6 Reasons Why Homework Is Ineffective and Even Harmful

Teachers often debate if homework truly aids learning or simply robs children of their free time, yet students tend to dislike homework no matter the arguments presented by adults. Inspired by this, American teacher Brandy Young decided to eliminate homework for her class.

In the United States, parent-teacher meetings are mandatory, allowing parents to meet educators and observe teaching methods. During one such meeting, Brandy, who teaches second graders, handed out notes to parents with a bold message: there will be no homework for the rest of the school year. Students only need to complete work they didn't finish in class. She encouraged families to use the extra time for meaningful activities like family dinners, shared reading, outdoor play, and earlier bedtimes.

A parent photographed the note, which quickly gained popularity online with numerous likes and shares.

The idea resonated with many, and rightfully so. Here's why homework may be unnecessary.

1. Homework Harms Children's Health

Parents frequently report that the increasing academic demands and stress from testing negatively impact their children's well-being.

• Heavy workloads cause children to sleep less, staying up late studying and worrying over grades, which leads to sleep disturbances.
• Many children suffer from health issues such as nearsightedness, stomach problems, chronic fatigue, and poor posture.

Perhaps it's time to reconsider homework and grades in favor of healthier, more beneficial activities.

2. Homework Consumes Valuable Time

Children today are busier than ever, notes Peter Gray, a professor at Boston College. They spend long hours at school, rush to tutors, and then attend extracurricular activities, leaving little free time.

While they learn languages, math, and programming, they often miss out on essential life skills.

Psychologist Harris Cooper's research shows homework has limited effectiveness: young children benefit from about 20 minutes of extra work, while older students should limit it to around 90 minutes.

By contrast, some educational guidelines allow up to 3.5 hours of homework daily for high school seniors—almost half a full workday after school. When is there time left to live?

3. Homework Does Not Significantly Improve Academic Performance

Alfie Kohn, a leading education critic, argued in his 2006 book "The Homework Myth" that for younger students, there is no clear link between homework quantity and academic success. For older students, the correlation is weak and often disappears with more precise measurement methods.

Not everyone agrees. Teacher and homework advocate Tom Sherrington believes homework offers little benefit in early grades but helps students over 11 achieve excellent results.

Long-term benefits of eliminating homework are difficult to measure. Research by the TMISS Center found only 7% of fourth graders skip homework, a small figure for meaningful analysis.

4. Homework Fails to Teach Practical Skills

School education often feels disconnected from real life. After years of studying English, graduates may struggle to form simple sentences, lack basic geographic knowledge, and hold unfounded beliefs like faith in homeopathy. Homework perpetuates this trend by filling young minds with facts they cannot apply.

As a student tutor, I helped children improve their Russian language skills. Initially, they couldn't decline even the simplest noun "door." Fear of grades was evident. Half of each session focused on "Russian in everyday life," proving that school knowledge reflects our world. When children grasped this, their grades improved dramatically, and my help was no longer needed.

Reflect on your own learning and compare it to schools like those in Switzerland. If homework bridged the gap between classroom and life, it would be valuable—but it does not.

5. Homework Diminishes the Desire to Learn

"Doing homework" often means mindlessly completing math problems or reading assigned paragraphs. Teachers assign homework to cover what wasn't finished during lessons, turning it into a tedious chore.

Even worse are "creative" assignments limited to drawings or PowerPoint presentations. For example, a recent task required students to explain why a starling felt sad. While unlikely that starlings experience such emotions, this was the expected answer.

This forces children to endure boredom or meaningless tasks instead of socializing, playing outdoors, or engaging in sports. Who would love learning under such conditions?

6. Homework Strains Parent-Child Relationships

Many parents end up doing or helping with homework, often with mixed results.

• School curricula have changed, making parents' knowledge outdated.
• Some parents forget basic concepts and approach assignments from an adult perspective, which children cannot follow.
• Parents are not trained educators and may struggle to explain or assess material properly, sometimes doing more harm than good.
• Homework often leads to conflicts: children resist, parents can't motivate, and joint sessions become frustrating, causing arguments.

The Potential Benefits of Homework

The issue isn't homework itself or its volume, but its current ineffective form that wastes time and harms health. Homework can be beneficial if the approach is rethought.

Completed in comfortable home settings, homework can help students tackle challenging questions and deepen understanding—if time and energy allow.

Customizing homework for each student enables them to strengthen weak areas and build on strengths.

Brandy Young believes:

Students work hard all day. At home, there are more important activities to learn and grow from. Developing in various areas matters—what's the point of coming home just to bury your head in notebooks?

What are your thoughts? Should homework remain part of education?

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