I read an article recently in Seattle’s Child magazine about how to deal with homework issues. Another blogger I’ve started to follow, Mike Henneke, also posted on this topic.
Would it completely shock anyone to know that their local middle school principal is not generally a supporter of homework, and in fact, is typically against it? You might be just as shocked to learn that there is a significant and credible body of research out there that propitiates the notion that there isn’t a shred of empirical research to support the idea that homework makes a bit of difference in a child’s learning.
If homework doesn’t really help with learning, why in the world are we all wasting so much time and energy trying to get our kids to do it? Especially when schools use absurd and arbitrary guidelines for how much homework should be assigned, such as 30 minutes for every class period they are in once they reach middle school.
I know I’m heretical in the world of academia, but when someone can prove a single percentile’s gain in a child’s achievement from writing definitions, doing thirty math problems, or memorizing all the state capitals and presidents, I’ll reconsider my position.
I’m sure that many of you will argue that homework was good for you and so it’s good for your kids, but statistics would suggest that you didn’t turn out as scholastically polished as you would like to believe you are. Quick, which president followed Grover Cleveland? No, it isn’t Oscar the Grouch.
More importantly, what difference has knowing the names of all the presidents, or the entire table of periodic elements made in your life? If you can actually give a reason other than being a winning game show contestant, it’s time to reevaluate the depth and profundity of your existence.
The truth is, it’s more important to know how to find information and make sense out of it, than it is to cram your head with information you are VERY unlikely to use. You’d get more out of an hour on Facebook, and we all know how inane Facebook is. Forcing all this homework on kids is about useful as the ”education” I see most children get from the homeschooling experience
At the risk of being loquacious, or at least more than is warranted on this topic, I’ll stop for now. But if you want to challenge your assumptions about homework and its relevance and value, check out the links below.
Try to think of it as reasearch, not homework.
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/research.htm
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/rethinkinghomework.htm
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/homework.htm
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/kmbraa.htm
5 responses so far ↓
David Sala // November 4, 2009 at 3:03 am |
Yeah, but the more time they have to spend doing homework is less time I have to spend paying attention to them. Don’t take that away from me Ben.
David // November 4, 2009 at 4:51 am |
Is it a matter of the quantity of homework, or the quality? A lot could be said about the useless facts thrown at kids during classtime too. What if the homework was doing more relevant, collaborative problem-solving or something like that (for your homework assignment, I want you to figure out what is polluting the local pond, and figure out a way to get the word out to the community)….just a thought.
bentalbert // November 4, 2009 at 5:13 am |
Such is the wisdom of David, both of them. Amen to each of you. David Porcaro, if that were the kind of assingment we gave more often, in an out of class, we’d never attach the word “work” to it. It would just be the fun of learning.
karen, the wife // November 4, 2009 at 6:42 am |
good job, Ben.
Heather // November 4, 2009 at 9:40 am |
William McKinley. Aw yeah still got it.