Does homework work?

School's back, and so is Big Homework. Here's what my 7th grade daughter has to do tonight:

1 Math review sheet

1 Science essay 

French vocab for possible quiz

History reading and questionairre 

English reading and note-taking

About two hours, give or take. This is considered a pretty light load, so as to ramp up gently. Over the next few weeks, it will get up to three hours or more. 

Most of us give very little thought to this long-lived combination. School and homework seem as interconnected as cars and gasoline. Kids need homework to get smarter -- right? It's supposed to be how they pick up a good work ethic.

Only maybe it isn't. Maybe most homework is a giant waste of my daughter's time and a needless cause of family stress. 

Two 2006 books make that argument: Alfie Kohn's The Homework Myth, and Sara Bennett & Nancy Kalish's The Case Against Homework. 

Homework does not improve children's work habits, argues Kohn. It does not reinforce skills, and "isn't even correlated with, much less responsible for, higher achievement before high school." 

Bennett and Kalish write:

There's absolutely no proof that homework helps elementary school pupils learn more or have greater academic success. In fact...when children are asked to do too much nightly work, just the opposite has been found. And study after study shows that homework is not much more beneficial in middle school either. Even in high school, where there can be benefits, they start to decline as soon as kids are overloaded.

The new thinking is that, instead of piling on onerous, rote assignments, homework, kids ought to be encouraged to use their after school time to explore their own curiosities, read books of their own choice, to play, and to get adequate sleep. 

Kohn again: 

Most kids hate homework. They dread it, groan about it, put off doing it as long as possible. It may be the single most reliable extinguisher of the flame of curiosity.

Any parent reading this has high expectations for his or her child. We all want not what's easiest, but what's best. If that means a lot of homework, so be it. But it seems the time has come for all parents to revisit this subject with considerable skepticism.

___________________

Some interesting links:

• 2003 NPR report, "Homework: How Much is Too Much?" 

• Sara Bennett's StopHomework.com

 

• Telegraph: "UK's biggest school to scrap homework"

• Letter from the principal of Grant Elementary School in Glenrock, Wyoming, explaining that her school is implementing a no homework practice

• "Project Student Autonomy: A Student's Guide to Taking Back Power in the Classroom" 

Comments

[Cara]

I understand the motivational argument against homework, which is the soapbox upon which Bennett and Kalish seem to be screaming from, but what about the educational psychology/memory/expertise/brain research that suggests the importance of repetition and practice in learning skills like math and languages? I do not think abolishing homework is the answer; however less time intensive or more effective homework assignments could be designed for sure.

[adora]

School children in Asian countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong were known to have a more homework than western children. In Japan, people are beginning to see that the children who went to international schools with less homework archive much higher when they grow up. (Some argue that it has to do with the opportunities that the rich parents of international school children can offer.)

I personally find that less homework was better. I spent about 30 hours a week on homework when I was small. As soon as I was free from homework, around my O-level (9th grade), I was able to study my own way, ask the right questions in class and get much better grades.

But I do feel that there is some benefits to repetition in learning math. (Trust me, I was in Math Olympiad.)

[Undergraduate Dissertation]

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!

[Xm24Odry]

That can take a long time to improve papers writing skills. But in some situations, students are pressured for time. If you want to save time and money and get the best quality custom research paper writing, you will find the reliable persuasive essay writing service and order custom term paper right there. Then, your A+ grade is gained.

[Term Paper]

Thanks a lot for a bunch of good tips. I look forward to reading more on the topic in the future. Keep up the good work! This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it.

[Term Paper]

Thanks a lot for a bunch of good tips. I look forward to reading more on the topic in the future. Keep up the good work! This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it.