Notifications
Clear all
Homework Culture & Productivity
2
Posts
2
Users
0
Reactions
62
Views
Topic starter
23/10/2025 2:37 pm
I was procrastinating on my English essay tonight (as one does) and started wondering about the history of homework. Who was the evil genius that decided students needed to keep working after school hours? Has homework always been a thing? I'm genuinely curious about when and why this practice started. Does anyone know the history of homework or have any interesting facts about it?
27/10/2025 9:34 pm
That's actually a fascinating question! I did a research paper on the history of homework last semester for my education class.
Homework hasn't always been standard practice. In fact, homework as we know it only became common in the late 19th century. Before that, education was mostly limited to memorization exercises done in the classroom.
The modern concept of homework emerged in Germany and quickly spread to other countries. It originally served as a way to reinforce classroom learning and discipline students' minds. Roberto Nevilis, an Italian pedagogue, is often credited with inventing homework in 1905, but this is actually a myth - homework existed well before that!
