Homework has been such an institution in our educational system, it may be difficult to even think of not having it.  However, while our method of education has changed and evolved in the past 150 years, the concept of homework has changed very little.

In the early days of our educational system, one-room school houses were the norm, combining many grade-levels for one teacher, with attendance being even more sporadic than it is now.  Assessment of knowledge consisted of students memorizing facts and reciting them back to the teacher.  To better prepare for these assessments, students would study at home (hence, homework), (p. 3).

Since those early days in the late 1800s, assessment procedures have evolved to include projects, papers, and other more creative things.  While these methods of assessment are better suited for the goals that we have for our students – encouraging higher cognitive activity – these methods are also time consuming.

Unfortunately, teachers have precious few hours of class time for instruction, let alone assessment.  As a result, these time-consuming, elaborate projects get pushed on home time.  Moreover, the projects often need the help of parents to make sure they are done, and done well.  This begs the question: What are we assessing?  Are we assessing how well the students know the material, or how well the parents can help them accomplish something elaborate and beautiful?

There are compelling arguments on either side of the “To (give) Homework or Not To (give) Homework” debate.  For those in favor of homework, their arguments are in bold.  The rebuttals to these arguments will be found directly following them.  These bolded beliefs are straight from the book, and can be found on pages 10-13.

#1 – The role of the school is to extend learning beyond the classroom.

While it may be true that some students do not have the parental support teachers wish to see, does that make it the educator’s responsibility to make up for the supposed lack of parental support?  Do we really want to control every aspect of our students’ lives, giving them no break from school?  I don’t want to put words in my fellow teachers’ mouths, but if people demanded me not to have a break from school EVER, there may be a mutiny on our hands.  Of course, most teachers are so passionate about teaching that they cannot get enough of it, and spend a lot of their free time researching to make their teaching more effective (such as, if you are bothering to read this right now).  But, they CHOSE their profession for their passion.  Students do not have the luxury of choosing their homework.

#2 – Intellectual activity is intrinsically more valuable than nonintellectual activity.

While I agree that intellectual activity is important to the growth of a child, I also believe that a child needs to be well-rounded.  They need to grow socially, emotionally, and physically, as well as intellectually.  They need more than just academics to survive as a citizen in this world, and we would be stunting them of this growth if we demanded that they only focused on the academic aspects of schools.  After all, experienced teachers know that a child learns best by doing.  It would then make sense that the best way for them to learn social skills is to participate in social events: play dates, unstructured play time, etc.

#3 – Homework teaches responsibility.

As they argue on page 11, when they say responsibility, they really mean obedience.  We are not teaching responsibility in assigning an hour of homework a night, we are training them to be obedient.  There are better ways to reinforce responsibility, that will be explored in future chapters.

#4 – Lots of homework is a sign of a rigorous curriculum.

In other words, the curriculum is so busy, we cannot possibly teach you everything you need to learn in the classroom, so you must have homework to continue the teaching at home.  I believe homework should be a time for practice, not a time for instruction; but more on that later.  This idea of more homework caters more to the parents than to the students.  Most students see the homework involved with a class or teacher and the more there is, the harder they think the class is.  Students figure this out in September, from the opening week expectations that teachers share.  Some may even be so tuned in that they notice the year before, watching their older friends and their work load.  “Oh, I don’t want Mrs. So-and-so.  She gives a TON of homework!”  Therefore, before they’ve even experienced it for themselves, students have a defeated attitude.  For many of them, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

#5 – Good teachers give homework, good students do their homework.

This statement sums up the other 4 statements.  It is a mentality accepted by all; an unspoken truth.  Non-tenured teachers think it is expected of them by administration, and often times fall into the trap of using homework to extend their instructional time.  Parents have come to expect it because, after all, “that’s how we got through school.”  Students are trained to think it, getting rewards for getting their homework done (good grades, stickers, tickets, etc.), and punished if they’ve forgotten it (bad grades, loss of free time, etc.).

On the whole, I don’t totally disagree with the idea of homework.  I do believe that we can get tunnel-vision and lose sight of the true reasoning behind it.  I believe homework should reinforce what has been already learned in the classroom.  A very wise teacher once told me that she never assigns work that she wouldn’t be willing to do herself.  This has helped to keep me in check over the years.

I write this as I am surrounded by students at an extra-curricular activity.  Any down-time that the students have is devoted to rushing to complete their homework.  I’ve heard a few offer to trade assignments with each other just to get it done.  Students are smarter than we give them credit for, and they too can see there is no value in giving homework just to give homework.