better

1. here are some tips to make it easier.

• Make sure your child has enough time to complete their Homework .
• If your child needs more time, ask them what they want to work on next.
• Ask your child how they feel about doing Homework.
• Let your child choose the order of tasks.
• Give your child choices when possible.
• Don’t give up on your child.
• Encourage your child to use technology to help with Homework.
• Be patient.
• Please help your child understand why they should try harder.
• Have fun – Make Homework Fun and exciting.

2. Set aside time every day to complete assignments.

Many students say completing Homework is one of the most complex parts of the school. They often feel overwhelmed by the work they must do each night. This feeling can lead to stress and anxiety.

Setting aside time daily will make them more focused and disciplined in doing their Homework, after which they will be free to spend time on other hobbies or recreational activities.

3. Doing some Research will help

If you’re having trouble with your Homework, try doing some research first. Find out what topics you’ll cover in class and what assignments will be due. Then, make a plan to tackle your Homework. You might even want to set up an automatic reminder so you won’t forget.

4. Do your best assignment first thing in the morning

Many students say they struggle with Homework because they don’t start early enough. They often find themselves procrastinating until the last minute.

This means that when they finally sit down to do their Homework, they spend more time than necessary. Instead, try starting your Homework as soon as you wake up. That way, you’ll be ready to focus on your studies before school starts.

5. Write down what you need to remember.

If you’re having trouble remembering things, write them down. You might also use sticky or post-it notes to remind yourself of important facts.

Final Word – Was homework created as a punishment?

Homework is here to stay, regardless of who came up with the Homework or if you think it’s a punishment.

While Homework has many advantages, teachers must be aware of when and when to effectively utilize it as an instrument to enhance classroom learning instead of a substitute for classroom instruction.

Students required to do too many homework assignments experience anxiety, depression, and anger. Therefore, teachers and schools should ensure to keep Homework to the minimum.

It isn’t always helpful for students as it could hinder their ability to learn or play outdoors, which is vital to ensure the development of children. Therefore, Homework should not be treated as a punishment but as a tool to improve our child’s learning skills.

FAQ – Was Homework Created As a Punishment

How does homework benefit students.

Homework helps students consolidate their understanding of a subject, develop good study habits, and increase academic independence. It’s a proven concept, hence widely used globally.

How much Homework is considered appropriate for students?

The amount of Homework considered appropriate varies by age and subject, but it is generally recommended that students receive 10-30 minutes per night per grade level.

Are there any drawbacks to Homework?

Too much Homework can lead to stress and burnout and negatively impact a student’s home life and relationships. It is vital to strike a balance between homework and leisure time.

Who Created Homework and Why?

The origin of Homework and who created it is not well documented, and there are varying accounts. However, one widely accepted story is that Homework was introduced by Roberto Nevilis, an Italian teacher, in the early 20th century to keep students occupied outside school hours.

According to this story, Nevilis was frustrated with students not completing their classwork, so he punished them with additional work to complete at home.

However, this story has been largely discredited, and no concrete evidence supports it. The use of Homework has been a part of education for centuries. Its purpose has evolved to reinforce learning and allow students to practice and apply concepts learned in class.

Share this:

• May 10 Chess World Championship Tournament Ends in a Victory for Chinese Grandmaster
• January 31 Did Knives Out Age Like Milk?
• January 25 See How They Run: An Wall-Breaking Whodunnit
• December 6 Decision To Leave - An Impressive Waste Of Time?
• September 8 The Death of Queen Elizabeth II
• August 30 From an Irate Senior to CAHS Administration: A Letter Concerning the 2022-2023 Phone Policy

Entertainment

Homework: The True Reality Behind It

Sophia Wecker , Editor | March 16, 2021

Photo provided by Sigmund

Homework. Something almost everyone in school—  no matter what age, grade or where they live—  all dread. But, why do we have homework?

In 1905, an Italian teacher named Roberto Nevilis invented the concept of “homework.” Originally, its purpose was to be used as a punishment for students who were lazy in class or for those who were disobedient or rude to their teacher. This practice became popular and became more frequently used around the world. A few years after it was invented, it became a standard thing that almost all teachers worldwide began regularly giving out to students after school every day or most days. 

Students are usually mentally and physically drained when they come home from school, sports, or after they go somewhere after school and having homework assigned to them puts more even stress onto their plates. Whereas other students might like homework or enjoy doing it because it can benefit them academically or might help with avoiding boredom. Either way, there are both positive and negative sides to homework. 

Nowadays, teachers assign homework for either what was left over from class or for extra work to help expand upon the topics taught while in school. But, is that really a smart and good reason to assign homework? Like what was mentioned earlier, students like to come home after a long day of school and relax and have some downtime or possibly hang out with their friends and/or family. But if they have assignments that could take them multiple hours to do that are all due by midnight, this erases this precious free time for students. 

Though we may hate to admit it, there are some upsides to homework. Students who need extra help or practice on a topic or subject may benefit from additional work through their homework. Others might like some extra practice to better their understanding or to possibly get ahead in a subject to get higher test and quiz scores. 

Despite the extra help homework gives, it’s not always necessary. Like mentioned earlier, some students may have a hard time completing homework because of time, their own individual lives and it just might not be needed for some students so it shouldn’t be necessary for them. 

Although homework is annoying and isn’t always necessary, we need to continue to do our best and complete this task because it will benefit us later in life. But I do ask teachers to give students a break or to give them time to rest up after long and hard days. On a personal note, homework has always been a struggle for me to get done because of my busy schedule, but as mentioned before, I do ask teachers to give less or no homework, out of the courtesy of students’ time. Although we might need homework for extra help, those who do excel and are carrying good grades in a class do not need extra work. Teachers, please take from this article and help the students in your classrooms to do their best, not by giving them homework, but by understanding their circumstances and their own individual lives. 

Red Velvet – Your Sweet New Obsession

Spotify’s Newest Non-Genre

Rating Halloween Candy as Someone Who Hates Food

Mental, Physical, and Emotional: Keep Yourself Healthy

Dear Discouraged Student

Chess World Championship Tournament Ends in a Victory for Chinese Grandmaster

Did Knives Out Age Like Milk?

See How They Run: An Wall-Breaking Whodunnit

Decision To Leave – An Impressive Waste Of Time?

From an Irate Senior to CAHS Administration: A Letter Concerning the 2022-2023 Phone Policy

Among Us Update: And All the Things You Need to Know About It

What happened to Disneyland?

How to Keep Yourself Occupied and Electronic Free

Fighting for Womens’ Rights

Me Tight Pirate Pants: A voyage into a cryptic song from my childhood

Classical Academy High School's Online News Site

Comments (10)

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Logan • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:28 am

if you are doing an essay on homework here are some more websites for 6-8th grade: Johnson, Geoff. “Piling Homework on Kids Is a Mistake That Undermines Work/Life Balance.” Times-Colonist, 09/05 2021. ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2578243016?accountid=65482 .

Moniuszko, S. M. (2021, 08/23). Heavy Homework Load May Be Detrimental to Health. USA TODAY https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2564234859?accountid=65482

Patterson, K. (2021, 11/09). Homework Isn’’t Helpful in First Grade Or in College. University Wire https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2617064023?accountid=65482

Logan • Oct 20, 2022 at 11:31 am

also the cites are in APA 7

ethan • Oct 17, 2022 at 7:07 am

you helped my essay

FreezingZozi • Oct 4, 2022 at 8:59 am

why don’t they give homework to students that want or need homework not everyone in a class

Ece • Oct 1, 2022 at 1:43 pm

tysm good story

Ali Syed Karim • Sep 25, 2022 at 6:43 pm

The fact that homework is for all students is annoying, and its original use was just for students who were lazy or who were being disrespectful and disobedient in class. I hate homework.

James • Jun 7, 2022 at 6:02 am

this is relay helpful

Matthew • Apr 7, 2022 at 12:27 pm

James • Jun 7, 2022 at 6:17 am

Karen • Aug 3, 2022 at 6:42 pm

Great story

• Bihar Board

SRM University

Ap inter results.

• AP Board Results 2024
• UP Board Result 2024
• CBSE Board Result 2024
• MP Board Result 2024
• Rajasthan Board Result 2024
• Karnataka Board Result
• Shiv Khera Special
• Education News
• Web Stories
• Current Affairs
• नए भारत का नया उत्तर प्रदेश
• School & Boards
• College Admission
• Govt Jobs Alert & Prep
• GK & Aptitude

Who invented Homework? When, Where and Why

Who invented homework in this article we will find out what is homework when, where and why was homework invented .

Yes, everything seems better and more interesting than doing homework! I mean, we have all spent hours staring at the wall instead of doing homework, right? But I won’t lie, my first thought while doing my homework in school days was always “WHO INVENTED HOMEWORK & WHY?” Let’s find out!

What is homework?

According to collinsdictionary, homework, an uncountable noun, is school work that teachers give to pupils to do at home in the evening or at the weekend.  

Although homework is generally associated with school students, college students also get homework. Thus, it can be said that homework is any task or activity that teachers/professors assign to the students to be done outside the school hours, from their home. 

Who invented homework?

Even Google missed their homework on the topic “homework” (pun intended), not joking though. 

Yes! Google does not have a cent-percent answer on who actually came up with the concept of homework. The results from Google about the inventor of homework are ambiguous. 

• Roberto Nevelis of Venice

Did Roberto Nevelis create homework?

Mr. Nevelis is probably one of the most hated people amongst the student communities because he is one of the first persons who has been associated with the credits for the infamous process of homework. 

According to the tales on the internet, t he person who invented Homework was an Italian teacher named Roberto Nevilis. He invented Homework in 1905 as a punishment for his students.

If you think you will have to go find out more about this person, don’t worry, we have got you covered:

Upon doing a little more search on Roberto Nevelis of Venice, infamous for his dubious relationship with homework, we found out that not only is Mr Nevelis’ title as the inventor of homework unreliable, his very existence is doubtful too! Yes, that means there might not have been a Roberto Nevelis of Venice at all. He might just be a fictional character created by someone, probably whilst skipping their homework.

• Horace Mann

Did Horace Mann create homework?

Horace Mann, the father of American education might just be the father of homework as well! 

Horace Mann is considered one of the very first American advocates of public education. As state secretary of education, Mann, who believed in free education, supported reforms to make education universal, nonsectarian, and reliant on well-trained, professional teachers. 

Thus, homework could be one of the reforms of refined public education that he supported.

• Pliny the Younger

Upon trying to get some more information, it came to light that the first mention of homework appears in the writings of Pliny the Younger, dating back to 1AD.

In ancient Rome, Pliny the Younger was a teacher of oratory, and is thought to have asked his students to practise their public speaking at home, to help them build confidence.

With time, homework became more and more common as schooling became compulsory for many people across the world, towards the end of the 19th century.

Now, if we go to a student’s best friend - Wikipedia - a completely different picture has been painted. Ofcourse, you don’t have to go read that long entry there as we have summarised the whole thing here, for you:

The American Story of Homework

So, according to Wikipedia, homework has been a part of American education but already few pupils managed to pursue education and the baggage of homework discouraged even those few. In fact, it was frowned upon by the parents and even some schools. Journalist Edward Bok protested against schools giving homework to pupils until they were 15 years old, in 1900. He was supported by 1000s of parents. While soon there were laws for children not getting any homework at all, teenagers could have had homeworks assigned but not anything that required more than two hours of time. Then In 1901, an act passed by the California legislature abolished homework for anyone under the age of 15.

However, with the cold war between the US and Soviet Union, the rise of competition led to the re-emergence of the homework culture. And as mentioned earlier, homework became more and more common towards the end of the 19th century. 

Why do students get homework?

• Homework gives both students and parents an opportunity to re-view class works.  
• Homework teaches students the skill of problem solving and taking responsibility for their part in their education.  

Why should students NOT get homework?

With students spending almost one-fourth of their day in school, having daily homework for all the various subjects being taught leaves the student with little to no time for themselves. This, consequently, promotes the culture of “All work, no play”. 

CONCLUSION: Who invented Homework? When, Where and Why

Get here latest School , CBSE and Govt Jobs notification in English and Hindi for Sarkari Naukari and Sarkari Result . Download the Jagran Josh Sarkari Naukri App . Check  Board Result 2024  for Class 10 and Class 12 like  CBSE Board Result ,  UP Board Result ,  Bihar Board Result ,  MP Board Result ,  Rajasthan Board Result  and Other States Boards.

• IAF Agniveer Result 2024
• AP Intermediate Result 2024
• NDA Admit Card 2024
• resultsbie.ap.gov.in Results 2024
• AP Inter Result 2024 Link
• Manabadi Inter Results 2024
• Manabadi AP Inter Result 2024
• Manabadi Inter Results 2024 AP
• AP Inter Results 2024 with Jagran Josh
• AP Inter Toppers List 2024

Latest Education News

Who Won Yesterday IPL Match: PBKS vs RR, Match 27, Check All Details and Latest Points Table

Top 10 Weekly Current Affairs in Hindi: 08 अप्रैल से 14 अप्रैल 2024

IPL Points Table 2024: आईपीएल 2024 अपडेटेड पॉइंट टेबल यहां देखें, राजस्थान टॉप पर

Picture Puzzle IQ Test: Only 2% With Eagle Vision Can Spot A Snowman In 12 Seconds!

You have sniper vision if you can find the bright yellow car in the traffic scene in 7 seconds!

When Is Puthandu In 2024? Check Date And All About Tamil New Year

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: 105 years of Tragedy|Causes & its Impact

NIACL Assistant Mains Expected Cut Off 2024, Check Minimum Qualifying Marks

Accept The Challenge To Find The THIEF Who Stole Money In The Spa Centre. 15 Seconds Left!

Happy Baisakhi 2024: 55+ Wishes, Images, Quotes, Greeting Message to Share and Wish Harvest Festival of Punjab and North India

Who is Sandhya Devanathan, the Newly Appointed Head of META India?

Summary on Jainism: Teaching of Mahavira | Spread of Jainism

UPSC NDA Exam Date 2024: Check Written Exam Shift Timing

UPSC CDS Exam Date 2024: Check Shift Timings and Exam Pattern

CUET PG Result 2024 OUT: सीयूईटी पीजी परिणाम जारी,pgcuet.samarth.ac.in से करें चेक

CUET PG Toppers List 2024: NTA Releases CUET PG Result, Check Subject-wise Toppers Here

भारत में पहली बार कब और क्यों आए थे ब्रिटिश, जानें

JEE Main 2024 Session 2 Answer Key Out: Challenge Window Open At jeemain.nta.ac.in

Find 3 Differences In 12 Seconds In This Pizza-Making Scene

CUET PG 2024 Result Declared: NTA CUET Results Released at pgcuet.samarth.ac.in, How to Download Scorecard

History of Homework

The institution of homework is deeply embedded in the American culture. How many times as a child have you heard your parents say that you can’t go outside, play games, or get dessert until you have finished your homework? Or how many times have you uttered that phrase to your own children? Although the concept of a homework assignment has been questioned throughout history, and probably will be, time and time again, it is still viewed as something normal, and as a part of every student’s life. Even outside the school, phrases like “you haven’t done your homework on that pitch/project” are used to suggest that a person hasn’t done all they could have done to prepare for a certain challenge.

Now, over time, the public’s attitude toward homework has changed numerous times, keeping in line with then active social trends and philosophies, and that battle is still raging on today. But before we take a look at what the future holds for the concept of homework, let’s take a trip down memory lane first. You will find that the arguments in favor or against homework were almost exactly the same as they are today.

Homework through History

Seeing as primary education at the end of 19th century was not mandatory, student attendance couldn’t be described as regular. The classrooms were a lot different, as well, with students of different ages sitting together in the same class. Moreover, a very small percentage of children would choose to pursue education past the 4th grade. Once they have learned to read, write, and do some basic arithmetic, they would leave school in order to find work or to help around the house. Homework was rare occurrence, because setting aside a few hours for learning each night interfered with their chores and daily obligations.

As education became more available and more progressive at the turn of the 20th century, there was a strong rebellion against homework taking place in academic circles. Even pediatricians got in on the debate, stating that children should not be made to do homework, as it robs them of all the benefits provided by physical activities and time spent outside the house. Seeing as conditions such as the attention deficit disorder were not diagnosed back then, homework was to blame.

This anti-homework movement reached its peak in the 1930s, with a Society for the Abolition of Homework being formed in order to prevent schools from giving students homework, with numerous school districts following their lead. Even in those schools where homework was not abolished, very few homework assignments were given. This continued all the way until the end of the 1950s, which marked a sharp turn in country’s attitude towards homework.

The reason for this was the launch of the Sputnik I satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957. Seeing as the entire Cold War era was marked by the constant competition between USA and the Soviet Union, U.S. educators, teachers, and even parents were afraid that their children, and the entire nation, would be left behind by their Soviet counterparts, who would lead the way into the future, which meant that homework was once again back on the map, and more important than ever.

Things changed again in the late 60s and early 70s. Vietnam War was still raging on, giving birth to civil rights movement and counterculture, which were looking to shake up all of the previously established norms. Homework was yet again under the microscope. It was argued that homework got in the way of kids socializing, and even their sleep, which meant that homework had yet again fallen from grace, just like it had at the beginning of the century.

In the 1980s, the climate changed again, spurred on by the study called A Nation at Risk which blamed the shaky U.S. economy on schools which weren’t challenging their students enough. As a result, the entire school system was labeled as mediocre in an age where the entire country was striving toward excellence, as saw the bright young minds of tomorrow as its way out. There was more of everything: classes, grades, tests, and more homework. This trend spilled over into the 90s, as well.

At the end of the 90s, homework was yet again under the attack. It was cited that children are overworked and stressed out. The increasing demand for tutors was the key argument. If students needed homework assignment help, there was too much of it. But, besides homework help, homework was also viewed as an obstacle for families with two working parents. The only time parents would get to spend time with their children was being usurped, as kids were forced to work on their homework for hours.

Present Day

While few will argue the role homework plays in reinforcing the information taught in class, there is still talk about how much homework is too much. According to certain studies, the effectiveness of homework starts to decline if the students are given more than 90 minutes of homework every day, which is evident by their test results. Current trends are not concerned with whether or not homework has its merits. It does, there is no question about it, but the main goal right now find the right balance between quantity and quality.

Also, homework in a traditional sense might be susceptible to change, because of the increasingly important role modern technology plays in our lives, and it affects the students, as well. We don’t know what the future holds, but one thing is for sure: we should always do our homework and be prepared.

Filed under:

• The Highlight

Nobody knows what the point of homework is

The homework wars are back.

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Twitter
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Nobody knows what the point of homework is

As the Covid-19 pandemic began and students logged into their remote classrooms, all work, in effect, became homework. But whether or not students could complete it at home varied. For some, schoolwork became public-library work or McDonald’s-parking-lot work.

Luis Torres, the principal of PS 55, a predominantly low-income community elementary school in the south Bronx, told me that his school secured Chromebooks for students early in the pandemic only to learn that some lived in shelters that blocked wifi for security reasons. Others, who lived in housing projects with poor internet reception, did their schoolwork in laundromats.

According to a 2021 Pew survey , 25 percent of lower-income parents said their children, at some point, were unable to complete their schoolwork because they couldn’t access a computer at home; that number for upper-income parents was 2 percent.

The issues with remote learning in March 2020 were new. But they highlighted a divide that had been there all along in another form: homework. And even long after schools have resumed in-person classes, the pandemic’s effects on homework have lingered.

Over the past three years, in response to concerns about equity, schools across the country, including in Sacramento, Los Angeles , San Diego , and Clark County, Nevada , made permanent changes to their homework policies that restricted how much homework could be given and how it could be graded after in-person learning resumed.

Three years into the pandemic, as districts and teachers reckon with Covid-era overhauls of teaching and learning, schools are still reconsidering the purpose and place of homework. Whether relaxing homework expectations helps level the playing field between students or harms them by decreasing rigor is a divisive issue without conclusive evidence on either side, echoing other debates in education like the elimination of standardized test scores from some colleges’ admissions processes.

I first began to wonder if the homework abolition movement made sense after speaking with teachers in some Massachusetts public schools, who argued that rather than help disadvantaged kids, stringent homework restrictions communicated an attitude of low expectations. One, an English teacher, said she felt the school had “just given up” on trying to get the students to do work; another argued that restrictions that prohibit teachers from assigning take-home work that doesn’t begin in class made it difficult to get through the foreign-language curriculum. Teachers in other districts have raised formal concerns about homework abolition’s ability to close gaps among students rather than widening them.

Many education experts share this view. Harris Cooper, a professor emeritus of psychology at Duke who has studied homework efficacy, likened homework abolition to “playing to the lowest common denominator.”

But as I learned after talking to a variety of stakeholders — from homework researchers to policymakers to parents of schoolchildren — whether to abolish homework probably isn’t the right question. More important is what kind of work students are sent home with and where they can complete it. Chances are, if schools think more deeply about giving constructive work, time spent on homework will come down regardless.

There’s no consensus on whether homework works

The rise of the no-homework movement during the Covid-19 pandemic tapped into long-running disagreements over homework’s impact on students. The purpose and effectiveness of homework have been disputed for well over a century. In 1901, for instance, California banned homework for students up to age 15, and limited it for older students, over concerns that it endangered children’s mental and physical health. The newest iteration of the anti-homework argument contends that the current practice punishes students who lack support and rewards those with more resources, reinforcing the “myth of meritocracy.”

But there is still no research consensus on homework’s effectiveness; no one can seem to agree on what the right metrics are. Much of the debate relies on anecdotes, intuition, or speculation.

Researchers disagree even on how much research exists on the value of homework. Kathleen Budge, the co-author of Turning High-Poverty Schools Into High-Performing Schools and a professor at Boise State, told me that homework “has been greatly researched.” Denise Pope, a Stanford lecturer and leader of the education nonprofit Challenge Success, said, “It’s not a highly researched area because of some of the methodological problems.”

Experts who are more sympathetic to take-home assignments generally support the “10-minute rule,” a framework that estimates the ideal amount of homework on any given night by multiplying the student’s grade by 10 minutes. (A ninth grader, for example, would have about 90 minutes of work a night.) Homework proponents argue that while it is difficult to design randomized control studies to test homework’s effectiveness, the vast majority of existing studies show a strong positive correlation between homework and high academic achievement for middle and high school students. Prominent critics of homework argue that these correlational studies are unreliable and point to studies that suggest a neutral or negative effect on student performance. Both agree there is little to no evidence for homework’s effectiveness at an elementary school level, though proponents often argue that it builds constructive habits for the future.

For anyone who remembers homework assignments from both good and bad teachers, this fundamental disagreement might not be surprising. Some homework is pointless and frustrating to complete. Every week during my senior year of high school, I had to analyze a poem for English and decorate it with images found on Google; my most distinct memory from that class is receiving a demoralizing 25-point deduction because I failed to present my analysis on a poster board. Other assignments really do help students learn: After making an adapted version of Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book for a ninth grade history project, I was inspired to check out from the library and read a biography of the Chinese ruler.

For homework opponents, the first example is more likely to resonate. “We’re all familiar with the negative effects of homework: stress, exhaustion, family conflict, less time for other activities, diminished interest in learning,” Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, which challenges common justifications for homework, told me in an email. “And these effects may be most pronounced among low-income students.” Kohn believes that schools should make permanent any moratoria implemented during the pandemic, arguing that there are no positives at all to outweigh homework’s downsides. Recent studies , he argues , show the benefits may not even materialize during high school.

In the Marlborough Public Schools, a suburban district 45 minutes west of Boston, school policy committee chair Katherine Hennessy described getting kids to complete their homework during remote education as “a challenge, to say the least.” Teachers found that students who spent all day on their computers didn’t want to spend more time online when the day was over. So, for a few months, the school relaxed the usual practice and teachers slashed the quantity of nightly homework.

Online learning made the preexisting divides between students more apparent, she said. Many students, even during normal circumstances, lacked resources to keep them on track and focused on completing take-home assignments. Though Marlborough Schools is more affluent than PS 55, Hennessy said many students had parents whose work schedules left them unable to provide homework help in the evenings. The experience tracked with a common divide in the country between children of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

So in October 2021, months after the homework reduction began, the Marlborough committee made a change to the district’s policy. While teachers could still give homework, the assignments had to begin as classwork. And though teachers could acknowledge homework completion in a student’s participation grade, they couldn’t count homework as its own grading category. “Rigorous learning in the classroom does not mean that that classwork must be assigned every night,” the policy stated . “Extensions of class work is not to be used to teach new content or as a form of punishment.”

Canceling homework might not do anything for the achievement gap

The critiques of homework are valid as far as they go, but at a certain point, arguments against homework can defy the commonsense idea that to retain what they’re learning, students need to practice it.

“Doesn’t a kid become a better reader if he reads more? Doesn’t a kid learn his math facts better if he practices them?” said Cathy Vatterott, an education researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After decades of research, she said it’s still hard to isolate the value of homework, but that doesn’t mean it should be abandoned.

Blanket vilification of homework can also conflate the unique challenges facing disadvantaged students as compared to affluent ones, which could have different solutions. “The kids in the low-income schools are being hurt because they’re being graded, unfairly, on time they just don’t have to do this stuff,” Pope told me. “And they’re still being held accountable for turning in assignments, whether they’re meaningful or not.” On the other side, “Palo Alto kids” — students in Silicon Valley’s stereotypically pressure-cooker public schools — “are just bombarded and overloaded and trying to stay above water.”

Merely getting rid of homework doesn’t solve either problem. The United States already has the second-highest disparity among OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations between time spent on homework by students of high and low socioeconomic status — a difference of more than three hours, said Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University and author of No More Mindless Homework .

When she interviewed teachers in Boston-area schools that had cut homework before the pandemic, Bempechat told me, “What they saw immediately was parents who could afford it immediately enrolled their children in the Russian School of Mathematics,” a math-enrichment program whose tuition ranges from $140 to about $400 a month. Getting rid of homework “does nothing for equity; it increases the opportunity gap between wealthier and less wealthy families,” she said. “That solution troubles me because it’s no solution at all.”

A group of teachers at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, made the same point after the school district proposed an overhaul of its homework policies, including removing penalties for missing homework deadlines, allowing unlimited retakes, and prohibiting grading of homework.

“Given the emphasis on equity in today’s education systems,” they wrote in a letter to the school board, “we believe that some of the proposed changes will actually have a detrimental impact towards achieving this goal. Families that have means could still provide challenging and engaging academic experiences for their children and will continue to do so, especially if their children are not experiencing expected rigor in the classroom.” At a school where more than a third of students are low-income, the teachers argued, the policies would prompt students “to expect the least of themselves in terms of effort, results, and responsibility.”

Not all homework is created equal

Despite their opposing sides in the homework wars, most of the researchers I spoke to made a lot of the same points. Both Bempechat and Pope were quick to bring up how parents and schools confuse rigor with workload, treating the volume of assignments as a proxy for quality of learning. Bempechat, who is known for defending homework, has written extensively about how plenty of it lacks clear purpose, requires the purchasing of unnecessary supplies, and takes longer than it needs to. Likewise, when Pope instructs graduate-level classes on curriculum, she asks her students to think about the larger purpose they’re trying to achieve with homework: If they can get the job done in the classroom, there’s no point in sending home more work.

At its best, pandemic-era teaching facilitated that last approach. Honolulu-based teacher Christina Torres Cawdery told me that, early in the pandemic, she often had a cohort of kids in her classroom for four hours straight, as her school tried to avoid too much commingling. She couldn’t lecture for four hours, so she gave the students plenty of time to complete independent and project-based work. At the end of most school days, she didn’t feel the need to send them home with more to do.

A similar limited-homework philosophy worked at a public middle school in Chelsea, Massachusetts. A couple of teachers there turned as much class as possible into an opportunity for small-group practice, allowing kids to work on problems that traditionally would be assigned for homework, Jessica Flick, a math coach who leads department meetings at the school, told me. It was inspired by a philosophy pioneered by Simon Fraser University professor Peter Liljedahl, whose influential book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics reframes homework as “check-your-understanding questions” rather than as compulsory work. Last year, Flick found that the two eighth grade classes whose teachers adopted this strategy performed the best on state tests, and this year, she has encouraged other teachers to implement it.

Teachers know that plenty of homework is tedious and unproductive. Jeannemarie Dawson De Quiroz, who has taught for more than 20 years in low-income Boston and Los Angeles pilot and charter schools, says that in her first years on the job she frequently assigned “drill and kill” tasks and questions that she now feels unfairly stumped students. She said designing good homework wasn’t part of her teaching programs, nor was it meaningfully discussed in professional development. With more experience, she turned as much class time as she could into practice time and limited what she sent home.

“The thing about homework that’s sticky is that not all homework is created equal,” says Jill Harrison Berg, a former teacher and the author of Uprooting Instructional Inequity . “Some homework is a genuine waste of time and requires lots of resources for no good reason. And other homework is really useful.”

Cutting homework has to be part of a larger strategy

The takeaways are clear: Schools can make cuts to homework, but those cuts should be part of a strategy to improve the quality of education for all students. If the point of homework was to provide more practice, districts should think about how students can make it up during class — or offer time during or after school for students to seek help from teachers. If it was to move the curriculum along, it’s worth considering whether strategies like Liljedahl’s can get more done in less time.

Some of the best thinking around effective assignments comes from those most critical of the current practice. Denise Pope proposes that, before assigning homework, teachers should consider whether students understand the purpose of the work and whether they can do it without help. If teachers think it’s something that can’t be done in class, they should be mindful of how much time it should take and the feedback they should provide. It’s questions like these that De Quiroz considered before reducing the volume of work she sent home.

More than a year after the new homework policy began in Marlborough, Hennessy still hears from parents who incorrectly “think homework isn’t happening” despite repeated assurances that kids still can receive work. She thinks part of the reason is that education has changed over the years. “I think what we’re trying to do is establish that homework may be an element of educating students,” she told me. “But it may not be what parents think of as what they grew up with. ... It’s going to need to adapt, per the teaching and the curriculum, and how it’s being delivered in each classroom.”

For the policy to work, faculty, parents, and students will all have to buy into a shared vision of what school ought to look like. The district is working on it — in November, it hosted and uploaded to YouTube a round-table discussion on homework between district administrators — but considering the sustained confusion, the path ahead seems difficult.

When I asked Luis Torres about whether he thought homework serves a useful part in PS 55’s curriculum, he said yes, of course it was — despite the effort and money it takes to keep the school open after hours to help them do it. “The children need the opportunity to practice,” he said. “If you don’t give them opportunities to practice what they learn, they’re going to forget.” But Torres doesn’t care if the work is done at home. The school stays open until around 6 pm on weekdays, even during breaks. Tutors through New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development programs help kids with work after school so they don’t need to take it with them.

As schools weigh the purpose of homework in an unequal world, it’s tempting to dispose of a practice that presents real, practical problems to students across the country. But getting rid of homework is unlikely to do much good on its own. Before cutting it, it’s worth thinking about what good assignments are meant to do in the first place. It’s crucial that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds tackle complex quantitative problems and hone their reading and writing skills. It’s less important that the work comes home with them.

Jacob Sweet is a freelance writer in Somerville, Massachusetts. He is a frequent contributor to the New Yorker, among other publications.

Will you support Vox today?

Millions rely on Vox’s journalism to understand the coronavirus crisis. We believe it pays off for all of us, as a society and a democracy, when our neighbors and fellow citizens can access clear, concise information on the pandemic. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive. Support from our readers helps us keep it free for everyone. If you have already made a financial contribution to Vox, thank you. If not, please consider making a contribution today from as little as $3.

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via

How to be enough

America is full of abandoned malls. what if we turned them into housing, mega drive-throughs explain everything wrong with american cities, sign up for the newsletter today, explained, thanks for signing up.

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

• US +1(844)2469349
• [email protected]

July 1, 2019

Who Invented Homework and Why They Did It? – Facts You Should Know

Navigation of contents

Homework makes up a big part of the educational process and helps in learning new skills. Since school years, we have been completing tasks of all kinds, but not many of us know who invented them and why.

What is the name of homework inventor? When was it invented and why? If you are also willing to learn the answer, go on reading!

The History & Origin of Homework. Why Was Homework Invented?

Nowadays, many students can get online accounting help with homework or many other subjects. They simply need to make a few clicks, and someone else will do the work for them. However, it wasn’t like that even fifteen years ago.

First mentions of the term ‘homework’ refer back to Ancient Rome. In the first century AD, an oratory teacher Pliny the Younger asked his students to take part in home activities. Such practice aimed to improve speaking skills in a casual atmosphere. Results of such exercises were outstanding, and others implemented the approach.

However, the official creator of homework is Roberto Nevilis. So if you pay to do your homework and don’t need to worry about results, it is Roberto whom you should thank!

He invented at-home assignments as a form of punishment in 1905 and since then was applied as one of the most popular educational practices.

Creation of homework had a huge impact on the quality of gained knowledge, so more and more teachers made it compulsory for students of all academic levels. Homework teaches students to work independently and became a must in all institutions. However, home tasks must meet the following criteria:

• They must be feasible;
• The must be simple and not too large;
• They should be given when students are ready to work on their own.

Luckily, if you are not able to work independently, there is always online exam help USA ready to cover your back!

Who Invented Homework?

Starting with ancient times and ending with the modern world, most of the students don’t like homework. However, they shouldn’t blame a certain person. Yes, Pliny the Younger encouraged students to improve their speaking skills at home, but other teachers also advised such exercises and popularized homework with time.

So the question who invented homework and why is still disturbing minds of people across the world. Some sorts of home tasks are linked to first schools. Unfortunately, there were no online exams or multiple choice quizzes back then, and all students could do is to memorize texts by heart.

Who Created Homework? All The Theories

If you ask Google, you will get familiar with multiple theories, and the name of Roberto Nevilis will surely pop up. So why did Roberto Nevilis create homework?

History says that he did it in order to punish lazy students. His main motivation was to spoil the evenings of the class by giving tasks to complete, so in 1905, homework appeared in Italy.

However, there isn’t much information about Nevilis, and there is a chance that such a person has never existed. Moreover, it is quite difficult to imagine that no one has created an effective system of homework before 1905.

Actually, it is thought that homework is an integral part of education and has existed since the creation of learning. This means that not only students of the 19th century but also Romans, Middle Age monks, and Enlightenment philosophers read, sang and memorized pieces well before the process was given a definition ‘homework’.

There are multiple facts about homework, but we may never find out which of them are true and which are made up.

Get your homework essay starting at just $10.00 a page.

Roberto Nevilis: The Man Who Invented Homework

Most of the scientists and researchers believe that Nevilis was the one to introduce us to homework and it happened back in 1905 in Venice. He remains the most popular practitioner of home assignments, and homework creation matched the appearance of formal schooling.

In 1905 homework was invented for what reason? Quite simple: Nevilis wanted to punish students. Whether it is a good or a bad motive, thanks to Roberto, we have plenty of headaches in the evenings!

When Was Homework Invented? Was Homework a Punishment?

We all love history. We love reading about ancient times, the appearance of new trends or biographies of our favorite figures. That is why it is not surprising that students wonder when homework appeared. Thanks to Roberto Nevilis and his theories, education has greatly improved since the implementation of homework.

Traditional educators believe that homework is an essential component of effective education, and it is a great way to improve independence, initiative, creativity, and individuality of a student.

However, apart from learning how invented homework, it is important to understand factors, which made it so important:

• Because of so many subjects, students simply forget the material. It assimilates in their minds, but homework helps to remember forgotten data;
• Mastery of complex topics requires their assimilation and comprehension;
• It is impossible to boost all students’ abilities and talents in the class.

That is why the success of teaching greatly depends on the success of preparation at home. At the same time, an organization of tasks at home is the most challenging part of an educational process because students don’t have access to the tutor’s advice and support.

The Purposes of Homework

Importance of homework was always a debatable issue not only among students but also among teachers and researches. Many people think that homework is not necessary. However, the latest research shows that it is an integral part of the learning process and helps to improve knowledge.

So why was homework created?

• to work without a hurry;
• to work without being estimated;
• to choose your own rhythm;
• to plan work independently.

With the help of homework, students fix classroom material in their memory and repeat previously gained knowledge as many times as possible. In addition, they consolidate multiple skills in order to achieve the necessary results.

What Are The Main Goals Of Homework?

Now, when you know when was education invented and whom we should praise, it is the right time to enumerate the main benefits of homework:

• You can learn at your own speed and rhythm without any hurry;
• You can make as many mistakes and drafts as needed, and no one will grade you for failed attempts;
• You get a chance to plan breaks;
• You can always find the necessary material online.

Homework helps you to consolidate what you already know and greatly contributes to revisions. In addition, it gives you a chance to practice and to use all the possible tools and instruments, which are not available in class. Moreover, you develop your creativity, will, and discipline.

Types of Homework

Even if you doubt whether homework is necessary, you should still get familiar with its types:

• Case studies;
• Reviews of books and articles;
• Term papers;
• Research papers;
• Dissertations, and much more.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to keep up with all of them even if you devote all of your time to homework. That is why many students try to find a way how to simplify years at school or college. Some of them download ready samples; others pay teachers or classmates for help. However, the majority of students prefers getting professional help.

You may not know where did homework come from or who was its original creator, but you surely know that Doahomework is the best provider of academic assignments!

Call us Toll free

• US: +1(844)2469349

Home » The New School » Is Homework A Punishment?

Is Homework A Punishment?

Table of Contents

Is Homework a Punishment? The Italian pedagog, Roberto Nevilis, who invented homework, initially used it as a form of punishment . However, the practice later evolved to become part of the educational curricular. Despite its enormous benefits, some experts believe it is counterproductive and harmful to students’ health.

Is homework given as punishment?

In a declaration of policy yesterday, the Board of Education said homework must be related to class activities and adapted to the needs of the children. This was in answer to complaints by parents that homework had been given purely as a punitive measure by some teachers . The policy statement, issued by Miss Truda T.

Is homework harmful or hurtful?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being . But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Who created homework?

Roberto Nevelis Roberto Nevelis of Venice, Italy, is often credited with having invented homework in 1095—or 1905, depending on your sources.

Why should we not do homework?

“The findings were troubling: Research showed that excessive homework is associated with high stress levels, physical health problems and lack of balance in children’s lives ; 56% of the students in the study cited homework as a primary stressor in their lives,” according to the CNN story.

Is homework a punishment for kids?

Is Homework a Punishment? The Italian pedagog, Roberto Nevilis, who invented homework, initially used it as a form of punishment. However, the practice later evolved to become part of the educational curricular. Despite its enormous benefits, some experts believe it is counterproductive and harmful to students’ health .

Who created school?

Horace Mann Horace Mann is considered as the inventor of the concept of school. He was born in 1796 and later became Secretary of Education in Massachusetts. He was a pioneer in bringing educational reforms into society.

How much homework is too much?

How much is too much? According to the National PTA and the National Education Association, students should only be doing about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level . But teens are doing a lot more than that, according to a poll of high school students by the organization Statistic Brain.

Do teachers like homework?

Many veteran educators aren&#39;t fan … According to The Educators Room, “homework for the sake of homework is actually doing more harm than good.” This means that if there is not a purpose behind the homework being assigned, it is going to do nothing to further the learning of concepts being presented in class.

Can homework give you depression?

As beneficial as homework is to the students’ academic development, the fact remains that an additional two hours spent on homework after spending around 8 hours in school is too much and could lead to a massive mental breakdown .

How can I finish my homework faster?

8 Easy Ways to Finish Your Homework Faster

• Make a list. This should be a list of everything that has to be done that evening.
• Estimate the time needed for each item on your list. You can be a little ruthless here.
• Gather all your gear.
• Time yourself.
• Stay on task.
• Take plenty of breaks.
• Reward yourself!

What does homework stand for?

Half Of My energy Wasted On Random Knowledge Product Description. Homework stands for “ Half Of My energy Wasted On Random Knowledge “.

Should high school students have homework?

While some researchers suggest reducing homework for high school students, most researchers agree that homework at this age level is important because it has been positively linked to academic achievement .

Should schools get rid of homework?

Key takeaways: Doing homework is linked to better academic achievement in high school and middle school . But no significant link has been found for elementary school students. Spending more time than recommended on homework has actually been linked to lower test scores and higher rates of anxiety and depression.

Why do students hate homework?

Some of the many reasons why students hate homework is because they think homework should only be used as additional practice for students who need it, or to study for tests and quizzes when possible . Moreover, homework can be too overwhelming. It can cause fatigue, stress, and many other things.

Why does homework do more harm than good?

In fact, too much homework can do more harm than good. Researchers have cited drawbacks, including boredom and burnout toward academic material, less time for family and extracurricular activities, lack of sleep and increased stress .

Why does homework exist?

Your overall educational experience is better, because homework helps you to gain and retain more knowledge than would be possible with only classroom work . As you learn more, you know more and you achieve more…and you have homework to thank! Homework teaches lessons beyond just what’s taught in the classroom, too.

Who invented school tests?

The man considered to be the Father of Standardized Testing in the U.S. is Horace Mann , who was secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education from 1837-48.

When did homework begin?

An Italian pedagog Roberto Nevilis is considered the real “inventor” of homework. He was the person who invented homework in far 1905 and made it a punishment to his students. Since time when was homework invented, this practice has become popular around the world.

Is 98% of what you learn in school a waste?

98% of what we learn changes More accurate than the idea that 98% of what we learn is a waste is the idea that it changes . Since most of what we learn isn’t from reading books and taking tests in school, the idea that learning is synonymous to education is the actual problem.

Who taught the first teacher?

Of course, if we were to believe Greek mythology, it was the god Chiron who taught the first teacher, seeing as that the centaur was known for his abilities to impart knowledge.

By Travis Thornton

Travis Thornton is an education expert who has dedicated his life to helping students achieve their academic goals. He has worked as a teacher, tutor, and administrator in both public and private schools, and he currently serves as the dean of admissions at a prestigious university.

Travis believes that every student has the potential to succeed, and he tirelessly works to help them reach their full potential. He is a passionate advocate for education, and he believes that every student should have access to a quality education.

Travis is also a father of three young children, and he loves spending time with his family. He enjoys playing sports and watching movies together.

You might also like:

Why is school so stressful, how do you fit in as the new kid, what is a new student called.

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• March Madness
• AP Top 25 Poll
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

The Latest | Blinken says Israel hasn’t told US of any specific date for Rafah ground invasion

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to carry out an offensive in Rafah. In a video statement he declared: “It will happen. There is a date,” without elaborating.

Israel preparing for offensive into Rafah despite international opposition, AP explains

Smoke rose into the sky over the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and Israeli tanks were seen at the border area with enclave after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. (AP video by Alon Bernstein )

Trucks with aid supplies entered Gaza on Tuesday even as the United Nations and several countries demanded that Israel allow more into the area to reach the hundreds of thousands in need. (AP video by shot by Mohammad Jahjouh)

Egyptian officials said Tuesday that mediators have presented a new cease-fire proposal to Hamas and Israel that would include a six-week pause in fighting and a swap of 40 Hamas-held hostages for at least 700 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israeli soldiers move on the top of a tank near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

• Copy Link copied

Parachutes drop supplies into the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli soldiers look at destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip as they stand near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man reacts next to the body of a boy killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives of hostages held in Gaza and their supporters move into an intersection to protest outside of the Prime Minister’s office to call for an immediate release of the captives for the Jewish holiday of Passover as the war cabinet meets in Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah , but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t do real harm to civilians.”

Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, says a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

Rafah is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s war against the militant group Hamas has pushed Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, leaving more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation .

International efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Cairo this week.

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza over the past six months have killed at least 33,360 Palestinians and wounded 74,993, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.

— Austin tells Congress Israel is taking steps to boost aid to Gaza as lawmakers question US support

— Turkey and Israel announce trade barriers on each other as relations deteriorate over Gaza

— At U.N. court , Germany rejects allegations that it’s facilitating acts of genocide in Gaza

— A Moroccan activist was sentenced to 5 years for criticizing the country’s ties to Israel

— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here’s the latest:

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE ON HOME IN CENTRAL GAZA KILLS 11 PEOPLE

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit a home in central Gaza on Tuesday evening, killing at least 11 people, including seven women and children, hospital officials said.

After the strike hit in the town of Zawaida, Associated Press footage showed one man carrying the limp body of a little girl and laying her with the bodies of other dead children on the floor at the main hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah. Hospital officials said the dead included five children and two women.

The strike came as the Israeli military withdrew its forces from the southern city of Khan Younis this week, ending a monthslong ground assault that left large parts of the city in ruins. Still, airstrikes have continued in the past days, including in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where Israel says it plans to launch its next ground assault.

FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES HELD IN GAZA MEET WITH U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

WASHINGTON — Several family members of hostages held by Hamas met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday and urged for a deal that would release their loved ones and implement a temporary cease-fire in Gaza.

“The only hope for peace is through the release of all the hostages now,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen. On a potential hostage agreement, Dekel-Chen stressed that the world is waiting for “Hamas to get to yes.”

Rachel Goldberg, the mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, called the meeting with Harris “very productive.” She expressed gratitude to the White House and lawmakers for their support, but added: “We need results. We need our people home.”

“You can believe as we do that it is horrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering,” Goldberg said. “And at the same time, you can also know that it is horrible and against international law for hostages to be held against their will.”

During the meeting, Harris emphasized that she and President Joe Biden “have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones,” according to a White House readout, as she gave an update on the administration’s efforts on a hostage deal.

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY TELLS CONGRESS THAT ISRAEL IS TAKING STEPS TO BOOST AID TO GAZA

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress Tuesday that pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza appears to be working, but he said more must be done and it remains to be seen if the improvement will continue.

“It clearly had an effect. We have seen changes in behavior, and we have seen more humanitarian assistance being pushed into Gaza,” Austin said in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “Hopefully that trend will continue.”

Austin’s comments came during a session that was interrupted several times by protesters shouting at him to stop sending weapons to Israel. “Stop the genocide,” they said, as they lifted their hands, stained in red, in the air. A number of senators also decried the civilian casualties, saying the administration needs to do more to press Israel to protect the population in Gaza.

In response, Austin said he spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on Monday and that he repeated U.S. insistence that Israel must move civilians out of the battlespace in Gaza and properly care for them.

Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr. were testifying on Capitol Hill about the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget for 2025.

BLINKEN SAYS ISRAEL HASN’T TOLD U.S. ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC DATE TO LAUNCH RAFAH INVASION

WASHIGNTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah , but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t do real harm to civilians.”

Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The city is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

Washington has also been applying pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza, where half the population is starving and on the brink of famine due to Israel’s tight restrictions on allowing aid trucks through.

“We’re looking at a number of critical things that need to happen in the coming days,” Blinken said, referring to recent Israeli announcements on the opening of new aid routes into Gaza and more active efforts to avoid casualties to both civilians and humanitarian relief workers. “But what matters is results and sustained results and this is what we will be looking at very carefully in the days ahead.”

That includes getting assistance in and distributed to all of the territory “not just in the south, or in central Gaza. It has to get to the north as well,” he said.

FRANCE USING ‘ALL INFLUENCE’ TO PERSUADE ISRAEL TO OPEN GAZA CROSSINGS TO AID CONVOYS

PARIS — France’s foreign minister says his country is using “all levels of influence,” including threats of sanctions, to force Israel to open crossings with Gaza for vital humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.

France was the first country to propose European Union sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said in an interview Tuesday with French broadcasters RFI and FRANCE 24.

He added: “We have multiple ways to utilize our influence, obviously, we can provide more sanctions … to let humanitarian aid convoys cross checkpoints” and reach people in Gaza.

Sejourne did not elaborate on what kind of sanctions he was referring to. It is highly unlikely that France would impose any eventual sanctions without broader EU support, and the EU has been divided over policy toward Israel.

ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN A DRONE OVER THE RED SEA

JERUSALEM — Israel shot down a drone over the Red Sea overnight in what the military described as the first deployment of its naval Iron Dome missile defense system.

The military said that a Corvette warship shot down the drone as it flew east over waters near the southern Israeli city of Eilat. The military released grainy aerial footage of the missile making contact with an aircraft.

It was not immediately clear who was directing the drone. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been conducting near daily attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, launching drones and missiles from rebel-held areas of Yemen.

The Israeli defense system, called the “C-Dome,” is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade.

TURKEY AND ISRAEL PUTTING UP TRADE BARRIERS AS RELATIONS DETERIORATE

JERUSALEM — Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Israel is preparing a ban on products from Turkey after Ankara announced it was restricting exports to Israel.

Turkey said earlier Tuesday it is restricting exports of dozens of products to Israel, including aluminum, steel, construction products and chemical fertilizers. It said it would continue the measures until Israel declares a cease-fire and allows the uninterrupted flow of aid to Gaza.

Katz said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sacrificing the economic interests of his citizens “for his support of Hamas.”

Relations between Turkey and Israel have been frosty for years, although trade ties between the two countries are strong.

NATO-member Turkey is among the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Erdogan has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire and accused Israel of committing genocide in its military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no additional comment.

MEDIATORS PRESENT CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL TO HAMAS AND ISRAEL, EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS SAY

CAIRO — Egyptian officials said Tuesday that mediators have presented a new cease-fire proposal to Hamas and Israel that would include a six-week pause in fighting and a swap of 40 Hamas-held hostages for at least 700 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The proposal was presented to delegations from Hamas and Israel during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo over the weekend, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

Among the Palestinian prisoners to be freed would be dozens convicted of killing Israelis during attacks by militant groups.

The officials said Hamas would be required to provide a list of the hostages it will release, as well as a list of Palestinian prisoners whose freedom it seeks.

The proposal also includes the return of a significant number of Palestinians to northern Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled the northern half of Gaza in the early stages of the war, heeding Israeli evacuation orders. The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are now crammed into the southern half.

The proposal stipulates that Israel gradually dismantle checkpoints it had built on a new road that split the strip in half to prevent the return of Palestinians to the north.

Hamas has said it is reviewing the proposal.

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy contributed.

The Eclipse That Ended a War and Shook the Gods Forever

Thales, a Greek philosopher 2,600 years ago, is celebrated for predicting a famous solar eclipse and founding what came to be known as science.

Credit... John P. Dessereau

Supported by

• Share full article

By William J. Broad

William J. Broad studied the history of science in graduate school and still follows it for the light it casts on modern developments. This article is part of The Times’s coverage of the April 8 eclipse , the last time a total solar eclipse will be visible in most of North America for 20 years.

• Published April 6, 2024 Updated April 7, 2024

In the spring of 585 B.C. in the Eastern Mediterranean, the moon came out of nowhere to hide the face of the sun, turning day into night.

Back then, solar eclipses were cloaked in scary uncertainty. But a Greek philosopher was said to have predicted the sun’s disappearance. His name was Thales. He lived on the Anatolian coast — now in Turkey but then a cradle of early Greek civilization — and was said to have acquired his unusual power by abandoning the gods.

The eclipse had an immediate worldly impact. The kingdoms of the Medes and Lydian had waged a brutal war for years. But the eclipse was interpreted as a very bad omen, and the armies quickly laid down their arms. The terms of peace included the marriage of the daughter of the king of Lydia to the son of the Median king.

The impiety of Thales had a more enduring impact, his reputation soaring over the ages. Herodotus told of his foretelling. Aristotle called Thales the first person to fathom nature. The classical age of Greece honored him as the foremost of its seven wise men.

Today, the tale illustrates the awe of the ancients at the sun’s disappearance and their great surprise that a philosopher knew it beforehand.

The episode also marks a turning point. For ages, eclipses of the sun were feared as portents of calamity. Kings trembled. Then, roughly 2,600 years ago, Thales led a philosophical charge that replaced superstition with rational eclipse prediction.

Today astronomers can determine — to the second — when the sun on April 8 will disappear across North America. Weather permitting, it’s expected to be the most-viewed astronomical event in American history, astonishing millions of sky watchers.

“Everywhere you look, from modern times back, everyone wanted predictions” of what the heavens would hold, said Mathieu Ossendrijver , an Assyriologist at the Free University of Berlin. He said Babylonian kings “were scared to death by eclipses.” In response, the rulers scanned the sky in efforts to anticipate bad omens, placate the gods and “strengthen their legitimacy.”

By all accounts, Thales initiated the rationalist view. He’s often considered the world’s first scientist — the founder of a radical new way of thinking.

Patricia F. O’Grady, in her 2002 book on the Greek philosopher, called Thales “brilliant, veracious, and courageously speculative.” She described his great accomplishment as seeing that the fraught world of human experience results not from the whims of the gods but “nature itself,” initiating civilization’s hunt for its secrets.

Long before Thales, the ancient landscape bore hints of successful eclipse prediction. Modern experts say that Stonehenge — one of the world’s most famous prehistoric sites, its construction begun some 5,000 years ago — may have been able to warn of lunar and solar eclipses.

While the ancient Chinese and Mayans noted the dates of eclipses, few early cultures learned how to predict the disappearances.

The first clear evidence of success comes from Babylonia — an empire of ancient Mesopotamia in which court astronomers made nightly observations of the moon and planets, typically in relation to gods and magic, astrology and number mysticism.

Starting around 750 B.C. , Babylonian clay tablets bear eclipse reports. From ages of eclipse tallies, the Babylonians were able to discern patterns of heavenly cycles and eclipse seasons. Court officials could then warn of godly displeasure and try to avoid the punishments, such as a king’s fall.

The most extreme measure was to employ a scapegoat. The substitute king performed all the usual rites and duties — including those of marriage. The substitute king and queen were then killed as a sacrifice to the gods, the true king having been hidden until the danger passed.

Initially, the Babylonians focused on recording and predicting eclipses of the moon, not the sun. The different sizes of eclipse shadows let them observe a greater number of lunar disappearances.

The Earth’s shadow is so large that, during a lunar eclipse, it blocks sunlight from an immense region of outer space, making the moon’s disappearance and reappearance visible to everyone on the planet’s night side. The size difference is reversed in a solar eclipse. The moon’s relatively small shadow makes observation of the totality — the sun’s complete vanishing — quite limited in geographic scope. In April, the totality path over North America will vary in width between 108 and 122 miles.

Ages ago, the same geometry ruled. So the Babylonians, by reason of opportunity, focused on the moon. Eventually, they noticed that lunar eclipses tend to repeat themselves every 6,585 days — or roughly every 18 years. That led to breakthroughs in foreseeing lunar eclipse probabilities despite their knowing little of the cosmic realities behind the disappearances.

“They could predict them very well,” said John M. Steele , a historian of ancient sciences at Brown University and a contributor to a recent book , “Eclipse and Revelation.”

This was the world into which Thales was born. He grew up in Miletus, a Greek city on Anatolia’s west coast. It was a sea power . The city’s fleets established wide trade routes and a large number of colonies that paid tribute, making Miletus wealthy and a star of early Greek civilization before Athens rose to prominence.

Thales was said to have come from one of the distinguished families of Miletus, to have traveled to Egypt and possibly Babylonia , and to have studied the stars. Plato told how Thales had once tumbled down a well while examining the night sky. A maidservant, he reported, teased the thinker for being so eager to know the heavens that he ignored what lay at his feet.

It was Herodotus who, in “The Histories,” told of Thales’s predicting the solar eclipse that ended the war. He said the ancient philosopher had anticipated the date of the sun’s disappearance to “within the year” of the actual event — a far cry from today’s precision.

Modern experts, starting in 1864, nonetheless cast doubt on the ancient claim. Many saw it as apocryphal. In 1957, Otto Neugebauer, a historian of science, called it “very doubtful.”

In recent years, the claim has received new support. The updates rest on knowledge of the kind of observational cycles that Babylon pioneered. The patterns are seen as letting Thales make solar predictions that — if not a sure thing — could nevertheless succeed from time to time.

If Stonehenge might do it occasionally, why not Thales?

Mark Littmann, an astronomer, and Fred Espenak , a retired NASA astrophysicist who specializes in eclipses, argue in their book , “Totality,” that the date of the war eclipse was relatively easy to predict, but not its exact location. As a result, they write , Thales “could have warned of the possibility of a solar eclipse.”

Leo Dubal, a retired Swiss physicist who studies artifacts from the ancient past and recently wrote about Thales, agreed. The Greek philosopher could have known the date with great certainty while being unsure about the places where the eclipse might be visible, such as at the war’s front lines.

In an interview and a recent essay , Dr. Dubal argued that generations of historians have confused the philosopher’s informed hunch with the precision of a modern prediction. He said Thales had gotten it exactly right — just as the ancient Greeks declared.

“He was lucky,” Dr. Dubal said, calling such happenstance a regular part of the discovery process in scientific investigation.

Over the ages, Greek astronomers learned more about the Babylonian cycles and used that knowledge as a basis for advancing their own work. What was marginal in the days of Thales became more reliable — including foreknowledge of solar eclipses.

The Antikythera mechanism, a stunningly complex mechanical device, is a testament to the Greek progress. It was made four centuries after Thales, in the second century B.C., and was found off a Greek isle in 1900. Its dozens of gears and dials let it predict many cosmic events, including solar eclipse dates — though not, as usual, their narrow totality paths.

For ages, even into the Renaissance, astronomers kept upgrading their eclipse predictions based on what the Babylonians had pioneered. The 18-year cycle, Dr. Steele of Brown University said, “had a really long history because it worked.”

Then came a revolution. In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus put the sun — not Earth — at the center of planetary motions. His breakthrough in cosmic geometry led to detailed studies of eclipse mechanics.

The superstar was Isaac Newton — the towering genius who in 1687 unlocked the universe with his law of gravitational attraction. His breakthrough made it possible to predict the exact paths of not only comets and planets but the sun, the moon and the Earth. As a result, eclipse forecasts soared in precision.

Newton’s good friend, Edmond Halley, who lent his name to a bright comet, put the new powers on public display. In 1714, he published a map showing the predicted path of a solar eclipse across England in the next year.

Halley asked observers to determine the totality’s actual scope. Scholars call it history’s first wide study of a solar eclipse. In accuracy, his predictions outdid those of the Astronomer Royal, who advised Britain’s monarch y on astronomical matters.

Today’s specialists, using Newton’s laws and banks of powerful computers, can predict the movements of stars for millions of years in advance.

But closer to home, they have difficulty making eclipse predictions over such long periods of time. That’s because the Earth, the moon and the sun lie in relative proximity and thus exert comparatively strong gravitational tugs on one another that change subtly in strength over the eons, slightly altering planetary spins and positions.

Despite such complications, “it’s possible to predict eclipse dates more than 10,000 years into the future,” Dr. Espenak, the former NASA expert, said in an interview.

He created the space agency’s web pages that list solar eclipses to come — including some nearly four millenniums from now.

So, if you’re enthusiastic about the April 8 totality, you might consider what’s in store for whoever is living in what we today call Madagascar on Aug. 12, 5814. According to Dr. Espenak, that date will feature the phenomenon of day turning into night and back again into day — a spectacle of nature, not of malevolent gods.

Perhaps it’s worth a moment of contemplation because, if for no other reason, it represents yet another testament to the wisdom of Thales.

William J. Broad is a science journalist and senior writer. He joined The Times in 1983, and has shared two Pulitzer Prizes with his colleagues, as well as an Emmy Award and a DuPont Award. More about William J. Broad

Advertisement