There is a Case Against Homework- The Final Research

When I started my research, I did not have a stance on my opinion on homework for children in grade schools. I also did not realize the massive debate I was looking into. I have been constantly reminding myself that I am not asking if America can ban homework. I am asking only if there is evidence that any age of grade school children only should have a ban on homework. I can now say that I do fully support that homework should be banned in ages at least below 10 years old. One a child has reached this age, homework should be introduced but needs to be relevant and moderate for time it takes out of a child’s life outside of school. While there has not been many recent studies of the correlation between homework and success academically as well as the work ethic needed later in life, the studies done did show that homework can in fact be harmful to children.

The “Great Homework Debate”, as I have learned this heated and worldwide debate is called, has been going on for more than 100 years. “In fact, in 1901, homework was legally banned in parts of the United States (California Civil Code, 34th session (1901), sec. 1665). There are no studies demonstrating that assigning homework before junior high school improves academic achievement (Kralovec & Buell, 2000).” (Biscoglio and Langer 154) As our world and culture changes, so to do the family routines, the support positions in a child’s life, and the roles everyone plays and how others routines or obligations affect them. This seems to be a continuing trend in the United States. The above quote is from an article titled “Grandparents Against Homework”, by Joseph Biscoglio and Nieli Langer.  I choose this article because it was very useful. I can say, do not read an article by it’s cover on this one. The article itself actually does promote homework at a later stage in life. A time when it is appropriate to the development of our children, and is relevant in helping them build life skills. Not when children are in elementary school or even the beginning of middle school. Homework to the younger children ,” takes a serious toll on America’s families, robs children of sleep, play and exercise, interaction with family in social activities, and, with negligible evidence to the contrary, turns learning into drudgery. There is clearly room for discussion of homework policies and practices particularly now that it has taken precedence over music lessons, religious education, and family and community activities.” This article gave me a good perspective and a lot of sources to look into how homework is helpful to older children, but not younger children, and should be banned. (Biscoglio and Langer 155)

The next source is from a book titled “The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It”, by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. I choose this source because it again shows there is little to no benefit of homework forced upon young children, though it can be helpful to older children. This source shows things such as how many hours different age groups should sleep, and how they don’t get that sleep they need to properly develop due to over packed schedules. It shows, again, the correlation between homework and the sacrifice our children are making to themselves and to society by not being able to participate in extracurricular activities, (which also happen to look better on a resume than the amount of homework they did growing up), and links to lifelong health issues in society. It also brings up that, “a large study by the University of Michigan, family meals are the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores and fewer behavioral problems for children ages three to twelve” (Bennett and Kalish 260). A family meal that may be disrupted based on such packed family schedules in our society. Also, "the American Psychological Association, typical schoolchildren today report more anxiety than did child psychiatric patients in the 1950s” (Bennett and Kalish 260). Where is the study linking the massive depression, anxiety, and panic disorders in America to homework? I could not fine one, but maybe there should be one.

 My fifth source is an article titled, “Rethinking Homework”. In this article, Alfie Khon, the author, speaks of the teachers. How our teachers have no choice in what they do with homework. They are forced by our governments and our old-fashioned standards to assign homework regardless of what it is. “Teachers who have long harbored doubts about the value of homework feel pressured by those parents who mistakenly believe that a lack of afterschool assignments reflects an insufficient commitment to academic achievement.” (Khon ) Khon’s article goes on to speak about the many known information on lack of evidence the homework is anything but busy work to many students. Nevertheless, he also speaks of solutions. He questions when and how to introduce homework to uphold what we as a society believe to be important learning outcomes from it, such as meeting deadlines, doing research, time management. Khon, along with my other sources, speaks of making the issue of the education of our future generations a community decision, not a government only a government one.

 This research has led me to a path that at some distant point in the future of America, we may be able to completely reform out education system and come up with a better plan to help our children align in their knowledge with the leading countries. Now, however, our society is not capable or ready to make that type of a change.

As a note in the resource section of Khon’s article was the following quote. Though a little lengthy, this quote really spoke to me. It spoke to me of how we need to pay attention to what is happening to our teachers, our schools, our children, and their futures. We need to discuss, and brainstorm, and try new paths. For in the end, our current system is not meeting the American Standard of being the best, and it does not seem to be changing.

“We are awash in articles and books that claim homework is beneficial – or simply take the existence or value of homework for granted and merely offer suggestions for how it ought to be assigned, or what techniques parents should use to make children complete it.  Here are some resources that question the conventional assumptions about the subject in an effort to stimulate meaningful thinking and conversation.” (Khon )

 

Though these two websites are not resources I believe I will be using, I also think they are worth sharing. The first is “The Less-Homework Revolution” by Nancy Kalish in Parenting Magazine. This article was written by a parent who was once on the *homework is the only solution* bandwagon, but is now changing her stance.

http://www.parenting.com/article/the-less-homework-revolution

Also “Why We Say “NO” to Homework, by Heather Shumaker. Shumaker is a blogger and a current book author of “It’s OK Not to Share… And Other Renegade Rules”. In this blog, Shumaker explains her system of protecting the freedom of her own children, by standing against their schools and districts, and battling to keep her children in school while not having them have homework.

http://www.heathershumaker.com/blog/2012/09/12/why-we-say-no-to-homework/

Works Cited

Bennett, Sara and Nancy Kalish. The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006.

Biscoglio, Joseph and Nieli Langer. "Grandparents Against Homework." Educational Gerontology Feb 2011: 154-163.

Khon , Alfie. Principal Jan/Feb 2007, January/February Edition ed.