Homework is wrecking our kids

A child just beginning school deserves the chance to develop a love of learning. Instead, homework at a young age causes many kids to turn against school, future homework and academic learning. And it’s a long road. A child in kindergarten is facing 13 years of homework ahead of her.

Then there’s the damage to personal relationships. In thousands of homes across the country, families battle over homework nightly. Parents nag and cajole. Overtired children protest and cry. Instead of connecting and supporting each other at the end of the day, too many families find themselves locked in the “did you do your homework?” cycle.

When homework comes prematurely, it’s hard for children to cope with assignments independently—they need adult help to remember assignments and figure out how to do the work. Kids slide into the habit of relying on adults to help with homework or, in many cases, do their homework. Parents often assume the role of Homework Patrol Cop. Being chief nag is a nasty, unwanted job, but this role frequently lingers through the high school years. Besides the constant conflict, having a Homework Patrol Cop in the house undermines one of the purported purposes of homework: responsibility.

One of the reasons we wanted to leave Taiwan was the overbearing high pressure rote methods employed in the schools. But our experience was that this didn’t start until junior high – generally elementary school in Taiwan, especially the private school our kids went to, was great. In many ways a superior experience to what they might have had elsewhere. Homework and studying starts in earnest in 7th grade, and is especially heavy from grade 9 onwards.

It was just today I read on Facebook a friend in Taipei complaining that his daughter started school at 6:30am and didn’t get home until 9pm when she still had homework. Our daughter started at 6. I don’t think my son, outside of a few assignments had any homework at all last year. Which I don’t consider an entirely good thing as I believe there is a time and place for individual learning, but there is no denying both kids are far more relaxed. The only pressure they received last year was from me.

Homework is wrecking our kids: The research is clear, let’s ban elementary homework