Why I Hate Homework
I was really happy to discover that Rat Race Rebellion just reposted an interview it did with me last year. You can read it here.
And please try to listen to WHYY’s Voices in the Family today at noon. I’ll be one of the guests. Here’s how the upcoming show is described:
Homework causes conflict in many homes. It’s a source of frustration for parents and kids, and many feel there just isn’t enough time in one evening to get it all done. Join Dr. Dan Gottlieb for the next Voices in the Family when we’ll discuss homework. Does it help learning? And, how much is too much? Dan’s guest is Sara Bennett. She has written The Case Against Homework, and writes a blog called StopHomework.com. We’ll also hear from Dr. Stephen Soffer who is a staff psychologist at the Center for Management of ADHD at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
I see that Dan Gottlieb has podcasts of his show. I presume Sara’s interview will also be podcasted? It’s my favorite way to listen to the radio!
September 21st, 2009 at 8:36 am
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One step forward – two steps back. I just posted about my success in getting the reading log time shortened: http://www.lamomsblog.com/2009/09/homework-success.html,
but then I went to Back to School Night and found out that book reports will be given in “project” form, including the dreaded diorama. ARGH!
September 21st, 2009 at 11:45 am
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Oh..April…my day comes next week..I’m dreading curriculum night. I have strong feelings about dioramas. Total waste of time.
I read your blog entry too…and I think it’s sad that education has become such a contentious issue in our lives. It’s supposed to be easy. It can be very easy, without all the yelling. I yelled last year. I’m not doing it this year. I have a limited time with my child and there are enough things to get after her about without adding homework to the mix. My job is to teach her to pick up after herself, to help set the table, to be kind to her aged grandmother, to speak to me respectfully….etc.
You’re not being a bad, uninvolved parent if you refuse to do the school’s bidding.
How would the teacher feel if all the parents brought their children to her/his house for an hour (or two) on Saturday to do the diorama’s?
It’s school work….it belongs at school.
September 21st, 2009 at 12:07 pm
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Dioramas (Diorami?) You’re serious? How is a diorama related to schoolwork in any form?
My daughter’s teacher last year said that “some kids” (which usually means one kids mom) created a diorama of their Presidential Project (don’t get me started on that) but I thought she was kidding? But then some moms do have way too much time on their hands.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
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I know…whoever thought dioramas were a crucial part of elementary school must have had another intention in mind (that has gotten lost over the millenia), because I have such a hard time seeing what they are good for….that’s the reason they are banned in my house. We did one once, or rather I did one once, and that was the last time.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
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I recently listened to the podcast of Voices in the Family. I listened to it with my 13 year old daughter and we had an interesting discussion. She only spends about a half hour per night on homework, but pointed out that some kids in her class spend two hours trying to complete their math homework. Her point was that not all kids work at the same pace. One night she had a word search as homework and our family agreed that it was a poor choice for homework and we completed it together as a family. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I don’t remember having any homework until 4th grade and by then I was excited and proudly stated that “I had homework!” I don’t agree that all homework is pointless. I think that at the high school level there needs to be some out of class assignments, but at the elementary level I believe that kids need to have time to play. Playing in so underestimated in its value, as is recess. Our public school is very traditional and it would be very unlikely in this “no child left behind” era ( did I mention that I don’t like no child left behind) that I could have an impact, but I have voiced my opinion about teaching to the test. I frequently tell my kids that learning is about acquiring knowledge and being interested in the world around you and not about the test. Real life is not about a test, but at 9yrs,11yrs,13yrs, and 15yrs. They have a limited interest in what mom’s talking about.
October 1st, 2009 at 9:27 am
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i hate homewrok because i think it takes to long and its boring and it just wastes time it frustartes me a lot and me being in middle school its hard for me and my brain really gets tired and i cant think sometimes i wish there was no homewrok its really streeses and agravetes kids
November 28th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
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Anonymous- Assuming your post was meant to be satirical…..a guess as to your occupation. My daughter’s homework loving second grade teacher sent e-mails to parents with grammar and syntax almost as bad as your post. Hence, I assume you might me be an elementary school teacher in a high performing school.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
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homework is gay
December 6th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
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Disillusioned- not being rude but you made a spelling error in your comment as well (me instead of be). Anonymous stated that they were in middle school.
Children who understand the work or are brighter will finish the work quickly. Children who are not, are forced to sit for hours trying to work through, getting stressed and frustrated. Many times it will lower their self-esteem and they will begin to think they are “dumb”. We should not be grouping kids into the same group when giving homework. I dont think we should give it at all, because we dont want to give some children more and others less.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
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i personally believe that homework is an outlet for things teachers don’t teach in school that they should have done. if someone truly could taught well in school, then there would be no need for homework as it would already be learned. as an addition, with this seperation of the two lessons, school has become “unchallenging” and should actually be harder. i spend 8 hours a day in school, and now i have to spend my break time at home doing something i should have been taught in the first place.
January 11th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
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I HATE HOMEWORK I HATE HOMEWORK I HATE HOMEWORK
IM JUST A KID WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS… THIS…
RUBBISH!!!!!!!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
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Personally I think that homework cuts into student lives.
My mom is currently in the hospital and I didn’t leave the hospital until 8.
I’ve been doing homework for 4 hours.
I’m still not done.
I could be at the hospital with my mom right now, except I don’t have the tools to do the homework there.
Obviously, homework cuts into our time and our lives.
It should be banned.
I hate it.
January 13th, 2010 at 12:14 am
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GRRRRRRRRRRR I HAVE MORE HOMEWORK
THIS IS EVIL
EVIL EVIL EVIL ALL THIS HOMEWORK SHOULD BURN DOWN IN FLAMES THOUAND FEET HIGH WHILE KIDS DANCE AROUND IT
January 19th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
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Ironically, I’m doing a huge project on the positives and negatives of homework. This investigation began almost on day one of junior year and will probably end around the last few weeks of school. I honestly don’t see how this is beneficial to my education (although reading up on everyone’s anti-homework views has given me a few good ideas) and it is a massive time-suck, for lack of better words. This project takes me hours every week, adding to the other hours of homework piled on by my other teachers, who don’t seem to take into consideration that I have other classes to tend to, not to mention my after-school family life. I don’t think that homework should be quit absolutely cold-turkey though; sometimes a little math review or history brush up is a good thing. However, since elementary school, most of my homework has been “busy work”: writing ten page outlines, creating Jeopardy powerpoints that count for 20% of my grade, even making up video skits (which were, by no means, allowed to be done at school). I’m exhausted everyday and I hardly ever see or talk to my family on most weeknights. I’m up until midnight only to wake up at five in the morning to repeat yesterday. It’s stressful for my parents, it’s frustrating for me, it’s a never-ending vicious cycle. I’m just hoping if I speak out now, my kids won’t have to deal with this, and neither will I. Stop homework! (I say as I procrastinate the project aforementioned)
January 19th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
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Hi Kate,
You’re very articulate and I’d love to see your final project. Please send it to me.
Have you considered, in doing your project, keeping track of everything you do every evening. How about describing your homework and what, if anything you learn from it. How about calling a few experts and see what they think of your assignments. (Chapter 6 of The Case Against Homework, titled Homework Deconstructed, explains what’s the matter with most assignments.) From what you describe, you’re right that your homework is busy work. It’s time that those who tout the benefits of homework (e.g., Harris Cooper) explain exactly what a student learns from the kind of work you describe and why your precious time should be spent like that.
January 20th, 2010 at 9:05 am
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I would love to share my project with you, but so far, it’s rather unimpressive, consisting of facts written on at least 30 note cards, flashy PowerPoints, and short blurbs on the tone and diction of “The Case Against Homework”. However, if I do end up writing a paper on the negatives of homework, I will be sure to send it to you. In the mean time, I have to go find 15 more facts to put in my “Fun Friday Fact Folder”.
January 21st, 2010 at 12:17 am
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Kate–Well, whatever you do, please send it my way. Good luck!
January 21st, 2010 at 8:15 am
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i really hate homework i think it cuts into time with our familys and friends and i agree disgruntled student and many others that commented on here, i spend almost my whole night doing homework and then i get up only to go back to school to do it all again, i have had and still do have family in the hospital like my grandmother and aunt. I to think that it is time that you could be spending with your family member. They say homework only gets harder and im spending 5 hours a night not to mention the time i spend studing for tests. Im only a freshman in highschool granted i think the work should be hard more responcibilty but 5 hours worth?!? and i know people who stay up till 3am trying to get there homeowk done bacause there in honners. I think homework should be done at school, not home. Thank you for taking the time to read my complant i just needed to vent lolz sorry for any spelling errors,
-Adal
January 25th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
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hmmm no one is saying that i need to take a chill pill
for the comments above i was kinda trying to get a point across with thousand foot flames plus i had SUPER hard homework that night.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
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Homework cuts into our lives at home, a place that should be for us to live our lives, not do what the schools want us to do. We are who the schools want us to be. We need to get good grades to go into the next grade in school, we need to take tests (some of which are made for showing how well the students are doing for competition mostly) which involves studying, which then cuts into our life at home, which is invaded with homework. School should not be our only lives, but at home we have homework that sometimes takes us all of the time we do have at home, even taking us so long it has us staying up past our bedtimes! Is it just for the practice? If so… it’s NOT making perfect… I only get this when I have the teacher explaining it to me. I don’t feel like I learn anything… and I feel like if it’s for school it should be done AT THE SCHOOL! I have friends who have a test in every subject every week, and their studying hours cut into their homework hours, and they have such busy lives at home as it is they can do nothing but feel stupid that they don’t get it. It causes me stress when I can’t get it… and also it’s EMBERASSING to have other students correcting it (something we do in my algebra class… which is my hardest class). It screws with our self esteem and that’s already a big enough problem without homework… especially for girls in middle school and high school. We have no time to simply be ourselves… which is something that everyone should do! Summer is the only time when we really find ourselves and remember what we like to do… and sometimes school is something kids have to attend during summer… not that they get homework from summer school. We can’t be what the school expects us to be. Homework should be banned… imagine how much happier kids would be. And they would have no excuse to not spend time with family. Ha ha! But seriously… it’s rediculous. We have what? Six classes minimum… that’s six subjects to do at home, with only so much time before the next day of school. And weekends are NOT long enough for us to re-energize ourselves for school. REDICULOUS
January 25th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
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Grrrrrrrr – awwwwww!!!!!!!! homework sucks…. and yes u do need to take a chill pill! now!
January 25th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
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i like cheezburger and homework because very yummy
January 28th, 2010 at 2:26 am
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It just takes too long, plain and simple.
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:57 pm
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I THINK HOMEWORK IS DUMB AND IT SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT SCHOOL!!!!!!!! IN FACT AS I WRITE THIS I AM A KID MISUSING A COMPUTER THAT IM SUPPOSED TO BE RESEARCHING WITH!!!!!!!! AND WHEN MY GRANDAD HAD CANCER!!!!! HOMEWORKHOMEWORKHOMEWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wasnt able to spend time with him and say goodbye……
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:06 pm
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I THINK HOMEWORK IS DUMB AND IT SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT SCHOOL!!!!!!!! IN FACT AS I WRITE THIS I AM A KID MISUSING A COMPUTER THAT IM SUPPOSED TO BE RESEARCHING WITH!!!!!!!! AND WHEN MY GRANDAD HAD CANCER!!!!! HOMEWORKHOMEWORKHOMEWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wasnt able to spend time with him and say goodbye……
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:06 pm
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The problem is not the fact that there is homework, the problem is how it is presented. Naturally, human beings are very curious, and would want to learn about the world around them. But students are FORCED to do homework and there is practically no other option, which changes their curiousity to neglect so that they really don’t like learning, and would prefer mindless activity. That’s why human beings today like watching tv or playing video games so much.
Also, schools are based off of a single learning style (auditory), and believe that students can learn simply from telling them everything that they want them to know. This is definately not true, especially since there has been a sharp increase in the number of kids with other learning styles (visual and kinesthetic).
March 1st, 2010 at 8:16 pm
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it stops us spending time with are friends and family plus were at school most of the day so when we are home we should have FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 17th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
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I have no homework tonight thanks mr. robinson!!!!!!!!!
May 3rd, 2010 at 6:23 pm
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I HAVE A ART PROJECT AND IT IS SO DIFFICULT AND BORING AND ALSO ITS A WASTE OF VALUABLE FAMILY TIME. I AM SO ANGRY.
i tried asking my teacher is homework optional and guess what she did. told me off and put me in a detention. that’s not fair, is it?
email me at coolguyjack@talktalk.net
(i am 12 you know)
May 20th, 2010 at 11:48 am
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i love home work
June 28th, 2010 at 8:42 am
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HOMEWORK IS COMPLETE HELL
July 7th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
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I hate homework
August 20th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
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omg i love you whoever made this book i love you so much i just spent the whole day doing work at school and school ends for me at 4:40 now cuz i have drivers ed after school and i had so much homework, and now i can’t even study for the drivers ed test we have tomorrow anymore because i’m so tired i won’t be able to remember it. i did study, but it’s hard to keep it together in my brain after such a long day…it’s too much..
August 31st, 2010 at 7:27 pm
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