Here's
a report
from the front lines of the neoliberal educational world*, where
homework has consumed the lives of children and their families without
regard to whether it is improving their educational outcomes. The
average California kid in a recent study was doing 3.1 hours' worth of
homework per night, at the expense of sleep, time for family and
friends, and activities ranging from grandma's birthday to "everything I
used to do."
Ms. Pope suggests asking teachers and schools to provide homework
packets that a student can spread out over a week, rather than springing
large assignments due tomorrow that can derail family plans. Schools
and teachers can also help by building in time for students to get
started on homework and ask any questions they might have.
Looking at the larger picture, she said, things are changing. “These
students are already averaging an hour more than what’s thought to be
useful,” she said, and teachers, schools and parents are beginning to
think harder about what kinds of homework, and how much of it, enhance
learning and motivation without becoming all-consuming.
It might be easier than you think to start the conversation at your
student’s school. “Load doesn’t equal rigor,” Ms. Pope said. “There are
other developmental things students need to be doing after school, and
other things they need to be learning.”
*The school is a business that produces educated children as products.
The teachers are employees. The administrators are managers. The
government is the board of directors. The tax-payers are the
shareholders. School-businesses must be "accountable," which means
producing quarterly reports in which numbers -- test scores, attendance
-- go up, regardless of whether that reflects any underlying educational
merit.
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