Here's a report from the front lines of the neoliberal educational world*, where homework has consumed the lives of children and their families without regard to whether it is improving their educational outcomes. The average California kid in a recent study was doing 3.1 hours' worth of homework per night, at the expense of sleep, time for family and friends, and activities ranging from grandma's birthday to "everything I used to do."
Ms. Pope suggests asking teachers and schools to provide homework packets that a student can spread out over a week, rather than springing large assignments due tomorrow that can derail family plans. Schools and teachers can also help by building in time for students to get started on homework and ask any questions they might have.
Looking at the larger picture, she said, things are changing. "These students are already averaging an hour more than what's thought to be useful," she said, and teachers, schools and parents are beginning to think harder about what kinds of homework, and how much of it, enhance learning and motivation without becoming all-consuming.
It might be easier than you think to start the conversation at your student's school. "Load doesn't equal rigor," Ms. Pope said. "There are other developmental things students need to be doing after school, and other things they need to be learning."
*The school is a business that produces educated children as products. The teachers are employees. The administrators are managers. The government is the board of directors. The tax-payers are the shareholders. School-businesses must be "accountable," which means producing quarterly reports in which numbers — test scores, attendance — go up, regardless of whether that reflects any underlying educational merit.
Homework's Emotional Toll on Students and Families [KJ Dell'Antonia/NYT]
(via Sean Bonner)
(Image: Homework never ends, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from worldbeyondalens's photostream)
