How the First Assigned Homework Looked Like

Students can hardly imagine the educational process without completing homework. It is proved to be an efficacious and advantageous method.  Getting a couple of tasks to do at home is something we have never doubted and perceived as a usual practice. But, have you ever thought of the history of such a phenomenon as homework? Who was the first person to come up with the decision to assign some exercises as an out-of-class activity?

The Background

The Romans of the antiquity were the first to mention the word. One of them was Pliny the Younger, a famous orator and teacher, who lived in the 1^st century AD. Once he proposed his students in Quintilian to do a piece of work at home. He suggested practicing oratory activities in an atmosphere that would be more informal. Then, he noticed that it had given an enormous effect on the speaking skills of his followers. The results encouraged other educators to bring in the innovatory strategy to their teaching routine.

Closer to our times, there was one more person who refreshed the school program. His name is Roberto Nevilis. At the beginning of the 20^th century, the Italian teacher decided to punish a low-performing pupil with a pair of tasks to be completed at home. Starting from that moment, the practice spread all over the World.

How Education System Progressed

In the recent time, the vital changes in the way people are taught have taken place. Instructors have worked on identifying the most appropriate kinds of tasks to assign and on how regularly it should be done. Since then, education has become more authoritative and accredited.  The approach of Nevilis is widely employed by other educators. Homework is a vital element of the studying process that brings benefits to a student working for polishing the knowledge acquired through lessons. There are low chances that teaching could come along and prosper without home tasks.

Nowadays, some improvements are being applied to the way students are assigned exercises to do at home. Instructors with a traditional outlook on education view homework as a pushing factor that could not be replaced with anything. As Nevilis stated, homework should make students more initiative, self-reliant, independent-minded, and inventive.

Here are some more reasons for assigning a home task:

• The time to study some material at school is limited. That is why teachers are forced to focus only on the most essential things in a rush. At home, students have the possibility to work more on the issue and dig deeper to memorize the topic better. 
• It helps to learn the ropes of the disciplines, as far the most important scientific concepts should be revised from time to time.
• Homework is aimed at strengthening the memory.
• During the process, students discover their creative abilities and talents.

The appearance and active usage of homework cast light on the value of the input of all the participators of the educational process. Both, an educator and a student are responsible for the achieved result. The secret discovered by Pliny and Nevilis is still timely and valid!