Too Much Homework?
Oct 26, 2015
Too Much Homework is Detrimental to Children and Families
The standard for homework set by educators is known as the “10-minute rule.” That means 10 minutes per grade level per night, with recommendations for no homework for kindergarteners. A study of over 1,000 primary and secondary grade students found children are actually being assigned up to three times the recommended amount of homework, with parents of kindergarteners reporting 25 minutes of nightly homework. The extra homework and time spent on it comes at a potentially high cost.
High Stress
Too much homework for high schoolers was linked to high-stress levels and negative physical health manifestations including migraines, ulcers, sleep deprivation, and weight loss. According to the current study, homework over the recommended level is believed to not be beneficial to children’s grades or GPA. There’s really a plethora of evidence that it’s detrimental to their attitude about school, their grades, their self-confidence, their social skills and their quality of life.
How We Compare
The U.S. ranks among in the high range regarding homework expectations. France, South Korea, and Japan log at least an hour to several hours less a week for the typical 15-year-old student, and Finnish teens spend less than half the time U.S. students do on homework (2.8 hours versus 6.1). All that homework may not be improving our education systems. In a 2014 ranking, the U.S. was 14th, behind Finland, Japan, Canada, and South Korea. We are working our children harder not smarter.
Family Strife
Grades and performance aside, the extra homework could be detrimental in other ways. According to the study, fights and conflicts over homework were 200% more likely in families where parents did not have a college degree. Children of parents for whom English is not a first language also faced additional homework obstacles. Furthermore, too much homework takes away from the oft-overlooked, but very necessary unstructured play that children would otherwise engage in after school.
Tutoring in Orlando
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