Homework for the little ones?

Original source: The New York Times

Last spring, when Manhatten’s Public School 11 in New York City banned mandatory traditional homework assignments, you might have expected universal praise. Rather than filling out worksheets, students were encouraged to read nightly, and a website offered tips for parents looking for engaging after-school activities. 

Instead, war broke out among the parents. Those who wanted to keep homework accused the anti-worksheet group of trying to force through a policy supported by a select few. Some privately called the plan “economically and racially insensitive,” favouring families with time and money to provide their own enrichment.

Robin Broshi, a former education technology consultant, one of the architects of the plan, says the changes give students time to discover the things they were “really passionate about.” Homework time with her son used to be a “huge battle,” she adds, but he now spends hours after school with innovative software programs that delight him. 

But Ashley Sierra, an executive assistant and a single mother with three children at the school, is angry that the policy creates an unwelcome burden on her and other less affluent families that cannot afford extra workbooks or software programs to supplement the new policy. “I hate it,” she says.

Alfie Kohn, author of “The Homework Myth,” describes homework as “educational malpractice” and “an extremely effective way to extinguish children’s curiosity.” He notes that nations like Denmark and Japan, which routinely outperform the United States on international math and science assessments, often give their students far less homework. 

Homework is an extremely effective way to extinguish children’s curiosity

“They’re not trying to turn kids into calculators on legs,” he says. 

On the other side of the argument is Harris M. Cooper, professor of neuroscience and psychology at Duke University and the author of “The Battle Over Homework.” He believes elementary school students should get small doses of engaging homework.