Parenting Pep Talk: How Much Homework is Too Much?
Meaningful homework assignments can help children process what they learned in school, but lengthy and repetitive tasks can squash children’s spirits and turn them off of learning. Experts argue over whether homework is necessary and the science is mixed. Studies often measure time spent rather than the value of the work itself. That said, many parents agree that their children simply get far too much homework. Kids need to spend time out of school doing activities that don’t involve sitting. And the time spent sitting and doing schoolwork should be valuable.
Children need balance. They need education, exercise, play, and socialization. They also need to learn important life skills such as the value of contributing to one’s household either by doing chores or having an after-school job. Many families struggle to find time to foster these abilities in their children because there is so much homework. In addition, many find that the more homework their children get, the less motivated they become. Children take shortcuts (for example, using an online foreign language translator) just to get through assignments rather than truly learning the material. What should be the intended goal of homework?
Teacher and writer for Scholastic.com, Patty Blome, asks herself two essential questions before giving homework assignments:
- What is the outcome expected by assigning homework?
- What makes those tasks so important to do exclusively outside of school?
Blome also structures assignments to promote metacognition (i.e., one’s ability to think about their thinking processes), self-generated investigation, and use of technology. When students think about how they learn – by structuring time and materials and by problem solving – they are more motivated. Many children and teens ask, “What is the point?” Assignments that allow students to question information instead of simply memorizing, and to explore and use beloved technology, are more likely to keep students engaged. Websites such as nicenet.org allow students to interact with one another, to ask questions about lessons, and to post interesting links. Children learn to be a resource and to help one another out.
The National Education Association recommends that kids have a total of ten minutes per grade level of homework per night. Anything above that is excessive, they say. So, a 4th grader, for example, should have about 40 minutes of homework each night. Having a time cap allows children to make choices. Maybe your child can take that after-school art class or join a sports team without staying up until 11pm finishing homework every night. Developing children need sleep!
If you notice that your child has no time for friends, is complaining that he hates school, or is reporting feeling sleepy during the day, his homework dose might be at an unhealthy level. Parents can try to help kids with time management, and to some extent with the actual work, or they can find outside help. If that doesn’t do the trick, you might consider talking to teachers or principals to see what changes can be made to help your child love and not dread school and learning.
Dr. Jaime Black is a licensed psychologist practicing in Westchester and New York City. In addition to providing general mental health services, Jaime works with individuals of all ages on the autism spectrum, doing psychotherapy, conducting evaluations, and facilitating social skills groups. Visit www.spectrumservicesnyc.com, e-mail JaimeBlackPsyD@gmail.com or call (914)712-8208.
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