I feel sorry for the teachers in Piscataway, N.J. According to your Oct. 14 editorial “Homework, but within reason,” a new Piscataway school district policy (endorsed by the Tribune) limits the amount of homework in elementary school to 30 minutes per night.
The policy also discourages homework on weekends and prohibits teachers from grading it.
Right now I am very thankful that I teach in a private school where the administration and the majority of parents understand and appreciate the value of the homework we assign. I would be very confused, indeed, if I were being told on the one hand to raise test scores and on the other hand to reduce the amount of homework I assigned.
Would parents expect their children to become better musicians by practicing less? Would any coach expect his athletes to keep improving by playing less?
I readily agree that there are good and bad homework assignments.
Parents should not be expected to be substitute teachers. But there are many valuable assignments that students can work on outside of class (like reading a book, building a model of a cell or writing a business letter). If my 5th grade students had to study for spelling tests and do all of their reading during English periods, we would have very little time left to work on grammar, learn new vocabulary or discuss a book. Maybe the focus should be on the type and quality of homework rather than the quantity.
I was particularly amused by your apparent indignation that a recent study has shown that time spent on homework has tripled for 5-year-olds. They now spend an average of 36 minutes per week on homework (up from 12 minutes in 1981). Wow–5.14 minutes of homework per night! (And you might be interested to know that I was able to do that little division problem in my head because of math homework my teachers weren’t afraid to assign when I was in grade school.)
Let’s stop playing the blame game. I don’t fault overworked parents, numerous extracurricular activities and excessive TV-watching for the deterioration of family life. So do me a favor and don’t blame homework.
