Should homework be banned?

My kids might want to move. Schools in Maryland and Wyoming have banned homework. There is no homework in Finland, and last year, the president of France made a definite push to bar homework throughout the country.

It’s interesting to say the least, and leads to a host of conversations about whether more work, more tests, and a heavy workload in general are appropriate or counter-effective.

I can say that in my circle and many others, parents have had it up to here with the homework load, even in grammar school. Many find it takes time out of an already-busy evening, and adds to the family stress. By the end of this month, I’m willing to bet we will be hearing similar sentiments among parent friends.

Whether in the schoolyard, at work meetings, family gatherings, and on Facebook updates, many parents say that kids are just losing their minds over homework. Many of the parents I know say the workload expected in public and private schools is just ridiculous. I confess, I agree.

Kids are constantly pushed to do more, do better, and score higher. This philosophy is good on one hand, but can very easily go bad. Not every child can handle the pressure and not every kid wants to, even those who are considered gifted. That leads to an even larger issue at hand: does every kid need to be “advanced?” Or, can childhood be a nice blend of education and fun, with an emphasis on blend? Too many kids I know are doing schoolwork the whole day, stopping only to eat and shower, and then dropping into bed, exhausted. On the rare occasion that my kids don’t have homework, I think it’s great, and I’ve never equated their lack of homework with learning less.

In addition, the amount of homework required varies greatly from school to school and teacher to teacher. Let’s face it, depending on your child’s teacher each year, your kid may get a hell of a lot or hardly any at all. My kids have had teachers who have given a ridiculous amount of unnecessary homework, and they have also had teachers who have assigned very little. My daughter had a junior high teacher who barely ever gave homework, but it remains the one class in which she not only learned the most, but also retained it — years later, and carried that knowledge into high school.

I’m not convinced that homework equals better or smarter students. (Do grades themselves even matter? That is a larger issue.) When I was a kid, we had homework, but rarely on Fridays, and weekday homework was not overwhelming. Yet, somehow, we all managed to go on to careers in our respective fields and be productive.

An episode of the popular PBS show “Arthur” makes a similar point. In it, Mr. Ratburn unwillingly has a virtual helper that appears from a smartboard in the classroom. The robot was programmed by a company to have 98 percent knowledge of all things, which lead to a two percent failure rate. Things go downhill fast in Arthur’s classroom. The show’s creator, Mark Brown, used this episode to show how the educational system is relying more on systematic learning than actual teaching. Mr. Ratburn, a true teacher at heart, naturally detests the system.

This episode brings out something that I fear we overlook in this time of state tests, technology, and insane amounts of homework: teachers are people, and good teachers, who can actually convey their thoughts and ideas to students in an engaging way, are not robots. They are gifted educators; their job is not just a job, but a calling. When our kids are lucky enough to have these types of teachers, they don’t need constant or heavy homework, because they actually learn enough and are engaged in school.

Furthermore, our kids are not robots and to mindlessly complete hours of daily homework for 10 months out of every year (plus large summer packets) seems nothing but robotic.

Going through the motions is not learning.

Danielle Sullivan, a mom of three, has worked as a writer and editor in the parenting world for more than 10 years. Sullivan also writes about pets and parenting for Disney’s Babble.com. Find her on Facebook and Twitter @DanniSullWriter, or on her blogs, Just Write Mom and Some Puppy To Love.

Relevant Directory Listings

See More

The École

<p>At The École, we believe that the goal of education is to develop well-informed, well-rounded, responsible, and compassionate students who can create and connect to a world filled with possibilities. This belief is at the heart of our uniquely designed bilingual program, in which students learn not just to speak, read, and write in two languages but also to think, feel, and act in ways informed by two cultures. To always see, explore, and understand the world around them from two perspectives is the gift of the deeply bi-literate, bi-cultural student.<br /><br />Artfully blending the curriculum requirements and pedagogical approaches of the French and American systems, our native-speaking faculty create rich academic environments for a diverse, international student body. From Maternelle through Middle School, students at The École are guided through the core language arts, social studies, math, and sciences content, as well as character and cultural enrichment in both French and English for all subjects. In our intimate classroom settings or out and about in New York City’s many artistic and historical institutions, using traditional and technology-based techniques, our teachers aspire to provide individual and group bilingual learning opportunities that engage, challenge, and inspire.</p>

BASIS Independent Brooklyn

<p>BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK–12 private school that fuels creativity, ingenuity, and independence in every child! The nationally recognized BASIS Curriculum is built from the best education systems worldwide and designed to inspire students to learn at the highest international levels. From their very first day, students engage in a spiraling liberal arts program with advanced STEM offerings—including Mandarin, engineering, humanities, logic, the sciences, and more. Led by Subject Expert Teachers who empower their full potential, our students gain the critical inquiry and problem-solving skills needed to be successful in their education and beyond.</p>

Ivy Prep

<p>Located in Forest Hills, Queens, Ivy Prep New York (Ivy Prep) is a 30-year well established private tutoring school, which focuses on top scores for standardized tests and academic excellence in school work. Ivy Prep prepares motivated students for admissions to top high schools, Ivy league universities and other top universities, and gifted and talented programs.</p> <p>Ivy Prep offers elementary and junior high school students SHSAT, SSAT, ISEE, Hunter High School Exam, and other entrance exams for admissions to top high schools, SAT, PSAT, ACT, APs for high school students, and GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE for college students. Ivy Prep also offers uniquely effective college application consulting to make sure its students reach top universities and right majors.</p> <p>For elementary and junior high school students, Ivy Prep teaches math, reading, and writing to build up students’ solid basic knowledge foundation; for high school students, besides standardized test training, Ivy Prep also teaches school math, English, science, history, literature, writing, etc. to maintain students’ school high GPA. Ivy Prep offers college level basic courses tutoring as well.</p> <p>All teachers at Ivy Prep are professionals, either college professors or licensed high school teachers. They are graduates from Ivy League colleges or other top universities and with at least fifteen years teaching experience.</p> <p>Ivy Prep flexibly arranges all programs. Students can take classes in small groups or individual private lessons; lessons can be in person or online.</p>