Is homework a waste of time?

YES, says mother-of-three Barbara Scully

Homework for primary school children is a waste and does more harm than good. This is something I have long believed, having put three children through the junior school system here. However, until recently I was unaware that there is research to confirm what I have long-suspected.

Finland has arguably the most enviable school system in Europe, and possibly the world. There are lots of things that make it great; things such as teachers being highly valued in society and small class sizes. But the Finns did away with homework for younger children, believing it to be of no value. Some territories of Australia are now giving serious consideration to also banning homework for junior-school children, as, increasingly, research shows it to be pointless. Writing in The Washington Post newspaper in 2012, Alfie Kohn, an expert in education and human behaviour, said “No research has ever found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind, or in any amount) in elementary school.”

Based on my experience, homework will achieve one of two things. Bright children will find it boring and repetitious, and the other children will find it hugely stressful. Their parents find it equally so.

Young children spend enough of their day at school. When they come home, they should be free to dump the school-bag and get busy doing non-academic stuff or just doing nothing. If a child has extra-curricular activity after school, such as art, sport or music, they will be exhausted by the time they get to do their homework, making it even more of a trial. It becomes something that both child and parent dread, often wreaking havoc on family time.

I would far prefer to have children reading every day than stressing over homework. And not prescribed reading, but whatever they choose to read. This would provide an opportunity for them to develop their own reading tastes and discover the joy of a good book early. And as Uncle Gaybo used to say, “give a child a book and you give them a gift for life.”

Self-directed research for a project can be beneficial, particularly with older primary school kids. It teaches them to think and to evaluate information, which can only be positive. But the learning-off of spellings and tables, the answering questions in workbooks, and prescribed reading, should all be banished once our kids come out of the school gates. Of course, by keeping up the current level of homework we are allowing our Government continue to decimate our primary schools with little investment, particularly in teachers, resulting in us having some of the largest class sizes in Europe.

We have an obesity epidemic in the country and while a lot of that must be linked to bad diet and poor food choices, there is no doubt that our children are less active than they were in the past.

Homework is not helping them on their path towards good health — physically or mentally.

NO

Co Offaly primary school teacher, Aileen Lynch

One of the biggest cheers heard in any classroom is when the teacher says, “Homework off tonight”. When parents get this news later on, at home, there’s probably many a silent sigh of relief. Homework is a well-established part of Irish life for children, their parents and teachers. Should it be?

If meaningful and appropriate, homework can be something that children can get satisfaction from completing. However, the opposite is the case where children find the work they are trying to do too difficult or of little interest to them.

Homework is valuable if it creates a link between the home and school. Children spend six hours a day at school, involved in learning activities that affect their here and now, and their futures. It is vital that parents, as primary educators, have an input into this world.

Indeed, I would go so far to say that if homework was not assigned, there would be a clamour from parents for it to be introduced, so they could have a regular insight into their children’s school lives. Tasks given as ‘obair bhaile’ must be tailored to the needs of the child, thereby giving them a chance to ask questions and interact with adults outside the school.

One set of homework will not suit all the children in a given class and this is often the norm nowadays. Homework should have some element of challenge and allow children to explore areas of personal interest from time to time. This can o promote self-reliance and self-esteem. If parents find that homework is causing frustration, confusion, annoyance and ongoing difficulty for the child, this matter needs to be resolved, not tolerated. Parents need to bring this to the attention of the teacher. Assignments can then be varied and modified. At times, this can be done by moving away from traditional-type homework to include items such as project work, library visits, environmental observations and work based on sections of the curriculum which the child enjoys. Homework doesn’t have to be all about the ‘3Rs’ (reading, writing, arithmetic).

In whatever form it is set, homework gives responsibility to pupils. This is preparation for further education and working in the wider world. It conveys a message that education is not confined to the school, but is very much part of daily life. It also reinforces the fact that education begins and continues in the home. Personally, as a teacher, I only see the purpose of homework where there are clear, definite, learning-based outcomes. The age, ability and class level of the child should determine the nature and timeframe of homework. If properly structured, homework is less of a chore and is a natural part of normal routine in the home. But even if completely reformed, there will always be times when parents will give a sigh of relief when they hear that the teacher has given “Homework off tonight”.