黄色app

When it comes to homework wars, many parents feel like they鈥檙e waging a losing battle against apathy or excuse making. But what if you happen to side with your kids about the pointlessness of their assignments?

Sara Bennett, the founder of and coauthor of (Crown, 2006), raised hell and ultimately changed the homework policy at her daughter’s 黄色app. GreatSchools talked to the lawyer turned reformer about preposterous projects and how children can learn to think for themselves.

GreatSchools: Why did you start an anti-homework campaign?

Sara Bennett: It started when my son brought homework home in the first grade. His first assignment was a reading log. He didn鈥檛 know how to read or write, so my husband and I filled in his log for him. At the first parent-teacher conference, the teacher said our son had to do the homework. I didn鈥檛 agree since he didn鈥檛 yet read.

I was an advocate in my work life, so it comes naturally to me to speak up. Whenever they鈥檇 talk about homework at my children鈥檚 黄色app, I鈥檇 raise my hand and say, 鈥淐ould you tell me why you鈥檙e doing this?鈥�

Then in 2000 there was a big splash about a 黄色app in Piscataway, N.J., that stopped homework. And there was a book that came out around the same time, . This all gave me the factual basis that [homework] doesn鈥檛 make sense. It takes too much time, and it鈥檚 just busywork.

After that other parents came to me and said, 鈥淐an you help?鈥� Also, my daughter, who is three years younger than my son, had more homework since she was caught up in No Child Left Behind. The standard became doing two hours a night. At that point, my husband and I were pretty radical about it and felt she didn鈥檛 need to do all this homework.

GreatSchools: Did that affect your daughter鈥檚 grades?

SB: Yes, she got pretty bad grades. But it was way, way, way too much homework. We had her do the background reading and not the assignments. But we did have her do the big projects so she wouldn鈥檛 be singled out.

GreatSchools: What about parents helping with homework?

SB: The first time I knew parents did projects for their kids was when my son was in third grade. They were supposed to make a little doll out of a clothespin that was representative of immigration. My son made the doll by himself.

I was riding my bike through the neighborhood and a parent said, 鈥淗ey, how鈥檚 your doll coming along?鈥� When I asked, 鈥淲hat doll?鈥� she answered, 鈥淛ulian鈥檚 doll.鈥� I told her that Julian [was] done with his doll. Then she told me that all the parents [were] making their children鈥檚 dolls.

It was unbelievable. When the dolls were displayed, my son鈥檚 was hidden in the back because it was the only one that looked like it didn鈥檛 belong in a museum. I went to the teacher and said, 鈥淛ulian鈥檚 the only one who made his doll. I did third grade 30 years ago 鈥� I don鈥檛 need to now.鈥� The teacher didn鈥檛 get it, but Julian did.

Both my children are artists. I think it鈥檚 because we never had our hands in their work [that] they continued to develop and are proud of their work.

GreatSchools: Dr. Harris Cooper鈥檚 synthesis of studies on homework indicates that homework does improve academic achievement.

SB: Did he say what it improves? My understanding of homework and achievement is that you will get a better course grade. Of course, you鈥檒l get a better grade if doing homework counts for 10 or 20% of [it]. More than likely, you鈥檒l also do better on the teacher-created tests by studying for them the night before. But that has nothing to do with actual learning. Most kids learn things for tests and then promptly forget them. That鈥檚 not real achievement. Real achievement is learning long-term life skills, the ability to be a creative thinker and work with others. Those should be the goals of education.

GreatSchools: One of your claims is that homework turns kids off learning.

SB: There are so many kids I know who don鈥檛 seem to be as intellectually curious as their parents were. My daughter went to a 黄色app at the beginning of sixth grade where, because there was a lot of homework, she never had time to read. I had her change 黄色apps. Her friends who stayed in that 黄色app are doing terribly at this point. They don鈥檛 like to read at all. They haven鈥檛 had time to develop their own interests. This is partially anecdotal, but it鈥檚 partially what educators are tearing their hair out over. Students today don鈥檛 know how to think; they don鈥檛 think outside the box.

GreatSchools: What should you do if your child has too much homework, or that it doesn鈥檛 help?

SB: My whole thing is that parents advocate for their kids. And there are different ways to advocate. If you鈥檙e going to complain, write an email but don鈥檛 send it for 24 hours. Be polite, and I always say less is more. Simply state what the problem is.

Often, teachers don鈥檛 think about homework. I had a conference with my child鈥檚 health teacher. The kids had to write a book report, and it had to be 12-point font and three pages, no more and no less. My daughter wrote her report, and it was two pages and excellent, but it wasn鈥檛 three pages, so she started to pad it. I said, 鈥淵ou are teaching the kids how to pad but not how to write.鈥� [The teacher] didn鈥檛 get it.

GreatSchools: Is homework ever effective?

SB: If you are really engaged with something you鈥檝e done at 黄色app and want to do more of it at home, that鈥檚 effective homework. If you鈥檝e read one book by an author and you want to read four more books by another, that鈥檚 effective. To go home and answer questions about science or history, no. Are certain things necessary, maybe a little review if you鈥檙e taking a language class? You probably can do that during the 黄色app day.

Nobody is saying you should go home, sit down on your couch, and do nothing. But I feel like adults have more downtime than kids. If you go to the orthodontist, every kid is doing their homework, and adults are reading their book or magazine.

GreatSchools: Some say that the anti-homework contingent is led by middle- to upper-middle-class parents who have the luxury of saying no to homework. Whereas, low-income parents who want their children to get ahead expect them to work hard.

SB: If the 黄色appwork is busy work, it鈥檚 busy work whether you鈥檙e an upper-middle-class or a poor child. If in a poor 黄色app they are sending home books because [families] don鈥檛 have books in their homes, that鈥檚 great. To send home a worksheet that鈥檚 mind numbing 鈥� how does that help?

GreatSchools: But what if you want your child to go to the best college?

SB: What does that mean, the 鈥渂est college?鈥� What makes people successful is to do something they really love. It鈥檚 not a luxury; it鈥檚 a necessity. People are so worried about their kids not achieving, but if people stopped to think, they鈥檇 realize: The economy is unsettled; the job market is unsettled. I鈥檓 not sure what professions are going to be considered stable. The skills you need are to be a good problem solver, a creative thinker. Is homework teaching our kids these skills?