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Sat 28 Jul, 2012 12:14 am
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48343652/ns/today-back_to_school/?__utma=14933801.1018700146.1342397429.1343449208.1343455710.38&__utmb=14933801.1.10.1343455710&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1343028489.23.2.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=msnbc&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Ccover=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Earned%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=153779640#.UBOCEGF2Sf4Quote:Unfortunately, new research shows the amount of time kids clock in out of school may not pay off.
Kids who do more homework actually perform worse on standardized tests, according to research by Sydney University educational psychologist Richard Walker, author of the forthcoming book, Reforming Homework: Practices, Learning and Policies.
Homework only boosts student scores in the final three years of high school, says Walker, and only these older high school students should be doing a couple of hours of homework a night. Younger students only benefit from small assignments, if they’re getting help at home.
But that's not the end of the homework hurdles.
High-achieving students who are swamped with homework can suffer from poor mental and physical health,says Stanford University professor Denise Pope.
In fact, findings consistently show that homework has very limited value in the elementary grades.
I am not sure what you do with this knowledge since his teachers would surely punish Mo for not doing their useless work, but I figured knowledge is good.
@hawkeye10,
I love it when that happens!
Thanks for the link, hawkeye.
What the article says about teachers underestimating the amount of time spent on homework is so true.
I had a conversation with Mo's teacher last year where she said that the typical homework assignment shouldn't take more than 45 minutes and she thought that was reasonable.
I pointed out that in addition to the daily assignment they also had spelling/vocabulary practice, whatever long term project they were homeworking on, they were expected to read 30 minutes each day and they were supposed to practice for band for at least 15 minutes a day so he actually was getting about 2 hours of homework every night.
This new book seems to agree too:
Quote:Here, her insights are fresh. “When apples were sprayed with a chemical at my local supermarket, middle-aged moms turned out, picket signs and all, to protest the possible risk to their children’s health,” Levine reflects. “Yet I’ve seen no similar demonstrations about an educational system that has far more research documenting its own toxicity. We have bought into this system not because we are bad people or are unconcerned about our children’s well-being, but because we have been convinced that any other point of view will put our children at even greater risk.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/books/review/teach-your-children-well-by-madeline-levine.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
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