Homework in the 21st century: the antiquated and ineffectual implementation of a time honored educational strategy

Abstract

Homework had been a mainstay teacher strategy since education first began. When used properly, study after study show that homework, from the elementary through the university level, is an effective method for reinforcing educational learning goals. Studies that include original research, surveys, interviews, and literature reviews, conducted by educators working on all levels and in all areas of education, have concluded that there is a positive correlation between homework and higher levels of student academic achievement. Recently though a controversy has arisen as to the amount of time students should be required to spend on this activity. In addition, the quality and usefulness of the assignments themselves have been called into question as well. Sides have been drawn. Articles in a wide and varied number of mainstream publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, People Magazine, Newsweek, Time, and other prestigious publications have addressed this growing controversy. Although the practice of assigning homework on a daily basis has been deemed academically sound by most in the educational community, on the opposing side, many parents with children in grades ranging from kindergarten through college argue that students are expected to spend too much of their out of school time completing homework assignments that are often redundant and meaningless. Successfully completing these time consuming assignments on schedule they argue, leave children frantically attempting to balance overcrowded schedules that include schoolwork, homework, extracurricular activities, private enrichment lessons, sports, work, family, personal obligations, and much more. These parents decry the burdens that their children must face in completing the work assigned to them. Some parents recount horror stories of their young children working to complete lengthy assignments or complicated projects that require inordinate amounts of not only the child's, but the parents' time as well. Parents of children as young as five or six, recount tales of spending countless hours working on multiple assignments including studying for tests, doing nightly readings, struggling to complete math problems, memorizing spelling words, practicing handwriting drills, and other homework tasks. These parents have been joined in part by educators in both the public and private sectors who have called for a radical rethinking of the use of homework. Prominent researchers have even turned their attention to the subject. Some, such as Etta Kralovec and John Buell have begun to discuss the subject in a whole new light by exploring the very rationale for assigning homework at all. Interestingly enough research on the topic indicates that there has not been a major increase in the time students spend on homework. Findings show that most students spend only an average of one hour per day on homework assignments. In addition, this figure, according to reliable sources such as the Brookings Institution, has not changed significantly over the past two decades. No matter which side of the debate that one chooses to support, it is quite obvious that although the practice of assigning homework is part and parcel of the daily educational experience for students, it have some major inherent systemic problems. The Problems: * First of all there is the problem of consistency. Some teachers give little or no homework, while others seems to pile it on. This occurs not only between teachers, but among grade levels as well. In a University of Michigan study researchers Sandra Hofferth and John Sandberg found that elementary aged students, especially those aged six to eight, received more homework than their junior or senior high school counterparts. Educators might argue that teachers at this level are more concerned with building basic learning skills, and as such require their students to perform more drill based assignments. …