Homework noncompliance is viewed as a problem

Here's is an article regarding a school district that is concerned that homework compliance is down, yet the students are learning quite well. I submitted the following comment:


Reading this article, I get concerned that the failure to complete homework is being viewed as a "problem," when, perhaps, the homework requirement may be the problem. Research gives very little support for homework, and teachers are virtually untrained in the theory, research, and practice of homework-giving. Yet, we hold on so tightly to this "sacred cow," that we run the risk of assuming that homework must be good and that homework noncompliance is a problem, overlooking what is reported, that the students here are learning well. If homework has value, it should be viewed as a tool in education, not as an end in itself.

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Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Teachers, and Students, published by Wyndmoor Press.

 I recommend giving copies of the book to the teachers at your child's school. Discount purchases are available through Wyndmoor Press. Single copies can be purchased at Amazon.