Too Much Homework Makes Jane A Dull Girl

Every year, I complain about how much homework our schoolchildren have to do. I see that other friends are also complaining, and so I thought I would (pretty much) repeat here my thoughts that I put on the Catholic School blog a couple of years ago......

I think the little ones get way, way too much homework. First off, a Kindergarten and First Grader don't really read yet, and so it is really Parent's Homework. By this, I don't mean that parents do the homework but, rather, must be there to read assignments, directions, spell words, etc. I also think that the homework for kids in K through 6th or 7th should be to play outside for a couple of hours. They will learn more problem-solving skills by sorting things out with their playmates than they will writing spelling words or coloring some worksheet!! I think kids today are at a huge disadvantage from the pressure to "learn, learn, learn," and "work, work, work." I can only speak from my own experience and the experiences of my friends, but we never had homework until junior high school and we all grew up with a love of books (we didn't "have to" read), good problem-solving skills (figuring out how to pick teams for a ball game or how to make a go-cart or snowman), responsibility ("be home by dinner"), and then went on to do very well in college and professional school.

Of course, we can't let our kids just run around in today's environment, especially those of us who are city-dwellers. However, we can take the kids from school to a nearby park, and ask other parents/caretakers to do the same. We at St. Mary's do this, but we can never really stay more than 45 minutes or so because we have to get home to "do homework." And, sometimes, by the time the parent can get around to sitting down to read/explain the homework, the kids are tired and grouchy!

As for older grades (mostly high school), while some homework is fine, it has been my experience that a fair number of teachers expect the kids to teach themselves! "Read Chapter 7 and be prepared to take a quiz on it tomorrow." Wouldn't it be better if the teacher first taught the children Chapter 7, then assigned a review of the material in the textbook, and then gave the quiz?

Finally, all of the homework leads to heavy backpacks, which is probably best left for another discussion!! (See my next post!) I am not sure how to fix the problem of too much homework too soon, but I do believe that it is a problem and would like the opportunity to try to fix it!!!