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Recently I took upon myself a lot of extra homework. My children's homework that is.
An article in the Daily News (9/25/06-yeah six) by Sarah Bennett and Nancy Kalish, authors of "The Case Against Homework," describes a 2006 Duke University review of 180 studies which shows that there is "almost ZERO correlation between homework and achievement in elementary school, and only a minor correlation in middle school. Even in high school, homework benefits decline after two hours." So can any one tell me why I have an hour to 1.5 hrs of homework with my 5th grade son? Even in the lower grades, the time I spent going over homework seemed inordinate. Homework raised the level of tension in my home, created conflicted between me and my already fatigued child. And this new math, forget about it. The wording in the textbooks take simple math and makes it more complex and unnecessarily verbose.
What was interesting was that the article pointed out that the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores was eating dinner together with the family! 10 min per grade was the max recommended. I think it should be a review of what the teacher presented in class. It is the teachers primary role to educate and provide the tools for success in this area. As a parent, I should supplement that with a review but not become the teacher.
And when are children allowed to be children? I remember having time to ride a bike after school and run around with friends (eventually girlfriends). Kids need to play with others to burn off their energy and hone their social skills, which happen to be an integral part of their future success. Kids need to be kids. My father learned from Rav Hutner the following. R. Hutner was asked, "Isn't recess bitul torah?" to which he replied children need that time to reset themselves and they will learn 10 times better after they played.
I ended up reading the book, "The Case Against Homework." I recall it giving stats that countries that give little or no homework are far outshining the rest of the countries that give regular amounts. American educators recognize that we are lagging, so their solution is to expand the load. They demand that the teachers teach more, in less time. One of my daughters is allotted 15 min for recess yet during that time, the class must review the calendar and eat their snack, plus gather their things and be ready to walk across the building to computers. But the system doesn't get it. Recess and enrichment type classes are diminished, students are developing anxiety earlier from all the added stress from school and from their parents who are further pressuring them to keep up. Homework is tearing up the family and hurting the child. Much of the homework is busy work. Homework should review the topic to demonstrate competence. Couldn't English grammar lessons use interesting facts from science or history to at least make the work somewhat interesting to the child? Educators miss the point. School should be teaching kids the skills to acquire knowledge and especially the love of reading and knowledge. An inspired child will more likely be a successful one.
Now I must get back to my own research and homework on the topic.
For a related article see here.
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An article in the Daily News (9/25/06-yeah six) by Sarah Bennett and Nancy Kalish, authors of "The Case Against Homework," describes a 2006 Duke University review of 180 studies which shows that there is "almost ZERO correlation between homework and achievement in elementary school, and only a minor correlation in middle school. Even in high school, homework benefits decline after two hours." So can any one tell me why I have an hour to 1.5 hrs of homework with my 5th grade son? Even in the lower grades, the time I spent going over homework seemed inordinate. Homework raised the level of tension in my home, created conflicted between me and my already fatigued child. And this new math, forget about it. The wording in the textbooks take simple math and makes it more complex and unnecessarily verbose.
What was interesting was that the article pointed out that the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores was eating dinner together with the family! 10 min per grade was the max recommended. I think it should be a review of what the teacher presented in class. It is the teachers primary role to educate and provide the tools for success in this area. As a parent, I should supplement that with a review but not become the teacher.
And when are children allowed to be children? I remember having time to ride a bike after school and run around with friends (eventually girlfriends). Kids need to play with others to burn off their energy and hone their social skills, which happen to be an integral part of their future success. Kids need to be kids. My father learned from Rav Hutner the following. R. Hutner was asked, "Isn't recess bitul torah?" to which he replied children need that time to reset themselves and they will learn 10 times better after they played.
I ended up reading the book, "The Case Against Homework." I recall it giving stats that countries that give little or no homework are far outshining the rest of the countries that give regular amounts. American educators recognize that we are lagging, so their solution is to expand the load. They demand that the teachers teach more, in less time. One of my daughters is allotted 15 min for recess yet during that time, the class must review the calendar and eat their snack, plus gather their things and be ready to walk across the building to computers. But the system doesn't get it. Recess and enrichment type classes are diminished, students are developing anxiety earlier from all the added stress from school and from their parents who are further pressuring them to keep up. Homework is tearing up the family and hurting the child. Much of the homework is busy work. Homework should review the topic to demonstrate competence. Couldn't English grammar lessons use interesting facts from science or history to at least make the work somewhat interesting to the child? Educators miss the point. School should be teaching kids the skills to acquire knowledge and especially the love of reading and knowledge. An inspired child will more likely be a successful one.
Now I must get back to my own research and homework on the topic.
For a related article see here.
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