Kids May Be Right After All: Homework Stinks

[Ceres]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/09/kids_may_be_rig.html

What the research shows is disconcerting. Equally important, however, is what the research doesn't show: that homework is necessary or beneficial. We reassure ourselves that it's all worth it because homework raises achievement, teaches independence and good work habits.

Remarkably, however, the data to support those beliefs just don't exist:

There is no evidence that homework provides any benefits in elementary school. Even if you regard standardized test results as a useful measure (which I don't), homework isn't even associated with higher scores at this age.
In high school, some studies do find a correlation between homework and test scores (or grades), but it's usually fairly small and it has a tendency to disappear when more sophisticated statistical controls are applied.
International comparisons offer no reassurance. In describing the results of their analysis of student performance across 50 countries, which was published last year, Pennsylvania State University researchers David Baker and Gerald LeTendre said: "Not only did we fail to find any positive relationships," but "the overall correlations between national average student achievement and national averages in (amount of homework assigned) ... are all negative."
Finally, no study has supported the claim that homework teaches good work habits or develops positive character traits such as self-discipline and independence.

So why in the face of this lack of evidence based information are we STILL giving homework? I think the answer lies in the question posed at the end of the article:

What if, after spending six or seven hours a day at school, we let them have their afternoons and evenings just to be kids?

We as a society are terrified of what kids might do if we dont keep them so busy they dont have time to think.

[Rudas Starblaze]

very interesting!

i hated homework and seldom ever did it in elementry, junior high, or high school. yet still graduated with 3.5 more credits than required.

in junior high, we had to take those stupid tests that rated us among all US students in our grade level. in school, in science, i failed the entire time and was given a make up test at the end of the year (basically cause the teachers didnt want me back in class the next year).

i scored in the top 7% of US students with the equivelent of a university masters degree in regards to science. my teachers were pissed off and asked "how is it possible that YOU scored that high and yet you are failing this class??"

my response....
(literally)

"because youre an idiot who doesnt know what to teach and your class bores me."

[Ravenna Angellin]

We as a society are terrified of what kids might do if we dont keep them so busy they dont have time to think.

And then wonder why our kids go freaking nuts (or getting into serious trouble) when they DO get some time to themselves...

... I also failed every class I had from grade school on up till I decided to leave high school in 11th grade. Why? Not because I am unintelligent, but because I thought homework was a waste of my time. I had far better things to do with my time, like practice my violin or write stories. That was my gig. Used to baffle the heck out of my teachers because there I was failing all my classes, and yet... I had the highest test scores of anyone in my class. I was also notorious for not even paying attention to class (had my nose stuck in a book) and yet there I was with great test scores.

I left school in 11th grade because I was bored. There was nothing left in the schools that I wanted to learn. In hindsight, I regret dropping out because I missed out on some of the fun aspects of high school (like Prom) but that was my mistake. I did wind up going back to get my GED and then went to college to earn my AAS in Computer Science (not that I can remember how to program my way out of a wet paper bag).

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is homework really DOES suck! :lol: As much as I remember hating getting it though, here I am making sure Aiden does his homework each week. Thankfully his teacher just sends home a weekly packet with the equivalent of 1 page per day of work. We make it a game so at least he's having fun!

What worries me is how we're going to approach the WASL test once Aiden hits 3rd grade when they start it. I'd like to refuse it, but once he gets into high school, he'll have to take it AND pass it before he can earn his diploma. Stupid WASL test... worst mistake Washington state ever made!

~ Ravenna

[Terra Mater]

We as a society are terrified of what kids might do if we dont keep them so busy they dont have time to think.

Wow! The amount of homework my kids were given was far less than the amount I had to do when I was in school. In addition, my kids had the internet available to them, rather than being limited to just what they could find in the library about a given topic.

Homework was never about teaching positive character traits such as self-discipline and independence, it was about measuring them. If a child is self disciplined, independant, and ahead of the class, they do the homework in their classes, or during lunch (as I did and as I taught my kids to do) and have their afternoons free.

That homework sucks is without a doubt, so do many of the jobs an adult can hold. One of them is teaching. They are undertrained, undercertified, over-restricted, and underpaid. Most of them are also under-motivated, glad that they get three months out of the year to themselves.

We as a society know quite well what kids do if they do not keep busy. The ones that keep themselves busy in positive ways are far outnumbered by the greater number of kids that use the free time to get themselves into trouble. So the many bad apples spoil the fun.

[Ceres]

We as a society know quite well what kids do if they do not keep busy. The ones that keep themselves busy in positive ways are far outnumbered by the greater number of kids that use the free time to get themselves into trouble. So the many bad apples spoil the fun.

Spoken like someone who really has no faith in kids as people.

HOW do we know that? We havent ever found out. As long as we dont put any faith in them, we wont find out, either.

But I really have to ask - if there is no evidence that homework is helpful to kids, why are people so adament to give it?

[Halstrom]

You know, I may be in the minority in this, but I loved homework in school. Having a learning disability and all, it really helped to make sure that I had learned and understood what was taught, which, imo, is ultimately the true purpose of homework.

[Windygo]

The idea that homework is the thing keeping kids from getting in trouble sounds laughable. Maybe I'm special, but when I did do my homework I still had plenty of time to screw around.

No, it doesn't necessarily make you smarter, but in my experience, homework let me do things like practice at subjects, let the teachers know I was not understanding or completely adept at the subject, etc.

In high school our grade wasn't really reliant on homework, but people who did it usually did better on tests, which did matter.

And now that I've become an art major, I'm very glad that I was assigned homework on a regular basis. It's impossible to finish anything in class, and I usually have to prepare myself for 3-4 hours of actual work per day on top of simple studying.

I really wish my other college classes would do more homework as well. It would motivate me to actually study more (or help the studying itself). Especially in things like Math.

[bellamandu]

i never did homework. I was mostly a failing student, but those were in classes where the majority of you grade is defined by whether or not you did your homework. the only reason i passed was because i always aced the tests and the exams at the end of the year. i was one of those underachieving genius kids people always talk about.

btw, did you notice how all of that was in past tense? i think having kids does something to ya...

[la tortuga]

You know, I may be in the minority in this, but I loved homework in school. Having a learning disability and all, it really helped to make sure that I had learned and understood what was taught, which, imo, is ultimately the true purpose of homework.

I loved homework, too, it was always a good way to spend the afternoon. Maybe I'm strange, but I used my homework and school studies to my advantage. I don't think kids realize how much they have AVAILABLE to them in school or as a result of doing well in school, and they're often not taught a general love for learning and a passion to do the best you can in school. My inspiration was my parents, I watched my father walk the stage with his Bachelor's Degree when I was seven years old... my parents were on food stamps when my sister and I were born, and since then they've done a total 180 and now make 6 figures a year.

I graduated from high school with 50 college credit hours because I knew at a young age that the better I did in school, the more likely I was to get accepted to a good college, get scholarships, and get my degree.

[Ceres]

I think its great that some people loved homework! There isnt anything inherently wrong with liking sit down schoolwork, in fact I think more kids would like it too if it wasnt forced upon them. Or not. There are so many different ways to learn that its ridiculous to narrow it so much.

In any case, the problem is when its compulsory and the argument for making it such is that it helps children learn when there isnt any evidence of that at all.

[RainInanna]

Interestingly our social worker told us she tells all her kids teachers that they set aside 1/2 hour a night for homework, every weeknight. She tells them "if you assign more then that, it won't get done". If her kids don't have homework that night, she has them read instead.

[Windygo]

In any case, the problem is when its compulsory and the argument for making it such is that it helps children learn when there isnt any evidence of that at all.

I think we're just trying to say that it completely contradicts our personal experiences. They can't tell us that we didn't benefit or gain independence at all, especially when it seems like that's not what the study actually tested for.

After closer reading I do agree that it seems like a bad idea to overload or rely on homework... but I was under the impression that was common sense. I didn't know about a trend, guess I escaped just in time.

[Solya]

I had quite a lot of problems in school because the work was too easy for me, but I still did my homework because I felt obliged to. It took me about half an hour to finish with all subjects (classmates disliked me cos it took them two hours for the same thing :lol:) and then I had enough time left to do as I pleased. I never really outrightly disliked homework, but it sure wasn't my favourite thing to do either. By the time I got home from school I had already finished with most of my homework for the day, because I usually had some extra time left in class or during a free hour so I could work on it then.

While I do attach some form of value to homework itself, seeing as it teaches kids things like independent self-organisation, I also believe that homework could be made more interesting and challenging than it is now. You only take away their love of learning by setting them homework tasks they already know. I think homework should be tailored to suit the individual instead of having it be some kind of group-thing.

[Ceres]

I am a big fan of boredom as teacher. Without time to THINK, really ponder who we are and what we believe and why thats right for us, how do we ever get to know who we are? We tend to schedule every waking moment of kids lives to the point where they dont have any time for this.

They have no idea what they want to become because they dont even know what they like to do because they have never had time to get to know themselves. They fall back on the judgements of peers to tell them who they are or if they are closer to parents or maybe a teacher they look to them to tell them who they are, but they lose out on the sense of self.

I think its quite a common experience to not really know who you are until your mid twenties, and we blame teen angst or being too swayed by our peers opinion in those years, but maybe its simply because it isnt until we are done with school that we have a chance to stop and look around us and take the time to decide whats going on and where we fit into it all.

The problem is not the content of the homework or that we need a way to teach self organization, which comes naturally when we WANT to do something. The problem is that study after study has shown it doesnt improve test scores and yet it creates tension between parents and children in their own homes, and it takes away time from kids that should be spent learning about the world outside of school and about themselves.

[Cat]

Without seeing the actual studies, I can't really form a firm opinion. However the careful phrasing used implies to me some degree of care about facts. So I'll assume for the moment that the claims are correct.

I'm not surprised that elementary school homework is redundant. I don't plan on giving my child any. Past that I think it all depends on the kid and the situation. One thing I learned doing homework/papers was research and library skills. Another was critical analysis. If we'd had time to write and research in class that would have been fine, but we didn't, so I learned after school. I am very glad I did.

I think it's possible to learn from just about anything, though, and that includes both homework and leisure time.

[Zoritsa_Nepenthe]

Well,I wont be showing this to my oldest.He has despised homework and has fought me about it(now rarely does it) since he was 5.Personally,from seeing his test grades,I do agree that homework doesn't really do much(for him at least)...as he gets A's on tests and quizzes.Unfortunately for him,90% of his grades are based off homework,so he'll be looking at summer school yet again,which btw,he enjoys.

I also hated doing homework,and can remember spending hours at the table in tears because I wasn't allowed up,but sometimes couldn't understand the content.My parents couldn't really help either(mostly in math) as they hadn't been in school for quite some time and either didn't remember,or hadn't learned what I was being taught.It doesn't help that students are usually taught only one way to learn something.I was very hands on and needed someone to show me how to think differently,or use different ways to learn....which didn't happen until I met my husband,and then certain things clicked.Homework did not/would not have helped if I didn't have someone actually show or help me in the way my husband did.

Eh...now my youngest enjoys homework...and may benefit from it.I just hope he continues to like it,because I don't see the schools changing any time soon.

Just some of my personal experiences.

[WokeUpDead]

I've always done most of the homework but didn't spend much time on it.