"Research reveals primary school homework offers no real benefit...:

www.dailytelegraph.com.au...

"What the research shows is that, in countries where they spend more time on homework, the achievement results are lower," Dr Walker, from Sydney University's Education Faculty, said.

"The amount of homework is a really critical issue for kids. If they are overloaded they are not going to be happy and not going to enjoy it. There are other things kids want to do that are very valuable things for them to be doing.

"I don't think anyone except senior high school students should be doing a couple of hours of homework.

I think, intuitively, we all know this to be true.

My child is in 3rd grade and since 1st grade he has had 30 minutes to an hour and half of homework everyday. It's ridiculous. He's already in school for seven hours everyday.

In most cases kids grumble about it, it can be a huge struggle for some families and now we see it has little or no benefit.

We are long past due for an overhaul of the entire philosophy of education. Somethings they are learning are just silly for their grade level and other things, like technology, are barely touched on. Our educational system seems irrelevant to modern life as well as what we now know about how children learn.

Science, math, reading, english, civics, american gov/history are the only things that should be taught in school. Everything else is just bs that doesn't help in anyway shape or form. Yeah some other topics would be nice but were at a point where everything is so royally screwed up we need to start with the foundation courses again. These days they try to teach culture in school..........how do you learn culture from reading books????? you need to learn it from your family and community through interaction.

reply to post by Fitch303


Yeah but some cases your community doesn't cooperate at all

Homework always got in my way.

Just like mandatory phys ed stuff retarded my athleticism by taking me away from intense sport specific training and forcing me to run around a track.

Structured education is a crock. The amount of classes I've "failed" with 4.0's because of compulsory attendance requirements is testament to that.

You could know the material better than the instructor but by god if you miss one more day of class you're failing.

It's all like some sick joke that defeats its own purpose for the sake of bureaucracy.

I used to think this too....
UNTIL I became a mom.....until i started volunteering in the classroom (27 students, 1 teacher).....and I saw that my daughter was not getting enough personalized teaching to ensure she understood what was QUICKLY being taught on a day to day basis. There is only so much 1 teacher can do with that many kids....it is up to the parents to pick up the slack....and that is where homework comes into play.

Thank God she has homework for the week (a package is sent home on Monday and it is worked on until Thurs, turned in Fri). The package consists of advanced Math and English (grammar/spelling). This allows me to work one on one with her and ensure that she is learning the actual work. I can tell you that as bright as she is (she is in advanced studies in some subjects) she is NOT learning enough sitting in the classroom. I can guarantee the one on one attention and help w/ her homework is doing wonders.....

So yeah, I was against homework before, now I believe it is a necessity in these overcrowded classrooms!!

I suggest ALL parents volunteer in their classroom at some point and your thoughts may change too....If you are not there, you dont know what is going on....

This doesn't surprise me. I have seen some of the stuff my kids have come home with, which looks like complete garbage or arts and crafts. Some of the stuff, like reading, is beneficial, but some doesn't look like there's a point one way or another.

reply to post by KillerQueen


Let's face it, none of us "enjoyed" doing homework, it was just something you had to do... kind of like household chores.

While homework in itself may seem like a waste of time, I'd also say that it helps kids develop studying skills that WILL be required once they complete their secondary school education and enter college/university life.

It's developing study habits for the future, nothing more.

Homework doesn't help. I couldn't tell you 98% of the math homework I ever completed in high school. Nor am I ever going to use it. What is the point of school for 7 hours a day if you have homework on top?

My life was changed for the best when I finally got into a vocational career center high school, where I focused advertising/graphic design, which is a passion of mine and what I'm now going to college for. One of the schools policies were to be lenient on the homework. Statistically it had the highest graduation rate, highest grades, highest test scores of the state and everyone was happier.

There is no creativity in schools, it kills all learning. You're taught to think and to repetition than think abstractly and learn.

Unnecessary work, work without meaning. I do think this is a big problem that breeds apathy in students by the time they are in junior high and high school.

reply to post by KillerQueen


I had discussions with my kids that right along those lines. My problem lies mostly with math. Both my kids have about 45 min of homework every day, a IMHO, it's rubbish. My ex-wife and I both value a good eduication so we started to teach our kids the proper way to add, substract, mutliplications and divisions. Basic math, and they loved doing it. When the teachers saw their work wich was exemplary, they left notes in our kids agendas and requested that we meet with them. We were asked to cease teaching our kids because they would advance faster than the rest of the class and in turn lose interest. We asked to skip them ahead. They don't do that at this school.

I'm sicerely thinking of changing school. If I had the money I would home school them but for now it's not an option. If I compare the level of education today, from what I've seen with my kids and nephews, and the level of education we had as children, it's day and night. The quality has dipped considerably.

reply to post by greeneyedleo


I have also been in my child's classroom and I saw how much time was wasted on frivolous things. Additionally, my undergraduate focus was education and history. I have hours and hours of in class observations and education classes. Additionally, I was a teacher's aide at an elementary school. I ultimately choose not to pursue education as my declared major because of what I saw at the best laboratory school in my city and the testimony of several of my family members who are teachers. The school was a joke. The teachers were a joke and the curriculum was a joke. The entire system seemed very antiquated and broken to me. Overall, the students weren't happy and productive and neither were the teachers.

While I agree that children need one on one time, I don't see how homework on top of seven hours of school is beneficial to fidgety children who also need to run around and play. Besides, the study revealed that more homework did not correlate to better test scores.

I think it would be more strategic to really examine how things are done in other countries or in different types of learning settings and select the most effective practices and adopt them here. That would likely include smaller class sizes for more one on one learning.

Our educational system needs a top down restructuring. More and more people are opting out because it's not family friendly and it's not effective. Cultural issues are creeping in and learning is seeping out.

reply to post by ~Vixen~


The study indicates that it has no beneficial effect, until say junior high or middle school, where it can then be introduced in order to build study skills in preparation for more the intensive curriculum of high school.

Originally posted by KillerQueen
reply to post by greeneyedleo

 

I have also been in my child's classroom and I saw how much time was wasted on frivolous things. Additionally, my undergraduate focus was education and history. I have hours and hours of in class observations and education classes. Additionally, I was a teacher's aide at an elementary school. I ultimately choose not to pursue education as my declared major because of what I saw at the best laboratory school in my city and the testimony of several of my family members who are teachers. The school was a joke. The teachers were a joke and the curriculum was a joke. The entire system seemed very antiquated and broken to me. Overall, the students weren't happy and productive and neither were the teachers.

While I agree that children need one on one time, I don't see how homework on top of seven hours of school is beneficial to fidgety children who also need to run around and play. Besides, the study revealed that more homework did not correlate to better test scores.
.

the homework my daughter does at home results in better grades and test scores. that is just a fact. in class they dont have the time to spend quality time learning say math. It is rushed and the teacher cannot make sure every single kid is actually learning what they need to be.....but at home i sit with her and make sure she gets it.....esp since she is in an advanced math book while many in her class are not, so there are different levels in each classroom. The at home work allows her to practice w/ no distractions and at her pace. School is just too rushed and too many kids and too many distractions.

Homework for us is no more than 30min and usually happens around dinner time.

I absolutely support it....well how it is for her and at this time in her school life. Maybe things will change later on.

Maybe it doesnt work for al kids, but it does for mine and her friends too.

My son (second grade) gets homework every night: math, reading, and spelling. It has helped him immensely and I enjoy working with him to give him that extra help he may not receive in class.

Homework has also always helped me personally. It's nice being able to have practice for whatever we learned that day and to be able to apply it. Then for test days, I feel like I have had so much practice that I can answer the problems almost by rote memory.

There does come a limit, though. For instance, I just got off spring break and came back more exhausted than refreshed due to the insane amount of work we were assigned. I had to complete two midterm study guides for the midterms we had after the break, complete a lab project, two lab assignments, and a mini research paper.

That was way too damn much. I still don't feel mentally recovered from that. I'm even supposed to be studying for a test I have tonight but I'm fried from all the homework. I'm now also sitting on another lab we were assigned and four worksheets we were given all at once, and need to put a study guide together for micro. Kind of procrastinating until the weekend because that is A LOT.

That's college, though, I guess. I'm the type who actually loves homework and enjoys doing it but DAY-UM already. lol I need this semester to be over.

So homework is useful and can offer much needed practice but there is a point of diminishing returns.

I remember one year in private school we were continually being assigned approximately 5 hours of homework a night. Then on school holidays or teacher work days, we were assigned a full schedule of work to do at home. It was so bad my mother actually wrote a letter to the principle that it was too much. lol

Originally posted by KillerQueen
reply to post by ~Vixen~

 

The study indicates that it has no beneficial effect, until say junior high or middle school, where it can then be introduced in order to build study skills in preparation for more the intensive curriculum of high school.

We're creatures of habit and often learn from completing repetitive tasks. If we don't develop good study habits early on, the chances of adopting them at an older age diminish greatly.

Kids need time to be kids, to go out and play in the yard, spend time with friends and learn key social skills. I'm not advocating saddling your children with so much work that they're deprived of a social life, however an hour or two of homework encourages them to continue their education in the home under parental supervision. It's a task for the children, and, in my opinion, a lesson in parental responsibility for mom and dad.

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Then they must not give as much homework in advanced classes. I was required to do homework that on average took an hour for each assignment, we had six classes that gave homework. School is no different than a job, and I really don't think that anybody wants to put in an 13 hour work day. Modern school is no different than an industrial era factory.

reply to post by KillerQueen


Homework needs to be de-emphasized in terms of grading, but some homework will always be needed. They just need to tone it down to 10 minutes per subject.

Too much homework is just as bad as no homework. Also, teachers need to work to keep parents in the loop. It should be wrong for teachers to friend their students on facebook, but it would be wise to encourage teachers to establish social media connections with their students parents.

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Please don't misinterpret this but I think you may be missing a point.

The learning, at least the school stuff, should be done at school. Otherwise, why are our kids there? I agree there is too much frivolous/administrative nonsense and overcrowding detracting from the core reason the school exists. So the kids get homework to learn at night what they should be learning in the day.

Too much homework at night is a symptom of something broken elsewhere. So not only do I pay to have my kids not taught during the day, I have to pick up the slack at night. If I have to sit down with my kids to teach them math/science/etc in the evening, I might as well home school them and save my tax dollars to put towards that effort. So what are my tax dollars doing during the day?

I am glad the local school has a spiffy new football stadium and swimming pool but how about some more classroom space and a few more teachers instead? How about a few less administrators making 6 digits and more updated classroom equipment?

I say give them homework--but limit the time (no more than 30 min. a day)--at this age.

It's about forming the proper habits. Sure they need playtime, exercise, socialisation after school, but they also need to start to get into a routine for when the are older and in more advanced grades.

Some of the work is going to have be geared to required standardized or accreditation tests for the school, but some should be focused on the individual child's interests, i.e. reading, and writing or drawing something about what they read, educational computer sites, etc.

I think these are the best ways to build love for lifelong learning.

This study is rubbish and offers no benefit.

Homework is good for a child it shows him/her that life is always going be work not play.
If you agree with this study, I think you couldn't give a damn about your children's smarts and learning progress.
Because homework to me also shows where your children are at with Maths and English.

Personal experience, I could see my stepsons progress and I was worried for awhile when he started bringing some home.
Now I can see him reading like a bat out of hell for his age group, I'm glad homework comes home , so we can see his learning progress and encourage him to keep going with it.

I even sometimes sit down and give him more homework, just because he likes to be challenged.