Reply to putting my foot down about homework: vent and rally cry

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

For elementary and middle schoolers, homework is theft.  It's a destroyer of childhood.  Don't be afraid to stand firm and insist that busywork not steal a moment of your child's free time.  That is the only way this changes.  [/quote]

You sound crazy, fyi. Destroyer of childhood?

[b]Your child is going to have an extremely tough time when they get to college. Or are you planning on having this same conversation with her professors lol[/b][/quote]

The DD she will probably be getting a Mrs. degree.  Fun is the most important thing.  since the kid will probably be inheriting the beach house someday, why worry about all this homework bullshit?  :D[/quote]

"Crazy" PP here.  Thanks for sharing your uninformed perspectives on child development.  We're not rich.  Our child will have to support herself, and in order to do that she'll have to be a thoughtful, creative problem-solver.  I am unclear on the role of repetitive math worksheets (long after she has achieved mastery and tests at the 99th percentile) in developing these traits.  Her robot-building, the stories she writes for pleasure, the time she spends playing chess with her dad?  Clearly valuable.

There is no documented benefit to homework in elementary school.   It steals the time young children need for developmentally crucial work they must do in order to integrate what they're learning. There *is* documented benefit to the physical/intellectual/social play and other activities that homework displaces.  Ultimately, children need to learn to work independently with minimal structure, and learn how to recharge themselves under stress, to succeed as independent adults.  Unscheduled time to pursue what they care about is part of raising a good student and sound adult.

The better approach is that homework ramps up slowly beginning in middle school, primarily in subjects that are becoming more complex and requiring more repetition.   Advanced math and language practice, for instance.  Work in other subjects should be journal/essay-type responses with some complex research paper assignments.  By the time they get to college, they'll be doing less repetitive, more substantive work, AND they won't be completely burned out as human beings.

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