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From parents to state and federal policy makers, it seems that everyone is decrying the decline in educational standards over the last generations. What role does homework play in maintaining higher standards? What is the movement among parents against homework about? Does homework enhance learning, or is it just busywork? Is there a happy medium between none and too much? Is it ok to require more homework incrementally, in middle school and highschool? What are your observations as parents and as educators?
Any homework that is busy-work is already too much homework. An example of this is having elementary students write spelling words three (or five!) times each. The assignment should be to learn the words, or they should have a choice of assignments so they can pick one that will benefit them. More than one spelling assignment/week is too much.
Any homework that is beyond the student's ability is automatically too much. For example, no long division practice for students who don't know long division. Practice is practices; parents should not be asked to teach the material. Older students might be expected to use the textbook and internet to figure things out; elementary kids shouldn't.
Any homework that takes more than an hour total (elem.) or about 40 min/class (secondary) and was assigned the day before it's due is too much.
Any homework assigned on Friday and due on Monday is too much.
Any homework assigned on the last day before a vacation and due on the first day back is too much.
From parents to state and federal policy makers, it seems that everyone is decrying the decline in educational standards over the last generations. What role does homework play in maintaining higher standards? What is the movement among parents against homework about? Does homework enhance learning, or is it just busywork? Is there a happy medium between none and too much? Is it ok to require more homework incrementally, in middle school and highschool? What are your observations as parents and as educators?
I teach high school and, probably, average about 30 minutes a night of homework (not every night and students often have more than one night to finish assignments like lab reports). I think that homework should be pretty much non existent in elementary school. Kids should start getting homework in middle school and by the time they leave high school be good and ready for the kind of homework load they will have in college if they are on a college track (students who take AP classes will be there).
Homework really isn't about maintaining higher standards. The kids who are actually ready for my class when they get there don't really need homework. It's given for the benefit of the kids below them. They are the ones who need the practice. For the kids who don't do the homework, it becomes just so much more in class review and will have limited impact.
As a parent of college bound kids, I want my kids to have enough homework that they have to manage their time well in order to get it all done. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. They tend to get lazy during the times when they don't.
Any homework that is busy-work is already too much homework. An example of this is having elementary students write spelling words three (or five!) times each. The assignment should be to learn the words, or they should have a choice of assignments so they can pick one that will benefit them. More than one spelling assignment/week is too much.
Any homework that is beyond the student's ability is automatically too much. For example, no long division practice for students who don't know long division. Practice is practices; parents should not be asked to teach the material. Older students might be expected to use the textbook and internet to figure things out; elementary kids shouldn't.
Any homework that takes more than an hour total (elem.) or about 40 min/class (secondary) and was assigned the day before it's due is too much.
Any homework assigned on Friday and due on Monday is too much.
Any homework assigned on the last day before a vacation and due on the first day back is too much.
And people wonder why the US schools are not leading the rest of the world. The above is why. Parents who think homework on the weekends is a no-no. Parents who do not understand that repetition is important in learning skills like spelling. Parents who do not understand that teachers have to make a variety of assignments that hit more than just the learning style of their child.
Any homework that is busy-work is already too much homework. An example of this is having elementary students write spelling words three (or five!) times each. The assignment should be to learn the words, or they should have a choice of assignments so they can pick one that will benefit them. More than one spelling assignment/week is too much.
Any homework that is beyond the student's ability is automatically too much. For example, no long division practice for students who don't know long division. Practice is practices; parents should not be asked to teach the material. Older students might be expected to use the textbook and internet to figure things out; elementary kids shouldn't.
This (bolded) sounds strange. More like a teaching problem than a homework problem. Obviously, math homework is to practice a skill taught and reinforced in class prior to assigning the homework. I remember struggling with long division, though. Parents might help, but certainly shouldn't be introducing new material to their kids just so that a homework assignment can be completed. The state of math education in the US is a whole topic in its own right.
I can see justifying writing challenging spelling words over and over. English spelling isn't easy. (Teaching phonics makes it a little easier.... ) But I also take your point about different methods working for different kids. When learning a foreign language, I'd always (voluntarily) spend a lot of time simply writing out vocabulary lists (and the translation of each word) over and over. Repetition does drill material into the memory, plus I always figured that there would be a benefit from the muscular memory of having written the items over and over. Boring but effective.
Whatever works.
I also agree that homework shouldn't be busywork. It should provide an opportunity to practice and hone skills.
First off, I believe the overall declining education relative to the world is not due to schools, but too parents. My kid knows to read, write, and arithmetic regardless of what the school teaches. The school puts it all out there anyway, is there a school that does not teach anything? It is just the students and the culture of learning their parents made that contribute to the decline in education.
Homework, it varies a lot to the point a broad statement of "is it too little/much" is impossible to make. It is understandable there is going to be studying and some homework to do. Sometimes the amount is ridiculous and it is always from specific teachers, leaving me often to wonder what are they doing with the time in the classroom.
I believe weekends should be off limit for homework. I also have things to teach my kid and would like to spend time with them in the one life I have. My kid belongs to me, not the school. If the school cannot teach what is needed in the day, then perhaps the school needs to reassess how they are spending their time.
I believe weekends should be off limit for homework. I also have things to teach my kid and would like to spend time with them in the one life I have. My kid belongs to me, not the school. If the school cannot teach what is needed in the day, then perhaps the school needs to reassess how they are spending their time.
I used to do my weekend homework Friday afternoons/evenings. Unless it was highschool, and I had a research project that I had to budget time for over a month or two. Weekend homework can be finished up Sunday evenings, too.
But I think you're right that one factor relating to how well kids do in school, and how attentive and disciplined they are in school, too, is parental involvement and support.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 07-01-2012 at 11:20 PM..
First off, I believe the overall declining education relative to the world is not due to schools, but too parents.
I also believe that it is due to parents. Parents are spending less time with their children and not identifying where they are struggling and need extra help. When I was in school, I always had someone available to work with me if I got stuck or didn't understand something on my homework. I didn't just half-ass it or guess. Nowadays, parents are often not around and don't provide proper replacements to help the kids.
I always felt a lot of homework was just busy work when I was in high school. I never felt I really gained anything from it aside from how to find the bolded words in a chapter to find the answer I am looking for. From my high school and junior high years I always had the impression that most teachers just didn't care. They followed a boring curriculum that involved almost zero class participation. Teachers who stand at a projector with a clear sheet and have you take notes that way shouldn't be teaching. I could train a bear to do that.
The classes who had teachers that actively engaged with their students were always the classes I learnt the most from.
Homework, hours later, helps to recall what was taught and apply it.
It helps with moving information from short term memory to long term memory.
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) But I also take your point about different methods working for different kids. When learning a foreign language, I'd always (voluntarily) spend a lot of time simply writing out vocabulary lists (and the translation of each word) over and over. Repetition does drill material into the memory, plus I always figured that there would be a benefit from the muscular memory of having written the items over and over. Boring but effective. 
