The Myth About Homework

After my adventures in France last year, I definitely saw a distinct difference in the homework atmosphere. On the other hand, those students had a heck of alot more free time during the day and no (school sponsored) extracurricular activities to contend with. However, I disagree with this article because they are interpretting the poll one dimensionally.

Students who score lower and take longer on homework are struggling across the board. It is not because they do more homework that they are scoring lower. They have difficulty (and/or are multi-tasking with their tv, computer, Ipod) so it takes them longer.And how was the survey conducted. If you ask a kid how much time they spent working on their homework it is likely exaggerated. Also, they'll include the time they spent doodling, answering their phones, and otherwise procrastinating as study time. When you arrive at your university (which you'll be getting into because you did less homework and got higher test scores {insane amounts of sarcasm here}) they won't rearrange your schedule for you.They opened with "nagging" and the summer reading that didn't get done. You know, I bet your kid wouldn't be struggling if you insisted they keep up with their work. Oh, and just because you can't grasp your seventh grader's vocabulary list doesn't mean that one day they won't grow up and have a job that might require some semblance of brainpower. Encourage them to read from a young age and they will probably do it for FUN - and you can stop nagging.Oh yeah, you could also just try sitting down with them and working with them too. Or would that interrupt your "serendipity"?

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