What's Up With All the Homework?

I'm coming in way late here, and I don't have kids, but I have three much-younger sisters, and I remember homework being a nightly horror, even when my sisters were little. It was hours and hours, crying and frustration, and here's the kicker: it's not just the kids involved! This is something I didn't see mentioned, and I do think it's a major issue. Homework ten years ago, when the oldest of my younger sisters was twelve, was very heavy, so much so that she couldn't do it on her own, so it also became my mother's homework, or mine. It got to the point where it was a nightly hours-long struggle for the whole family, which is insane. Homework should be something that can be done by the child, independently, with a little bit of oversight for difficult things, but depending on parents to carry the burden of being auxiliary teachers, at night, before/during/after dinner prep and dinner, during time they could be otherwise-parenting, parenting other children, doing housework, or God forbid, relaxing for a little while, since they're people too, is insane.

Anyway, there's my family's experience -- it was as much work for my mother or me as for the child in question, and that (pre-NCLB!) is where homework goes way, WAY wrong. Kids shouldn't be spending 90% of their time doing schoolwork, and parents CERTAINLY shouldn't be working an extra third- to half-shift per day on homework (since when there are multiple children in the equation, the helper parent gets to start multiplying his or her homework-coach/hand-holder time!).

Fri, 2009-11-20 14:40

I'm glad a couple other teachers spoke up.

I teach sixth grade English in a high-performing district. There is pressure from parents and other teachers (and students, sometimes!) to give homework.

My thoughts:
1. I don't have time to plan my lessons, look at their in-depth writing, AND grade a pile of nightly homework. Therefore, I've drastically cut back on my HW. I'd rather spend time giving feedback on their writing, which takes a ton of time on my part.
2. Most of my HW for them involves them READING for pleasure. What better thing is there to learn? I track their books and the amount they read, and give them a grade on it. They all pretty much get 100s unless they are obviously slacking.
3. I do ask them to do a lot of writing at home on the computer. I think that's OK, but then again, I am a writer. I do try to allow for individual differences and let kids who struggle take longer. I'm also always open to parent input on if their kid needs less HW.

My students enjoy my class and work hard for me because I respect their time and effort. I don't want to take much work home, why should they? The work they do at home needs to be relatively enjoyable. Learning SHOULD be fun, especially with something as personal as reading and writing. I want them to love both like I do- that's the only way they will ultimately be able to do as well as they should.

I agree that standardized tests add pressure to teachers to skills-based work that is too easy for many kids, and too hard for many.

Wed, 2009-10-28 05:41

My daughter is in first grade, and I LOVE that she gets homework. She had homework in kindergarten, too, after a full day of school (8:45-3:45). I think homework, even at a young age, helps kids learn that they have responsibilities.

That said, homework of course needs to be age-appropriate. In first grade, her homework doesn't take more than 20 minutes a night, and that includes having her read to us.

I agree with the argument that kids need to be kids, but there's enough time in the day to do both. I encourage my daughter to run and play or relax and read after school (usually it's her choice), but after dinner, she sits down to do her homework, with my husband and I (and my 2-year-old) there to help. Her teacher this year is very creative in the work to make it family-friendly. Last week, every day her homework was to do something outside with an adult (for example, find wildflowers and draw them, or count the stars or find spider webs), so there can be more to homework than simply sitting alone doing worksheets.

I'm curious to see how things change as she gets older and her workload increases, but for now, I think she has a great balance.

Wed, 2009-10-07 13:20

My daughter's birthday means that she was on the cusp of when we could start her in school - she would either have been the youngest in her grade, or one of the oldest. We made the decision after much to-ing and fro-ing to delay her a year. She started kindergarten last month, and has no homework and her public school's policy is to have minimal homework from Grades 1 through 5. That said, I'm a volunteer in her classroom and those kids never stop - they are going from the moment they walk in til they leave after lunch.

For me, I want her to do well academically but I also want her to enjoy learning and have the time she needs outside of school to be a kid. Homework can come later. And if I feel later on that the stress and homework requirements are inappropriate, I'll haul her out of there to homeschool.

Wed, 2009-10-07 09:37

This topic is something that really hits me hard. I'm a younger mom, so I still remember the loads of homework I had as a child. I had back problems, probably still do, from carrying a book bag that weighed a good 30 or more pounds every day to and from school.

I remember getting homework around 3rd or 4th grade, and it just got worse from there. By the time I was in middle school I had about two hours of work a night, and then high school brought 4 hours of work a night and hours and hours of work on the weekends working on big projects and papers. Way too much work. My mom and I added it up, and I was spending more time at school and doing homework per week than she was spending at work.

I agree that some applicable homework is needed when you get to high school, and maybe some projects along the way in elementary and middle school. A good science experiment or book report is always good now and then.

Homework does prepare you for college, and the independent learning that you must do in college. However, when you are in college, you spend 15-20 hours a week in classes and lab, not 30-35 hours a week like you do in elementary school. When you are in college and have a few hours of home work a day, that's OK because you don't spend all-the-live-long-day in class. Also, when you are in college a lot of your home work is group work. You are learning from other people and having social interaction. In elementary school, you may work together on a class assignment, but when you get home to do homework, you're alone. If you have parents that are helpful then they may be able to help you, but if they don't understand the assignment (let's face it kids today are doing rocket science compared to what was taught even a decade ago), then you're screwed.

This is just another reason why I am hoping and praying like crazy that we are in a position to home school our children. Kids need time to decompress, play, relax, contribute to the family and learn how to balance life. I am willing to be that the loads of homework I had as a child is part of the reason I am so bad at balancing my life and relaxing when I get home.

Wed, 2009-10-07 08:55

I think homework in High School is extremely important for preparing kids for college, but homework in Kindergarten?? My 5 year old has homework every school night except for Friday. And it's extra crazy to me because they haven't even done the individual evaluations yet to see what level the kids are on. So his homework so far is crazy stuff like 'write your name five times' or 'think of words that start with the letter T.' Ug. My son learned how to write his name when he was like 3. I think homework shouldn't start until like middle school. And at that point is should be short (like 30mins max of work) and then in high school slowly get harder/longer.

Wed, 2009-10-07 07:55