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The thing is: homework can be a rather powerful tool for learning. Students works on their own. In their own environment and at their own pace. They are usually

The thing is: homework can be a rather powerful tool for learning. Students works on their own. In their own environment and at their own pace. They are usually done hours to days after the lesson was teached, so it gets better remembered. They provide an easy interface for parents to help their kids. They are not bound on the time limits of school lessons. And finally they take some churn (and boredom for faster students) out of the classroom. All in all, it would be criminally stupid to outright ban homework. If the problem is workload, which is just too understandable, then an agreed upon effort limit seems reasonable. But that would require teachers to coordinate.

aeternum 7y ago
Why not simply set aside some school time for students to work on their own? In highschool, I was lucky enough to have a study hall in the library. It was great because students had freedom to sit where they wanted, browse the books, use computers, do homework, spread materials out on a table when needed. Some students have too many distractions at home and it may be difficult to travel to a conducive environment. Time to socialize and take part in extracurriculars is also important. The time-management and self-learning skills can be strengthened without the home part.
- dagw 7y ago
  I think we need to separate which age groups we're talking about. What works best for a 16 year old might not be the best solution for an 8 year old. As a parent of a younger child I think homework is a good thing because it makes it easy for me to track my daughters progress in the different subjects and gives a natural venue for me to sit with her and help her with whatever she might need help with.
mlyle 7y ago
The thing is, studies have failed to show a benefit for homework as we presently do it for elementary school students; and some even have shown harm. If it was useful, it would show a benefit. (Of course, there reaches a point where independent practice and work is clearly useful, but perhaps it isn't in young children. My theory is, the 1/10 times where the kid is set back, frustrated, or practicing something completely wrong, which is almost inevitable at one point or another, outweighs the 9/10 times where some slightly useful practice is obtained). I do think that things like Khan Academy may turn this around and be able to show efficacy. A kid can do work on something that gives him the basic instructions and immediate feedback, and the teacher can concentrate energy on coaching and individualized instruction. But still, until it's shown: one should be skeptical, IMO.
username90 7y ago
I never did homework and did just fine. Only thing homework did for me was cause immense amounts of embarrassment and stress when the teacher asked us to hand it in and I hadn't done it. Even worse was writing worthless presentations, I can do them now at my job since I actually have something to say but presenting about stuff nobody cares about like you do in school is not for me. If not homework, then what? Tests! Tests are great for learning, and the lack of external resources encourages you to be creative instead of just looking things up. So I'd say that you should have way more tests as a replacement for homework.
- copperx 7y ago
  I find it hard to reconcile your suggestion with the fact that there's a testing overload crisis in US schools.
  - mlyle 7y ago
    I think a lot of what we complain about in that vein (testing overloads) are standardized tests with significant consequences for schools, which in turn prompt intensive preparation and rigorous curriculum aimed at just excelling at the test. This is obviously not good. (Aside: failing to measure schools probably isn't very good, either...) I think continuous assessment and using technology to help individualize curriculum has huge potential, though. My eldest son often uses Khan Academy, and it is always measuring what he thinks he knows and what is probably next. When it raises a flag, it's time for individualized instruction.
  - username90 7y ago
    Stress from tests depends more on what you test instead of how much. Of course if you just see it as an assessment tool instead of a teaching tool it can become a problem, but one of the best way to teach people is to test them before teaching. In a classroom this could be done by asking the kids to write down their answers, then you discuss the answers in class, then you give your answer and then you discuss that. The important part is to teach kids that they can think on their own and often come to reasonable conclusions without any help at all. And even when they fail they now understand better the difference between their wrong answer and a correct answer.
arkh 7y ago
> The thing is: homework can be a rather powerful tool for learning. Not for everyone. Once you've understood something, doing it 10 times won't help. Especially if you could do something more fun on the side. I think it is just a symptom of the inability of teachers to adapt their teaching to their students. Some children will be able to learn something if it is presented some way. For the other? Just make them do homework, don't try to present things another way. > They provide an easy interface for parents to help their kids. Which is a good way to amplify the problems for people whom parents can't afford the time or never got the education to be able to help.
- choeger 7y ago
  > Not for everyone. Except for some rare counterexamples, it does. > Once you've understood something, doing it 10 times won't help. That is simply not true. Repitition helps to strengthen memory. Even if you understand something now, it does not necessarily mean you will still understand it tomorrow or next week. Repitition as a homework is actually a simple and efficient method to increase the likelihood that knowledge will be remembered. > Which is a good way to amplify the problems for people whom parents can't afford the time or never got the education to be able to help. This is also quite wrong. Do you really think it helps children that suffer from a lack of parental support if more children artificially suffer the same? Children need every little bit of support they can get.

aeternum 7y ago

Why not simply set aside some school time for students to work on their own? In highschool, I was lucky enough to have a study hall in the library. It was great because students had freedom to sit where they wanted, browse the books, use computers, do homework, spread materials out on a table when needed. Some students have too many distractions at home and it may be difficult to travel to a conducive environment. Time to socialize and take part in extracurriculars is also important. The time-management and self-learning skills can be strengthened without the home part.

dagw 7y ago
I think we need to separate which age groups we're talking about. What works best for a 16 year old might not be the best solution for an 8 year old. As a parent of a younger child I think homework is a good thing because it makes it easy for me to track my daughters progress in the different subjects and gives a natural venue for me to sit with her and help her with whatever she might need help with.

mlyle 7y ago

The thing is, studies have failed to show a benefit for homework as we presently do it for elementary school students; and some even have shown harm. If it was useful, it would show a benefit. (Of course, there reaches a point where independent practice and work is clearly useful, but perhaps it isn't in young children. My theory is, the 1/10 times where the kid is set back, frustrated, or practicing something completely wrong, which is almost inevitable at one point or another, outweighs the 9/10 times where some slightly useful practice is obtained). I do think that things like Khan Academy may turn this around and be able to show efficacy. A kid can do work on something that gives him the basic instructions and immediate feedback, and the teacher can concentrate energy on coaching and individualized instruction. But still, until it's shown: one should be skeptical, IMO.

username90 7y ago

I never did homework and did just fine. Only thing homework did for me was cause immense amounts of embarrassment and stress when the teacher asked us to hand it in and I hadn't done it. Even worse was writing worthless presentations, I can do them now at my job since I actually have something to say but presenting about stuff nobody cares about like you do in school is not for me. If not homework, then what? Tests! Tests are great for learning, and the lack of external resources encourages you to be creative instead of just looking things up. So I'd say that you should have way more tests as a replacement for homework.

copperx 7y ago
I find it hard to reconcile your suggestion with the fact that there's a testing overload crisis in US schools.
- mlyle 7y ago
  I think a lot of what we complain about in that vein (testing overloads) are standardized tests with significant consequences for schools, which in turn prompt intensive preparation and rigorous curriculum aimed at just excelling at the test. This is obviously not good. (Aside: failing to measure schools probably isn't very good, either...) I think continuous assessment and using technology to help individualize curriculum has huge potential, though. My eldest son often uses Khan Academy, and it is always measuring what he thinks he knows and what is probably next. When it raises a flag, it's time for individualized instruction.
- username90 7y ago
  Stress from tests depends more on what you test instead of how much. Of course if you just see it as an assessment tool instead of a teaching tool it can become a problem, but one of the best way to teach people is to test them before teaching. In a classroom this could be done by asking the kids to write down their answers, then you discuss the answers in class, then you give your answer and then you discuss that. The important part is to teach kids that they can think on their own and often come to reasonable conclusions without any help at all. And even when they fail they now understand better the difference between their wrong answer and a correct answer.

arkh 7y ago

> The thing is: homework can be a rather powerful tool for learning. Not for everyone. Once you've understood something, doing it 10 times won't help. Especially if you could do something more fun on the side. I think it is just a symptom of the inability of teachers to adapt their teaching to their students. Some children will be able to learn something if it is presented some way. For the other? Just make them do homework, don't try to present things another way. > They provide an easy interface for parents to help their kids. Which is a good way to amplify the problems for people whom parents can't afford the time or never got the education to be able to help.

choeger 7y ago
> Not for everyone. Except for some rare counterexamples, it does. > Once you've understood something, doing it 10 times won't help. That is simply not true. Repitition helps to strengthen memory. Even if you understand something now, it does not necessarily mean you will still understand it tomorrow or next week. Repitition as a homework is actually a simple and efficient method to increase the likelihood that knowledge will be remembered. > Which is a good way to amplify the problems for people whom parents can't afford the time or never got the education to be able to help. This is also quite wrong. Do you really think it helps children that suffer from a lack of parental support if more children artificially suffer the same? Children need every little bit of support they can get.