Updated: May 18, 2020
Originally Published: March 11, 2016
Research indicates that homework offers little to no benefit for young children. So why do we insist on making them do it? I have made the decision that my elementary-aged children will not be doing homework, and here’s why: it’s not a requirement. While education is compulsory, homework for young children is not. Forcing my 5-year-old to focus on assignments after a long day at school is something I can choose to avoid.
Many parents today are rightfully expressing their concerns. Recess is disappearing, and the pressure of standardized testing is weighing heavily on both teachers and students. Creative subjects like art are being sidelined, and physical education classes are becoming scarce. In my local school district, children receive just one 20-minute recess each day and physical education every four days. While we may not be able to directly influence school administrators to allocate more time for play, we can set boundaries in our homes and refuse to sacrifice our children’s invaluable free time for the sake of “responsibility” that homework supposedly teaches at such a young age.
Anyone who has attempted to assist their child with homework knows it often devolves into a frustrating exercise in getting them to concentrate and finish. Is my child going to be penalized for not completing a worksheet involving 14 triangles or circling various trucks? I highly doubt it.
You may have contemplated the absurdity of children coming home with excessive homework, but did you know that opting out is a viable choice? Too often, we succumb to the mindset of adhering strictly to rules, overlooking the fact that we have alternatives. If we were to heed the findings of numerous studies and stop imposing homework on our elementary school children, the world would likely remain unchanged.
In her article, Why Parents Should Not Make Kids Do Homework, Lisa Morgan, an advocate for play, emphasizes that parents should refrain from insisting their young children complete hours of homework every night. A comprehensive review by Harris Cooper, a psychologist at Duke University, reveals that the advantages of homework are highly age-dependent: while high school students may benefit from up to two hours of homework nightly, elementary-aged children would be better off without it.
We are all aware of the widespread discontent surrounding standardized testing. In light of the enormous focus on these assessments, students are often sent home with homework designed to “prepare” them. This creates frustration for both parents and children alike. A quick informal survey at school pickup next week could reveal how many parents have completed their child’s homework for them this week—those who don’t raise their hands might not be telling the truth.
Valerie Adams, an education reporter for a well-known publication, noted that extensive research shows no benefits to assigning homework of any kind to elementary-aged children. In fact, there’s no positive correlation between completing homework and achieving better academic results. If we are assigning homework to 12-year-olds, let alone five-year-olds, it may be due to a lack of understanding of the evidence or simply a belief that homework is necessary regardless of its efficacy.
So, what are we doing? We follow the prescribed system, receiving that homework folder and being told to enforce it. But why? If we know that our elementary-aged children are not even concentrating on their homework—much less benefiting from it—why do we continue to enforce this practice?
Recently, a teacher’s no-homework policy gained significant attention online, indicating that many of us are eager to alleviate this burden from both ourselves and our young children. Given the evidence against the effectiveness of homework at such a tender age, why don’t we take a stand?
In a few weeks, I plan to inform my kindergartner’s teacher that he will not be participating in homework assignments. I can only imagine how that will be received.