The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning

By Etta Kralovec

Book Overview

The Book That Ignited the Great Homework Debate Etta Kralovec and John Buell are educators who dared to challenge one of the most widely accepted practices in American schools. Their provocative... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807042188
• ISBN13: 9780807042182
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Beacon Pr
• Length: 119 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A Former Child Remembers

I write this as a former child and recently retired library worker. I was 11 years old when Sputnik went up in 1957, and I remember very well it's impact on education. I went through elementary shcool with no homework and plenty of time to walk to the local library and read books of my own choosing on which I did not have to write reports. I developed the lifelong habit of reading for pleasure. As described in this book, Sputnik launched a national panic about education and the homework was piled on. By ninth grade, I was lugging at least four very heavy textbooks home every night, and agonizing over whether I could do my homework and also read the books that interested me. Homework was never about the free exploration of ideas! It was about obedience. While working in the library, I was dismayed to see how few children read for their own pleasure. They always have to write a report. Many times their assignments don't make sense, and they are always more concerned with figuring out what their teachers want than with discovering their own interests and abilities or, for that matter, finding the truth about the subject at hand. The authors do a very good job of making the point that homework interferes with the personal development of children and youth. I also agree with their political views, and think that even those who don't will find them thought-provoking.

Might be the first shot fired in a necessary revolution !

This book might turn out to be the "shot heard round the (educational) world." After all, right up there with Harry Potter's "he-who-must-not-be-named", is that-which-should-not-be-mentioned: HOMEWORK! This is a book for parents, for teachers and for school authorities who think its time we started talking about the darker side of homework.I write this review as a father of four and as a teacher of, roughly, 125 youngsters each year. Under the former hat I've always found that my kids manage their homework load and doubtless "do better" in school because of the time they put into it. But wearing the latter hat I would have to absolutely agree that the authors, one a teacher of 12 years, have initiated an important and necessary discussion that needs to take place in America's homes, schools and legislatures.Every teacher I know understands that anywhere from one-fifth to one-third of the students we spend our days with do not have both pieces of the homework compound word. The schools provide the "work", the kids are supposed to provide the "home." But, at Kralovec and Buell make clear, so often "home" is, a sad and challenging combination of "dad's place Monday, mom's place Tuesday", or "mindin' my niece", or (in my rural district) a corner in a 60-by-12 trailer shared with five others and two televisions, or dodging bottles, or just trying to figure out what to do with so many sad or angry people in your life. We KNOW that if we took some metric like annual family income, or square-footage of home, or some measure of "intact" families and lined them up top-to-bottom next to grades or averages we'd find a pretty close correlation. A large body of research supports this fact.Would I say to my class, "Tonight I want you all to log on to the Internet on a high-speed cable link (this site has lots of great Java applets) and complete this online project. Email me your results. This assignment will count as 10% of your grade"? Of course not! I know that more than half of them don't have the technology at home. Could I say "tonight's assignment is to interview both parents to get their opinions about Vermeer. Only one interview means half credit"? Of course not! I know that more than half don't have two parents to interview! Should I, on a daily basis, remind those children of what's missing in their lives? Teachers in some schools notice that when they count homework as a substantial part of the children's grade, and some do, their "bell curve" turns into "camels humps" - almost half D's and F's on the "restriction list" and almost half A's and B's as "students of distinction." Should we just develop a list of "home risk" factors and save all the lies, half-truths, recriminations and heartache by giving students with two $6-an-hour working parents C's and those living with alcoholics D's ? That's too often how it works out.And that's just the rough stuff. The book does a fine job of extending the argument. After all, the adults in those non-homes

Teacher, Parent and Counselor Perspective

As a parent, teacher and Elementary Guidance Counselor all roles agree that homework is not a neccessity! As a parent, I see the stress and strain that homework places on my 13 and 15 year olds. I remember one instance where my son (maybe 8 at the time) came home with a ton of homework. I asked him what he did in school today and his reply was "nothing"... later at the kitchen table I discovered that this was true, cause his teacher had sent home a full days lesson plan for him to do at home. It has become ridiculous!!Between chores, homework and various sports activities, the children are downright wore out at the end of the day. As a teacher I believed it was equally important that a child PLAY and in my capacity as a teacher it as very seldom that I gave homework. As a counselor I see the stress it adds to others' families as well. Some parents have limited abilities themselves and are unable to assist with homework, and the ones that require extra assistance are often unable to get it due to lack of funds. With recent standards getting more stringent and restrictive I believe my office with see a rise in the influx of stressed children coming in. This is becoming a frightening trend. Homework is to be used as a reinforcement tool-not as a lesson plan in itself and certainly not to be used as a punishment tool. (Yes some teachers do this as well.) Until homework is once again used as a reinforcement we will continue to have a rise in stressed children.

My "Principal" Thoughts!

I am an experienced elementary school principal whose children attend the school where I work. Being both a parent and a principal can make for some intrigueing situations working with teachers. I think these authors are very perceptive, write intelligently, and make numerous good points. While I may not line up with their arguments 100%, I believe they have the larger picture in good focus. I have assigned my staff this book as their "homework" from me. We will use it as a basis for a round table discussion on one of our inservice days this year. Just the title has everyone talking! I agree, by the way, with Joe Kowalski's review that the final chapter was a bit disappointing. That, unfortunately, will take some of the power and the edge off translating the authors' philosophies into concrete change within the schools.

Finally the Truth about Homework

How nice to find a book that questions the value of homework. As the mother of three children, 12, 9 and 6 I have seen the damage homework can do to children's enthusiasm for learning and to my relationship with them. Children need free time to explore their own interests and to figure out who they are. Homework will not solve the too much TV and Video Game problem, but it will quell children's innate desire to explore their world and find out who they are.