How much homework should a student have? It is a topic that
has been debated for decades with different sides to this hot button issue – teachers,
parents, administrators, and students themselves, have weighed in on. A study conducted a number of years ago by
the National Education Association (NEA) came up with a formula that suggested
10 minutes of homework for each grade level. Using this ideology, a first
grader would get 10 minutes of homework; a second grader would get 20 minutes
nightly and so on up to twelfth grade. Homework was not recommended for
children in kindergarten. (There are a number of kindergarten students across
the nation that do, in fact, get homework.)
A recent student published in the American Journal of Family
Therapy suggests that students are receiving three times as much homework as
recommended. This has created a great deal of family stress from parents who
are trying to get their children to sit still, without distractions and complete
assignments to the students themselves who feel that after spending six hours
in a classroom, the additional burden is unwelcome and unnecessary.
Once central issue that keeps surfacing is “what is the
purpose of homework?” Is it to reinforce concepts presented during the school
day? Could it also be used to present
new topics? One issue that most experts agree on is that homework should never
be used as punishment.
Wirth the new school year upon us, it is an appropriate time
to revisit the issue. Homework must benefit the students and provide a
continuum of the curriculum.
There are those who believe that in view of the changes in
American social dynamics over the years, that homework has outlived its
usefulness. What do you think? Readers are invited to join in the discussion.
c.2015 J. Margolis
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