Category Archives: In the News

Quebec’s largest English language weekly newspaper, The Suburban published an anti-homework editorial at the end of August: Too much homework As kids go back to school, we need to pay attention to a growing movement among parents and educators calling on homework to be severely reduced. We think they are right. Childhood is a timeContinue reading “Quebec Newspaper Writes Editorial Against Homework”

Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine had a great article, Kindergarten Cram, about the problems with today’s kindergartens. One of my favorite lines: “How was it that the same couples who piously proclaimed that 3½-year-old Junior was not “developmentally ready” to use the potty were drilling him on flashcards?” Here’s the beginning of the article: AboutContinue reading ““Kindergarten Cram””

I’ve written many times about places in Canada where homework has been eliminated. This month’s Today’s Parent, published in Toronto, Canada, has an article titled, “The End of Homework?”, which looks at a school in Barrie, Ontario, which eliminated homework this year. The article concludes: But a year after [Barrie’s] Prince of Wales eliminated mostContinue reading “Some Canadian School Eliminate Homework”

The L.A. Times recently reported on several California schools that have cut back on homework: Trustees in Danville, Calif., eliminated homework on weekends and vacations last year. Palo Alto officials banned it over winter break. Officials in Orange…are reminding teachers about limits on homework and urging them not to assign it on weekends. A privateContinue reading “L.A. Times Reports: Schools are Cutting Back on Homework”

According to an article in The Province, the president of the British Columbia Teachers Federation says that school kids should not be given any homework until Grade 4 at the earliest. “I’m not in favour of abolishing homework, but I do think we need to consider very carefully the age of children,” she said. “CertainlyContinue reading “Teachers in British Columbia, Canada, Seek Ban on Homework Until Grade 4”

After some parent complaints that their children were doing too much homework, the Eastern School District in Newfoundland, Canada, implemented a new homework policy. According to vocm.com, “guidelines for Kindergarten students are roughly ten minutes, primary 30 minutes, elementary 40, intermediate an hour, and high school students one to two hours.” In addition, homework cannotContinue reading “School District in Newfoundland, Canada, Implements New Homework Policy”

A recent article in The New York Times quoted a number of college professors who find that their students expect good grades if they attend lectures and do their out of class work. The associate dean of the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University, said: “Students often confuse the level of effort with theContinue reading “Students’ Expectations Cause Grade Disputes in College”

According to an article in the Times of India, there were more than 16 suicides a day during a peak exam period in the 2006-2007 school year. “The sense of failure comes from the perception that success in exams is the key to success in life,” says a counselor and family therapist. “The burden ofContinue reading “Exam Stress Leads to Too Many Suicides in India”

Seven New Zealand primary schools have just decided to cut back on homework because research shows no correlation between homework and academic achievement and there’s no evidence that homework teaches time management skills. (Nothing new there! Readers of this blog already knew that.) According to stuff.co.nz, a recent study by Auckland University education professor JohnContinue reading “Some New Zealand Schools Cut Back on Homework”