If you're active on social media, you've no doubt seen the viral post about a 2nd grade teacher from Texas named Brandy Young, who gave her students' parents
a letter at Meet the Teacher night announcing a no homework policy. In this letter, which gained more than 70,000 shares on Facebook alone in the first week it went viral, Mrs. Young says,
"Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance. Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early."
Or perhaps you've seen the media coverage of Kelly Elementary School in Holyoke, Massachusetts which
recently announced it has banned homework for the entire year! This particular school, as well as most of the other schools in the Holyoke (MA) school district, is instead opting for a longer school day, moving from the old 9 am to 3 pm schedule to an extended 8 am to 4 pm schedule beginning with the 2016-17 school year. As reported by ABC News, Kelly Elementary principal, Jackie Glasheen, adds,
“Face time with a teacher … is going to impact their learning more than doing skill-and-practice work at home.”
So how much homework is too much?
And are our children realizing any real benefit from their [often overwhelming] homework assignments? Many experts, including educational research expert Harris Cooper of Duke University, believe that the
benefits of homework are minimal, and age-dependent, with high school students benefiting most. Based on multiple studies compiled by Cooper over a period of nearly 20 years, homework may also have a negative impact on young students' attitudes toward school. Cooper advocates instead for more reading at home for elementary students, and a maximum of 2 hours of homework per night for high school students.
Do you need help with homework?
If homework is overwhelming your children, Club Z! can help. We offer one-on-one, in-home or online tutoring programs to help make homework manageable, and keep kids engaged in learning. For more information, call 800-434-2582 or fill out our contact form on our web site.
