Courtesy of The Local:
“I found out that teachers have been giving homework since at least 1480,” Himmelrath, an educational journalist, told The Local.
“And there has also been research into its effects on children for the last 130 years. And in all this research I found no results which showed that it had a positive effect on them.”
On the contrary, if his research showed any overall result, it was that children would go into school the next day unmotivated and reluctant to learn after spending the evening doing homework.
“In the Swiss canton of Schwyz teachers didn’t give out homework at all between 1993 and 1999. Then, due to pressure from conservative parents it was then reintroduced.
“But a comparison with a neighbouring canton showed that there was no difference between the grades in the two cantons during this period.
"The only difference was that in Schwyz the children were much more motivated in class,” Himmelrath related.
I have been making this claim for years.
As a parent, both biological and step, I have engaged in numerous homework battles with the kids.
I have restricted privileges, set aside special time for the work, and of course sat down with them to help with a subject that I was often under qualified to teach.
It's fairly easy in the elementary grades, but once you get to high school the subjects can be pretty challenging, especially if the student claims to have no idea what the teacher is asking on the homework assignment.
And today kids sometimes have up to four hours of homework a night, and THAT is supposed to be accomplished along with any extracurricular school activities or sports they may be involved with.
It is impossible for many kids, even with very involved parents at home.
And yes that often results in kids not liking school as well as souring them on the idea of furthering their education after high school.
So I have no idea if this book is going to change any minds in the education field here in America or elsewhere, but in my opinion is certainly should.
New book claims that homework is a total waste of time. Aha! I knew it!
5:01 AM
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