The Opinionator

Homework is Bad For You

 “'Tis better to have loved and lost than
to do homework with three children”

When my five kids were going through school, the bane of my existence was helping them with their homework every evening.  Kids and books would be strewn all over our dining room table and after the battle of getting them to open the books was won, the next battle was helping them understand what was expected of them in the assignment they had been given.  My wife and I found ourselves looking forward to school vacations with as much enthusiasm as our children.  For us it meant that we could catch a glimpse of prime time television or perhaps turn in early.

Now there is a movement afoot which suggests that kids are given too much homework and that its value is marginal anyway.  Many don't seem to know whether it even makes any differences.

There is a new book out called "The Case Against Homework" by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish.

According to the authors, there is no evidence that homework improves the learning of elementary children and little evidence that it helps older kids.  Still, the nightly homework struggle continues, robbing kids of sleep and playtime. They write that it is even encouraging obesity and discouraging exercise as we become a nation of "homework potatoes."

Actually, the book does not declare war on all homework.  The authors argue for meaningful, non-busy work homework. They ask what is the importance of memorizing 50 vocabulary words when the time could be better spent reading. They question doing fifty fill in the blank worksheet exercises when doing five would accomplish the same learning goal.  They wonder if, after putting in a full six hour day at school, children need another two or three hours at home in the academic sweat shop.

For parents who see homework abuses in the lives of their children, this book may give them some tools to advocate for non-confrontational educational change.  It does raise the possibility that sometimes homework, like Mt. Everest, is pursued just because it is there. It may be an automatic response of a teacher who believes kids should be kept as busy as possible for as often as possible.  It may be a fundamental yearning for a past by educational advocates who believe consisted of loading up kids with tons of work.

If we could have a policy of a few minutes each night for each child, that is one thing.  If homework is not carefully planned and designed it may be a five minute work session for one child and a three hour self-inflicted torture session for another. If we are going to use homework, there is a great need for clarity and careful planning here.

I have heard high school teachers glibly announce that a full high school schedule should demand a 30 minute homework session in every subject every night. Since most high school students carry six subjects, that is three extra hours of work a day. Is that child abuse?