I have a question (or set of questions) about the amount of homework handed out in most or nearly all schools today:
Am I the only one who thinks that schools are going way overboard on the homework thing?
I mean, do seven-year-olds really need to do homework? Shouldn't they just be running around and having fun after school? Don't they need a chance to process what happened all day?
School is long and tiring and I don't see why kids need to keep working after they've already been sitting still and working for six or seven hours. What are they doing in school all day that they have to work more at home? If they were learning concepts properly and getting practice in class, should they really need extra work? Especially if classes were ability grouped?
It seems to me that placing crushingly huge homework loads on kids (or giving any at all in the lowest grades) deprives them of a chance to play, stifles creativity, and, in a way, turns them into small versions of workaholic adults. I also have concerns about the effects of too much work on brain development.
I realize that some homework is necessary in high school (but not the 2-3 hours/day stuff I hear about from friends). Maybe a little in 7th and 8th grades. Sometimes. Before that, I'm not convinced.
Val
