Etta Kralovec, Education Faculty
End of Homework
As part of a study I conducted for the Maine Department of Education, my research associate and I interviewed more than fifty Maine students who had dropped out of school. In response to our question, "When did you know you weren't going to make it through school?" students talked about the life of the rural poor—a lack of medical care and transportation, broken families, parental abuse, and heavy family responsibilities. But one response came as a complete surprise to us: They all cited an inability to complete homework as a contributing factor to their failure in school.
Surprised that homework contributed so dramatically to school dropout, we analyzed research reports and talked to hundreds of teachers, parents, and students. Instead of focusing on homework's presumed role in academic achievement, the development of self-discipline, and good work habits, we examined homework in the context of families and communities. From this perspective, we found that homework disrupts family life, interferes with parent's educational agendas, and punishes poor kids for being poor.
In the past twenty years, family life in the United States has undergone dramatic demographic and economic changes. For the first time in our history the majority of moms are working, more single parents run households than ever before, and we are all working longer hours. Homework squeezes family life. Parents want to pass on their cultural heritage, religious beliefs, and life skills. They want to teach their children how to be good citizens and how to share responsibilities. Homework forces parents to put their own agendas on hold as they help their children complete the unfinished work of the school day.
Homework reinforces the social inequities inherent in this country's unequal distribution of educational resources. Some students go home to well-educated parents and have access to computers with vast databases. Other students have family responsibilities, parents who work at night, and no educational resources in their homes. According to the latest data, 53 percent of working-age Los Angeles County residents have trouble reading street signs, bus schedules, and filling out job applications in English. Twenty percent of youngsters in this country live in poverty and homework further exacerbates their academic problems.
And let's face it; homework is a black hole in the educational process. Teachers do not really know who does the homework and how much help a student needs to complete it. In an age of greater accountability in education, with its increased focus on test scores and outcomes, homework becomes a liability for educators who need to have more control over student learning.
Students are more than recipients of school knowledge; they are budding scientists, artists, siblings, and cooks. They need time to learn how to be family and community members and spiritual individuals. Does homework give our children the time they need to develop these parts of their being? p
Dr. Etta Kralovec is an associate professor of education at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. She is the author of two books and numerous articles on homework and school reform and has appeared on national television and radio programs.