Many parents struggle to get their child to do homework. They are afraid that if their child doesn't do the work assigned, he or she will fall behind the class and may even need to repeat the year. More than that, parents fear that if children don't get used to doing homework at an early age, they will never develop the discipline necessary to be successful in the higher grades that is crucial for success in college.These are all very real and valid concerns. However, results of studies on the effectiveness of homework are quite surprising.
The current research on homework and school performance shows that there is very little evidence that homework does anything to help with your child's future academic success. Even so, we have seen a steady increase in the amount of homework assigned in the last 25 years.
However, according to Dr. Harris Cooper, the director of the Program in Education at Duke University, homework does not improve academic performance or level of understanding of elementary school students. Even for high school students, the benefits of homework decline after the children do more than two hours a night.
It appears that the extra homework your child gets doesn't seem to help him. But more than that, having too much homework may be harming your child.
Do you feel your children get too much homework?
Homework takes away from quality family time; time that your child should be spending with you. It requires that you oversee your child, make sure he completes his assignments, and places you in the adversarial role of enforcer. It interferes with your child's play time, time which is necessary for normal social development. It takes away from extracurricular activity time, time in which your child can develop his or her own unique talents.As you child gets older, peer contact becomes more important for normal development. Excess homework limits the amount of time children have with friends. Many students get far too little sleep, which also has a negative influence of their ability to perform in school.
To be fair, there are times that homework can benefit your child. Homework can reinforce new concepts that your child learned during the day. It can also help your child think independently. However, usually excess assignments consist of tedious busy work and contribute very little to your child's grasp of the material or its mastery.
* If you feel that your child is getting too much busy work assigned, then talk to the teacher. Most teachers don't see homework as a problem for families.
* Communicate your feeling to the school principal. Most administrators feel that parents are happy that their children are working hard in school. It is up to you to let him know that you feel that the excess work is detrimental.
Our society is filled with enough stress. We don't need to give our children more. For younger children homework is all but worthless. For older children, there are some benefits, but the advantages of homework are all but destroyed by the excessive amounts given. Excessive homework wastes your child's time, causes unnecessary stress, and might even destroy his love of learning.
It seems like our children may be getting too much of a bad thing.
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My son is only 6 and his school is great at recognising that homework would be counter-productive. I have a hard enough job just getting him to read his assigned book and his teacher understands and acknowledges that - also, trying to sit down with him, when his younger brother (3) wants to play with him (which of course he find totally distracting) can be almost impossible - especially as I'mthe only parent that does any of this stuff as dad is usually too busy with work for any of the school stuff - is virtually impossible and I believe that kids should be kids at this age - too much testing and too much pressure!!!!
Posted June 25, 2008
I have 2 kids, 8 (has ADHD) & 7 yrs old.I do agree that homework gives not only stress to school children, but parents as well.We would go to arguments every time when I insist my kids to finish theor homework.So,in a way homework creates unhealthy relationship between children and parents.I know that my kids are talented and fast learners,even their teachers acknowledged that.I remind them every morning to pay attention in class and try to complete their work in school so that they can play at home.They like that idea and it also helps to keep away the homework stress.I don't see why pupils should be burdened with homework at home, after spending about 6 hrs in school.
Posted June 19, 2008
Sometimes between my 3 kids, all we do every night is homework. My oldest daughter, 11, straight A's will have hours of homework to do. I've talked to her teacher and she says it is preparing them for the future. She has no kids of her own, and she thinks that is they are spending 1 1/2 on practices, why shouldn't they spend that much on homework everynight? I've disagreed with her several times. She doesn't budge. My son gets frustrated with us, but at school does great. What ever happened to the pricipal of being a kid? I think all 3 are put under way too much pressure at too early of an age. I didn't even care about college when I was 11! Why should she worry about it now? I say be a kid, work hard at school, but play at home. All work and no play gives us depressed stressed out kids!
Posted May 20, 2008
I really can not say how much homework my child has because she rarely brings home any assignments. Normally, the public schools in East Baton Rouge assign homework based on the age/grade the student is in. Most of the time, the schools focus more LEAP for grades 5 and& and the GEE for high schools. Most of the public schools in EBR are one race Black Population. The private and religious schools do not have to take the I-LEAP,LEAP, or GEE for those schools have a higher GPA and graduation rate than the public schools. EBR parish has some of the worst schools in a TRI-Parish area, Livingston, Ascension, and the EBR Parish public schools that are no longer part of the EBR Parish school system, the cities of Baker, Central, and Zachary public school test scores are far better now that the students are not forced to be bussed far from the cities in which they live to Baton Rouge. Perhaps too the kids are more rested and can test better since they do not have long bus rides each day.
Posted May 19, 2008
I'm not a great fan of homework,but,like many things,it's part of life. For a child who won't admit to his teacher or peers that he is struggling,this is also a time for parents to recognize their child's struggles and hopefully
find a positive way to resolve them. I think we place way too much importance on sports in our society. If a child is stressed and an athlete,chances are their anxiety is more about sports performance than school performance. At a certain age,many kids are way more concerned about missing an important foul shot than failing a test. It's up to us to put a priority on education because they're not. We need to stop over-scheduling our children with too many competitve
activities and just let them be once in awhile.
Mom of a 16 yr. old ODD,depressed son who didn't attend school for 4 months due to sports and a refusal to do homework,whose family had to relocate to change schools,and is so violent and destructive in his home that he now lives with his aunt.
Posted May 16, 2008
I think reinforcement of Math problems, foreign language vocabulary or reading literature is OK for homework - with a limited time like at Junior high level no more than 1/2 hour each or at the high school level no more than 45-60 minutes each - and only a few times a week.
yes, I agree that when kids come home from school they need time with their families, music lessons/practice or sports activities.
Posted March 12, 2008
