AS much as kids and teens might hate it, homework is an extra academic task that gets set on most days of the week.
But where did the idea of homework come from – and how has it differed since it was first thought up?
Who invented homework?
Although many people do, supervise, or set homework most days of the week, we have no clear idea of who invented the concept.
There are many names associated with the invention of homework.
In reality, anyone who has ever tried to learn anything has probably practised it in their own time and place, so homework is just a part of learning.
The first mention of homework appears in ancient Rome, in the writings of Pliny the Younger, in 1AD.
Pliny, an oratory teacher, is thought to have asked his students to practise their public speaking at home, to help them build confidence.
Homework became universal as school became compulsory across the world, towards the end of the 19th century.
Why was homework invented?
Supporters of homework have given many reasons for its invention over the years.
These include:
- Students can consolidate learning by practising what they have studied in school;
- Teachers and students can identify gaps in learning when the student hands in assignments completed independently;
- It gives students more time to learn something;
- It helps students with time management.
- However, homework has not historically been so popular with everyone – and was even banned for 15 years in the state of California in the early 1900s.
Who was Roberto Nevelis?
Roberto Nevelis may well not be anyone.
The name is sometimes credited with the invention of homework.
But he may not even be real, and no-one seems to be sure if he is supposed to have invented homework in 1095 or 1905.
It is said he dreamt up the idea of homework to punish what he called lazy students.
But there is no official source that backs up this story or even his existence.
Who was Horace Mann?
Horace Mann was a politician and educational reformer who lived in the 19th century.
He had a strong belief in compulsory education, and was instrumental in setting up state funded education in the US.
He brought the idea of compulsory assignments to be completed at home – homework – to the US, after observing it in the German Volksschulen, or “People’s Schools”, when he visited in 1843.
Brief History of Homework
- 1901-1917: the State of California, USA, had a homework ban for all pupils under 15 years old. The Ladies Home Journal and the New York Times published a number of letters and statements against the idea of homework.
- 1930: Homework was declared to be a form of child labour, then a new legal concept in the US, by the American Child Health Association.
- 1950s: In a bid to out-do Russia during the Cold War, the US went on a massive homework promotion so that American kids would excel, especially in maths and science.
- 2000 onwards: The idea that homework was detrimental to child or family health reemerged in the publication of books about homework.
- Meanwhile, in the UK, students typically get more homework than in many other countries in Europe, with the weekly average per subject being five hours.
