School daze...

A University of Michigan study in 2004 found that the amount of time US kids spend on homework has increased 51 percent since 1981. But Duke University's Harris Cooper claims that more homework does not translate into better academic performance, and that 1 – 2 hours per night (depending on the age of the kid) might actually translate into lower test scores on standardized tests.

Both of these sources support my life-long thesis: Homework is stupid.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not ignorant of the value of homework. It can help instill a good work ethic, teach time and other resource management skills, and it can give parents and children a constructive activity around which to spend quality time.

There are two problems here, though. First, parents have plenty of tools at their disposal for teaching these lessons that are more effective and more valuable than homework. And second, and somewhat related to the first point, none of these advantages outweigh the disadvantages:

1) Homework typically takes the fun out of learning. Kids deem it a chore, and it’s no wonder since it often gets in the way of other family activities.
2) Today’s kids participate in all kinds of valuable activities outside of school that already diminish the amount of time they can spend with their families.
3) Doing homework is for kids what taking work home is for adults. Kids need a break from the environment that amounts to their workplace or else they are vulnerable to burnout.
4) Extending the reach of the school into the home is an ineffective policy in principle. I know that schools have felt pressure even from parents to take on more of the roles that parents used to play. And I know that there are many people who owe their lives to a teacher or a school that reached out. But as a stated policy and steady practice applied to every case equally, a school conceding to do the parents’ job is just not a good idea.

Of course, teachers need to weigh in on this issue also. Assigning homework gives a teacher more time in class to dedicate to lecture or activities. Frequent assignments that are well designed can give the teacher constant feedback as to the effectiveness of the lessons given. Perhaps most importantly, in many cases there is simply no other practical way to extend the reach of a parent into the child’s school experience other than by sending some work home.

These are definitely issues that must be addressed before the practice of assigning homework can be abandoned completely. Nevertheless, allow me to be among the first to stand up and advocate that eventual outcome.

Our modern economy has evolved in such a way as to dilute the family unit. The lack of value we as a society put on parents who stay home with pre-school aged children and the pitiful wage we pay those to whom we entrust the care of those children speaks volumes about how seriously we take the task of childrearing. For entire families to spend the majority of their time apart only to endure evenings where the day’s work continues is tragic at best.

I don’t have children myself, but I enjoy the company of pre-teen godkids. I miss them when they’re at school or doing other important things, so I appreciate very much the time when they’re home and have nothing pressing to do. How disappointing it is for all of us when those rare moments come but their homework, even at their ages, gets in the way.

The bright side is that I have sometimes enjoyed sitting down and helping them with some assignments they’ve been working on, thereby spending some quality time with them after all. I suppose until teachers figure out how to live without homework entirely, moments like these with my godkids will just have to do.