Family
The Homework Problem is Worse but a New Book Can Help Change That
It's been several years since my last article about the evils of homework. Research shows that the problem has actually gotten worse since then, with more homework being assigned at younger and younger ages. It's an important issue because of the family tensions created, the way homework turns children off to school, robs them of play, sleep, and even contributes to back problems (weight of backpacks has become unhealthy). Furthermore, homework has no intrinsic, proven value, whether researchers look at school achievement or life achievement. Yet, in this "No Child Left Behind" environment with its overemphasis on state and national testing plus the steadily increasing parental anxiety about getting children into the "best college", parents and teachers are inadvertently collaborating on a process that is simply and clearly bad for the health of your children.
With this as a background, no wonder I was so excited to read a wonderful new book, "The Case against Homework", by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. [Required disclosure: I was one of many professionals interviewed as part of the research for the book and I am quoted several times.] The book presents the very latest data showing how much more homework is being assigned, e.g., 70-80 minutes per night in elementary school, what the guidelines call for (ten minutes per grade per night), the absence of any proof of the value of homework (K-12), and the absence of teacher training about homework, which is not surprising since there is no theory of homework to be taught.
Homework is as homework was — it's a ritual that just continues on because it exists and all the teachers did it and the senior teachers do it, so all the new teachers do it, and no one gives much thought to its value nor the harm it causes children. And it is harmful. That harm is especially reflected at the high school level where the majority of students are being asked to do 3-5 hours per night and we end up with sleep-deprived, educationally turned-off, stressed out teenagers who are showing evidence of more depression and anxiety than previous generations.
At the other end of the spectrum, in kindergarten, once a fun time when the focus was on creative play and developing social skills, two age-appropriate tasks. Now, the focus has shifted to turning children into early readers whether they are neurologically ready or not (boys are especially penalized by this because they develop more slowly in the early years). If you want the gruesome details about what is happening to our young children, read the September 11th cover story of Newsweek, "The New First Grade."
Meanwhile, in elementary school, recess is disappearing (despite the need for more, not less physical activity), art and music is disappearing, and even lunch time is being shrunk ("Gobble up quickly, kids!"), all in the name of focusing more on teaching the children the skills needed to pass those big tests that start by 3rd or 4th grades. The sad thing is that according to some research that is reported in the book, the more homework assigned in kindergarten, the worse the academic performance in future years.
Okay, so this book provides a lot of information to support what most parents already know: your children are being given too much homework and homework has no proven value. But that is not the reason I am so excited about "The Case against Homework." This book takes parents to the next step and beyond. It gives parents permission to question teachers about the homework their children are being asked to do. It provides detailed strategies about how to do this and many wonderful examples of parents who have done this successfully. What is especially exciting is that often when one or a few parents from the same class negotiate a better homework policy for their child, it results in the teacher rethinking her general approach to homework and positive changes are made for the whole class.
One simple approach is to insist on the 10 minute per grade policy. This actually leads parents and children to discuss what part of their homework has the most potential benefit. That kind of evaluative thinking and parent-child collaboration teaches the critical thinking that is more important than the actual homework that gets done!
This approach emphasizes real parent-teacher collaboration with the best interests of the child as a shared goal. For many parents, to question teacher policy or to even defy it is a scary thought. But the book gives such detailed guidelines, how to prepare, what to say, and reports so many success stories that it should empower most parents to take action that will benefit all concerned. You are given the option, and the strategies, to choose how much of an activist you want to be: change one teacher's approach for one child, change a classroom approach, a schools' approach, or a school district's approach. All of these steps have been accomplished by a variety of parents including the authors.
One of the parts of the book I enjoyed the most was a lengthy section that analyzes typical assignments and explains why they lack educational value. It's a real eye-opener. Try the universal weekly spelling list and the parental responsibility to quiz the child the night before the weekly test. Not surprisingly, since this is a memorization task, most of the words are forgotten shortly after the test. Research strongly shows that the best way to increase vocabulary is to read and the best way to get children to read is to allow them time to read on their own and the option to choose what to read. The Harry Potter phenomenon shows children will read on their own. This issue of time and choice becomes especially critical during high school. When teens are encouraged to read what interests them, they read more and learn more. The rigidity of our educational system is vividly evident in the concept that all children in a class should read the same book at the same time, ignoring that the variation in reading skills and interests will result in many children being left behind.
Another favorite assignment that fails its goals: read the chapter and answer the questions at the end. Students learn the skill of scanning the chapter to find the answers as opposed to actually reading the chapter and having to discuss what they learned from the experience.
But the topic that generated the strongest reaction for me was the part titled "Cardboard, Glue and Pasta: The Homework Hall of Shame." This section is filled with examples of all the so-called creative projects children are asked to do from simply coloring in a map to the dioramas and other construction oriented projects that can become fairly complex by high school years. The authors dissect several examples and point out the very clear lack of educational value of nearly all such assignments. But I didn't really need the details, just the reminder. I can still vividly recall my older son's 6th grade assignment to create a model of a living cell using a bell jar and vegetables. My wife and I were up late at night with him trying to glue all these items into their proper places. What did he learn? Doubt very much. But we learned to never again get so involved in one of these projects.
Parental involvement in major projects (and in homework in general) is one of the major problems. Who is actually doing the work? Sometimes the materials required are hard to find or costly to purchase and not all families have the same resources of time and money to provide what a child needs. But the conflict is enormous because parents know if they don't help, other parents are and that will usually result in the parent-assisted project being of a higher quality. The issue of parental assistance covers all homework. It is best for homework to be the child's work, even, actually especially, if the child is unable or unwilling, to do an adequate job. The teacher needs to know what the child knows, not what the parent knows.
This book empowers parents and educators to question and change all that is wrong with the homework process in our schools. It is a call to action with all the information you need to effect such change. I hope this will trigger a grass roots revolution that gradually changes how parents and teachers deal with the homework problem. We need to fix one of the worst aspects of our educational system and this book will enable you to do that. So, if you don't already have a copy, just click here, www.amazon.com, and order yours. Then your child can become one of the first in her class to receive an improved education.
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