Homework yes, homework no. And what do you think?

It's the eternal debate. Every week we see some news item related to this topic in the media, and very cool videos about it circulate on social media.

I believe the debate should not focus so much on the yes or the no, but rather on the how much and the how. That is, do they bring so much homework that every day they need a couple of hours to do it? Is it homework that could be done in class, or is it about looking for information through other means and expanding on concepts worked on in class?

Spain is the European Union country with the most hours of homework. In France, parents went on a homework strike. It's a topic that worries parents and teachers every day, because every day we suffer through those extra hours of our children.

These questions would be a good thermometer for measuring our children's homework. Therefore, far from giving a simple answer to this dilemma, we are going to describe what, in my view and in the view of other professionals in psychology and pedagogy, would be healthy homework. And to do so, the first thing we must take into account is what objectives are pursued in carrying out schoolwork at home.

Objectives and benefits of homework

• It generates a series of habits and attitudes related to the ability to work autonomously, to form a sense of responsibility for learning and time management. Homework generates a study habit, forcing the child to organize their free time. But to achieve this, it must be proportional to the age and maturity of the students, because if it goes too far, parents will end up being the ones who organize their children's time, and this is not the objective being pursued.

• It improves critical thinking, concept formation and information processing. Work outside school encourages the student to think and reflect on what they have seen in class and to process that information in another way. Were it not for homework, they would not think about it again.

• It improves the student's academic performance. By expanding on knowledge worked on in class, reviewing concepts or finishing tasks that could not be done during school hours.

• It encourages families to get involved in their children's learning. To get involved, not to merge, as happens in many Spanish homes and in the rest of the world. But be careful, this does not mean that we do the homework for them:

Parental involvement in relation to homework is better the more it focuses on increasing motivational conditions and emotional support and the less it focuses on helping to do the homework. That is, we parents should not do their homework; our help should be more geared toward motivation (how well you do things, how well this turned out, I like how you did this report, etc.) and accompaniment (being nearby when they do homework, helping them when they get distressed, giving them attention and support).

What characteristics should homework have to be effective?

Time spent

According to a study by the University of Oviedo (José Carlos Núñez Pérez, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo), homework time at home should be 10 minutes per year of schooling, that is, 10 minutes in first grade, 50 minutes in fifth grade and so on.

Tasks related to what was worked on in class

It is important to work on concepts that have already been seen and to clearly explain how to do the task, including the provision of examples and specific strategies.

It is even good to offer students time to begin the task in class, to check comprehension and to provide assistance before the end of class to make sure it has been understood and that they are very clear about the expectations for each assignment.

Tasks assigned that are suited to each student's developmental level

It is important not to overdo the level, so that it does not exceed the student's abilities, because otherwise the parent will be the one who takes on the role and organizes the tasks. The goal is to foster their autonomy, and I can only do that if I place the step at just the right height for the student's foot, no easy task.

Tasks that foster reflection, critical thinking and autonomy skills

Homework should avoid doing exercises 2 and 3 on page 53 and move more in the direction of searching for information about a topic worked on in class, or making up a report that contains the words worked on in spelling, or looking for photos that remind them of the life of a certain character. In short, tasks that foster creativity, the search for information, reflection and individual thinking, and one's own contribution-opinion about things. Exercise 2 can be done in class. This should be the trend, although variety is the spice of life.