Who Invented Homework?

There is little doubt that homework is perceived by many young students as the bane of their existence. Yet for millions of children around the world, homework is part of their daily lives during the school year. Homework is considered an essential part of education, especially for older children who do assignments at home to ensure that they fully understand the subjects that are being taught.

The history of homework actually goes back to the year 1095 in the city of Venice where Roberto Nevilis is credited with being the first teach to use homework. However, it must be noted that there might have been instructors who gave out homework before Nevilis, but there is no evidence that has been discovered as of yet to prove a predecessor.

In fact, homework was invented at roughly the same time as the formal school system. During that time, formal education was only available to the well-to-do and Nevilis wanted to help his students fully understand and embrace the full meaning of the lessons. Arguably because the formal educational system was being developed at the same time, homework in European countries became well established as part of the educational system.

In the United States homework was rarely practiced in most places until the turn of the 20^th century. In fact, homework was frowned upon by many people because at that time there was little interest in higher education as most children were needed at home to support the family. In fact, parents and most school districts did not approve of homework for their students. In fact, in 1901 the legislature in California passed an act that basically abolished homework for all students from kindergarten up to the eighth grade.

However, attitudes began changing after World War II when the Cold War was settling in and the need for more scientists in particular was encouraged. In fact, children in general were being pushed to keep up with their Soviet counterparts who were also studying hard and using homework as part of their curriculum.

By the 1990s, the attitudes of most Americans favored homework to a considerable degree and now it is found in most parts of the country for students from grade school all the way up to college. There have been numerous studies performed about the extent and effectiveness of homework has revealed mixed results. For example, while the amount of homework for children ages six through nine has more than doubled since 1981, the effectiveness of the homework in terms of progressing students has been questioned.

In fact, there have been studies which show that a considerable amount of homework ranging from 90 minutes to over two hours a week may actually be detrimental to learning. So, the real question may not be who invented homework. But whether homework is as effective a tool for education as it needs to be for the time spent.