Homework is work assigned by a Teacher, School or other educational institution, to be completed by the student at home or while not attending class. The term is generally used to refer to primary or secondary school assignments as opposed to College-level Coursework.
Many students find homework to be an undue burden, while schools and teachers generally insist that it is necessary to practice new skills and to better learn material.
Rather than doing their own work, some students plagiarize or shirk their requirements (for example, by using Cliffs Notes instead of reading a book). If they are caught, punishments can range from a warning to expulsion from the institution, depending upon the school's policies and the severity of the infraction. See School discipline.
In recent years, there has been some backlash about the amount of homework assigned. Some statistics show that homework has nearly doubled for children since their grandparents' time. In some cases, several hours of work may be assigned every day, leading to incomplete or mediocre work and overstressed students. The worst cases may actually cause children to develop mental problems. In response to such concerns, some schools have instituted policies lessening the homework load and requiring teachers to coordinate when assigning large, long-term projects.
Like most educational-related work, homework can become a bigger burden as circumstances change. One of the worst and most dramatic increases of student workload was during the Cold War. For a period of time, the United States government was pushing large amounts of science and mathematics on children in hopes of having greater technological skills at America's command.