The Homework Debate
Haven't read the book yet, but from what I have read about it, the book examines the research and concludes that lots of homework not only doesn't improve kids' academic performance but actually may sabotage it by creating stress and turning them off to school.
In the interests of disclosure, I know one of the co-authors, Nancy Kalish, have worked with her, and respect her work. And as a parent of elementary school kids, I certainly have seen some teachers load on the homework.
But I also have seen parents clamoring for it. I will never forget when a parent walked up to my daughter's second grade teacher at back to school night and requested--in a loud voice, for all to hear--that the teacher give her son extra math homework "to challenge him more." The teacher agreed.
Shortly after, I wrote a story for Child magazine that touched on the homework issue and found that there wasn't any evidence that lots of homework helped kids academically, especially during the early elementary school years.
However....a year or two after I wrote that article, the Brookings Institution released a bombshell of a report that questioned the whole notion that kids were being overloaded with homework. The media had misinterpreted previous research, this report found. In fact, according to Brookings, the data shows that the U.S. homework load is less than in other nations. The only increase is in the early elementary school years--and that increase was relatively minor (going from none, to a little).
So...do we have a homework crisis or not?
My guess: we once again are seeing the impact of socioeconomics. Many middle and upper class school districts--usually the ones that journalists send their kids to--are loading on the homework....but without much regard to what the research shows...Meanwhile, the underperforming, struggling school districts may be giving too little homework to the high school students, crushing students with low expectations.
Stumble It!
posted by pam at 11:57 AM
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