How Much Is Too Much When It Comes to Homework?

oh, please quit whining about homework. Take away the electronics and cell phone until the weekend; that will solve the problem.

I am currently in eigth grade and i recieve a pile of homework. Yes we should have some time at home to review but not 5 hours of homework! I have hichschool courses and I work hard to get good grades. Of course I am stressed and sometimes its to much that I cant take it! I have time to spend with my friends but when I am with them we do more homework. From math I recieve about 60 problems, literature I have to read 5 books plus the homework she assigns, science I have expiremints, spanish a huge packet to learn words, plus I get about 3 projects! Its to much homework and we dont deserve it! Then I have to hear my teachers complain that we are lazy! I dont think thats right how can we be lazy if we do all their work and turn it in. And yes this generation has become dumb you can say, but its not our fault! We have teachers that dont care if we learn they just want us to pass their tests and they think we will be fine. And teachers whine that they have papers to grade when they come home but some teachers make the students switch papers and grade them! And while we are working teachers have time to grade papers. All I am trying to say is to much homework is not right, and my friends and I learn better by being explained not being given a pile of work and learning from it. We should be respected and given an amount of homework that is good. And students that have good parents like me, get help when our parents come from work. Teachers shouldnt complain they should stop giving so much assignments and sit up and teach because they are the lazy ones. I have teachers that just text and talk and I am not sayin that all teachers are like that but 90% are, but they consider themselves wonderful. Take time to ask your students how they feel how you teach, and make sure that we are actually understanding! Thank you :)

I am a teacher and completely agree with two things in this article, first kids are given way too much homework and teaching to the test is ridiculous. Unfortunately, with No Child Left Behind, we are forced to teach to the test, but I personally make sure my students never get much homework because family and play time are just as important as an education.. I have been told by my principals that homework is mandatory, but I just make sure to give the kids time in class to either get it all done or mostly done. My son always has way too much homework, but he is in high school so its expected. Elementary students should never have too much homework in my opinion!!! We need to get rid of No Child Left Behind so that we teachers can get back to teaching the kids and not worrying about the tests!!!

I am a 4th grade teacher, and my students have about 40 minutes of homework a night, which should include math fact practice and reading. Most work should be done at school so I can be there to help/answer questions. Of course, some children are masters of the stall and can prolong homework time to their parents' chagrin. Someone mentioned children need to have less homework so they can exercise. When I ask my students about their favorite free time activities, sadly they are watching television and playing video games, and not usually the more active Wii games.

Dora Ann, my kids had way too much homework before they had cell phones. That was an ignorant and short-sided remark. Kids need a chance to be kids, and this is being taken away from them by an increasingly broken system.

TEACHERS do not choose to "teach to the test"...their district, due to state mandates from federal requirements, force them to.

in some ways i believe that us as students do receive to much homework and in other ways it fine.. but if students are fooling around and not even doing what they are suppose to be doing in the class period then yea they should take it home for homework and if they do that for every class well then its the students faults, and they should not complaining to parents about having to much homework because its their own fault.. but if the teacher in the class period is not even explaining the subject that is supposed to be being taught and the teacher just keeps on piling on the homework well then thats not right. In my advanced geometry class now our teacher is teaching one or sometimes two sections in the book in one class period (45 min) and is explaining for close to the whole class period and then we have two sections of homework with 25 minimum to more problems which is then due the next day and then we are taught another section and usually by the end of the week we will either have a test or quiz, but if we are not learning what is being taught, and if we don't know what we were doing on the homework well then how are we suppose to do good on the tests? which then means our grade just slowly gets lower and lower and it's very disappointing to a lot of students who try their hardest! i believe that the teachers should teach us until the majority of the class gets what is being taught and to do the "homework" in class and to ask the teacher with problems they don't understand, and just don't worry about the tests.. and i know the teachers are put under a thing where they have to have so much of the class taught before the end of the year, but if the students didn't learn anything from it the WHAT'S THE POINT?

I have to agree with this author, the only thing that "teaching to the test" accomplishes is making the school district look good. It does absolutely nothing to prepare our children for college. More and more students, even those who scored well in Standardized Testing, are struggling at the college and university level. This type of "teaching" only helps the student do well on the test and not the actual subject matter.
How about fewer "Teacher In-Service Days", minimum days and bogus holidays and more class time. Start at 8:00 AM and keep the kids in class until 3:00 PM, not 2:00 or 2:15 (1:00 on so called Minimum Days).
I'm also tired of teachers who complain about class size and how underpaid they are. In what other sector can you get a starting salary of $50K, full benefits including pension and only work 9 months out of the year? And if you choose to teach at Summer School, you make another $15K and add to your pension while doing so?

My kids go to a Catholic school and spend anywhere from 1-3 hours a night with homework. Part of the problem as I see it is much of the time in school is spent with the teachers trying to discipline the kids who are disrespectful and disruptive, taking away time from the kids who don't misbehave. Finding down time for them after school is a challenge and they are overwhelmed trying to balance it all, as well as myself. We have cut back on after school activities but still strive to find time to "chill out". I don't have the solution and I would love for it to not be so hectic. Pushes our kids to grow up faster than they should, along with all the other adult issues being presented through TV, texting, movies, etc.

"Especially the mother"? Repugnant comment from some bleeding New Ager I'm sure. Other than the overtly sexist comment disregarding the usefulness of fathers I agree, but with a caveat. Homework is important. Depending on the grade, subject and teacher and point of progress in the school year a pile of homework can either be just the right amount or way, way too much. It wasn't that long ago I graduated high school and looking back... I blew off a lot of homework that would have helped me do better. Re-enforcing subject matter while the student is at home, has access to their family and social network as study aides and can progress at their own pace is incredibly important for retention. The whole argument that they need space, playtime, etc... Yeesss.. this is all true, but they also need structure and discipline, something my upbringing lacked and that I'm paying for now. I was almost wholly unprepared for college after my high school career, and I don't think I did a leaf of homework my entire senior year. Take away the distractions until they're done. These kids aren't entitled to internet, cell phones and TV at all times, they should be used as rewards or as milestones. Get your homework done, then you can play video games. Do a half-hour, hour of review, then you can spend an hour doing whatever you want on the internet. Make learning as fun as possible a process and involves yourselves as parents.

Slowly parents and students are learning that the source of their problems is the No Child Left Behind federal legislation. If schools don't reach standards which show adequate growth each year, the schools are warned. or after several years of inadequate growth, the government can step in and fire the principal and teachers.

As a retired teacher, I urge parents to become actively involved in the political realities that are forcing these standards onto the schools and students. What was well-intended has turned out
very poorly.

Veteran teachers who have polished their skills over their years of experience aren't allowed to teach using their best approaches. They are being forced into committees which write scripts to make sure each teacher is on the same page on the same day, and saying basically the same thing.ds

Teachers don't thrive under these misguided political rules.
Students don't thrive either. But schools will lose federal money if they don't follow the NCLB guidelines.

I agree there is too much teaching to the test. Whoever thinks we teachers like it is mistaken. Our jobs depend on it. To Mike - I don't know where you live but teachers here do not start at $50K. After 12 years of teaching and a Master's degree I do not make anywhere close to that. Make $15K teaching summer school - where? Our summer school program is offered only to students who are non or limited english speakers. The teachers selected to teach it are usually those who teach those students during the year, and they do not make $15K doing it. Yes we have benefits. We are REQUIRED to pay into the state retirement system whether we want to or not. Our students start at 8:30 and go until 3:25. We are REQUIRED to be at school at 8:00 and are not to leave until 3:45. On our "early" day they leave at 1:55 and we are in staff meetings or other MANDATED training until 3:45. Work only 9 months? Yea, right. Ask teachers how much time they spend in the school on weekends, holiday breaks, and during the summer trying to get grading completed and ready for students.
Stop blaming the teachers for teaching to the test and start blaming the districts, states, and federal government who mandate the testing. They put stuff on the tests the students would not normally see in their curriculuum so we don't have much choice. We have to give them the opportunity to see what they are up against.

Unfortunately, many children need to LEARN HOW TO LEARN and just don't have the tools or input from an experienced enough educator with insight on how to help the child build certain weakened skills, which help children learn as well as HOW to learn. Take it from me....I have been in the field training people how to learn & build those cognitive skills.

Maybe you should check Japans school system, they currently go more days per year but less hours per day. Translation, they go about a month less than kids in the USA.

The number of hours or days that our children attend school is based on parents wanting free babysitting and has very little to do with how much or well the children learn.

If we want to compete in a global world then our children need to learn in a way that truly teaches and not in a way that advances the cause of the teachers unions and parents that have their priorities messed up.

If you check foreign education systems, you will also notice that while they may be in a class room 2 hours longer per week than American students, the foreign students receive much less homework.

In other countries children are required to participate in sports and PE, too. Big difference on well-rounding the child!

Let's understand that children in other countries also have the discipline that require them to meet the educational standards they are held to. As an elementary school teacher in the inner city, I can tell you that more time spent in school will not make the difference in how well our children succeed in life. The issues that these young children experience in their lives make it difficult for them to achieve the goals we set for them. There is a break down of family, parental discipine and respect that better explains why many of our children are not performing to the high standards we hold them to in this country. I have a bigger problem with students disrespecting teachers than the amount of time they spend in the classroom compared to children in other countries.