Homework has long been a part of the education system, with teachers assigning daily tasks and

projects for students to complete outside of school hours. However, in recent years, there has been a
growing movement against homework, with many parents and educators questioning its
effectiveness and impact on students' well-being.

One of the most vocal advocates against homework is Sara Bennett, a former corporate lawyer
turned education activist. In her book, \"The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting
Our Children and What We Can Do About It,\" Bennett argues that traditional homework
assignments do more harm than good and that it's time for a change.

The Negative Effects of Homework

Bennett and other critics of homework argue that it can have negative effects on students, both
academically and emotionally. For one, homework can create stress and anxiety, especially for
students who struggle to complete assignments or have a heavy workload. This stress can lead to
sleep deprivation, which can have a detrimental effect on a student's ability to learn and retain
information.

Bennett also points out that homework can be a source of conflict between parents and children, as
parents often feel pressure to help their children complete their assignments, adding to their own
stress levels. This can also lead to a lack of family time and a strained parent-child relationship.

Furthermore, Bennett argues that homework can have a negative impact on students' creativity and
curiosity. With the focus on completing assignments and meeting deadlines, students may not have
time to explore their own interests and passions, which are crucial for their personal and intellectual
development.

Rethinking Traditional Assignments

In her book, Bennett offers alternative solutions to traditional homework assignments. She suggests
that teachers focus on in-class assignments and projects that are meaningful and relevant to students'
lives. This allows for a more collaborative and engaging learning experience, rather than just
completing tasks for the sake of completing them.

Bennett also advocates for a reduction in the amount of homework assigned, allowing students more
time for extracurricular activities, family time, and self-care. This can lead to a more well-rounded
and balanced education for students.

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And there are form letters, examples of conversations with teachers, counselors and administrators
regarding homework overload. Research does show some connection between homework and
achievement at and above the 10th grade, but there is ample reason to believe that's more a matter of
correlation than causation. (Students who make it to the 10th grade are generally of a certain
socioeconomic profile, and the biggest studies in this vein examine homework completed rather than
merely assigned.) Sociology seems to have caught on to what many a sixth-grader has long
suspected: Homework is mostly a sham. What's more, the book does something that is very rare: It
gives parents solid practical advice on how they can deal with teachers and schools to produce
significant change. Community Reviews 3.69 209 ratings 38 reviews 5 stars 55 (26%) 4 stars 73
(34%) 3 stars 53 (25%) 2 stars 18 (8%) 1 star 10 (4%) Search review text Filters Displaying 1 - 30 of
38 reviews Liz B 1,744 reviews 18 followers July 31, 2009 I put this on my professional shelf
because I think it's important for me to know 1)how homework can affect families; 2) what at least
some parents in my area are reading and possibly thinking. I'd much rather my kids go outside and
play or participate in some other enriching activity. Textbooks may not include supplemental items
i.e. CDs, access codes etc. As for parents, they should find it disconcerting to hear that their school
administrators and teachers are opting of this. If we want to improve, society tells us, then we have
to be constantly improving. In fact, according to the hundreds of families we surveyed and
interviewed, the majority of their kids in all grades were doing amounts that far exceeded the
recommended guidelines each night. Most of us in my milieu just choose to ignore it or count it as a
sacrifice on the altar of vigor. Many educators tout homework as a great way to teach children
responsibility. Let's say you have four sections of US History, each with 35 students. On the other
hand, you don’t want your children to go through life blindly following orders, nor do you want to
have a lot of unnecessary stress. Many educators tout homework as a great way to teach children
responsibility. Here’s her tough-love, no-truancy approach to make sure they go. For this reason,
teachers have admitted to turning the other way when their students cheat. Well, multiply that by
five and you have today's high school student. A important discussion needs to be had, but I thought
the authors missed the mark on this one. Videos Help others learn more about this product by
uploading a video. My daughter's kindergarten teacher, who was excellent in the classroom, gave
rote homework other than the nightly reading log. By the time meals and hygiene are taken care of,
not a lot of time is left over for these families. A lot more research and several chapters less emotion
would have turned this into a great book that tackles a worthy debate. Bennett and Kalish reveal that
the homework emperor has no clothes; there is no good evidence to support piling on homework,
especially in the younger grades. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. But what if
you happen to side with your kids about the pointlessness of their assignments. Not anymore. Across
the country, standardized tests and fears of falling behind are causing kids in pre-school and
kindergarten to be assigned hours of homework a night, and this after long days in the classroom
(and much more than the 10 mins per grade level recommended). Like Comment Amy 154 reviews
October 31, 2012 This book left me feeling distressed about the amount and quality of homework
that schools in the US are assigning. Students today don’t know how to think; they don’t think
outside the box. Most kids learn things for tests and then promptly forget them. There is also a
difference of nightly work vs weekly packets which give flexibility to families.
GreatSchools: Why did you start an anti-homework campaign. But homework assignments have to
be kept consistent across the board and that means giving out homework to everyone, regardless of
whether or not it is helpful to every student. Assignments which required special supplies went
undone. I agree that homework is not helpful for the harmony of the house. Some students certainly
need homework more than others in order to learn and to prepare for tests. By connecting the dots in
new ways, they make a strong case against the value of homework. The tone of the book is elitist
and the authors could not conceive of just not doing the homework. SB: The first time I knew
parents did projects for their kids was when my son was in third grade. Since then homework has
not been nearly as pointless. My daughter went to a school at the beginning of sixth grade where,
because there was a lot of homework, she never had time to read. The rest is full of useful role-
played conversations and emails helping you challenge meaningless assignments, homework
overload, etc. That is our problem, and why most homework is mindless drudgery. GreatSchools
talked to the lawyer turned reformer about preposterous projects and how children can learn to think
for themselves. Even many teachers are in the Only one of the hundreds the authors interviewed and
surveyed had ever taken a course specifically on homework during training. Yet the nightly burden is
taking a serious toll on America's families. The teacher is then at risk of losing money for her school,
herself, and ultimately losing her job. Like Comment Cortney 65 reviews 22 followers September 10,
2011 I'm pretty progressive when it comes to educational philosophy. The number of young people
suffering from headaches, chronic fatigue, anxiety, anorexia, obesity, depression and suicide is on the
rise. It seems to me that it would be more effective to skip the excuses and just say what you mean.
And there are form letters, examples of conversations with teachers, counselors and administrators
regarding homework overload. Homework overload, and overload in general, is a problem, and we
all know it. You’ll find out which assignments advance learning and which are time-wasters, how to
set priorities when your child comes home with an overstuffed backpack, how to talk and write to
teachers and school administrators in persuasive, nonconfrontational ways, and how to rally other
parents to help restore balance in your children’s lives. If your child is having trouble in school, I am
all for a collaboration on the solution, not parental dictation. Instead, try to preserve your child’s
childhood and family harmony. They were supposed to make a little doll out of a clothespin that was
representative of immigration. Even I, who teaches three AP courses, only assign one. They maintain
a balance between cost-effectiveness and premium quality, making them an attractive option for
students seeking value-packed essay writing services. It is rough for those families where both
parents work full time. The authors of this book do not take it quite that far but they come close. She
successfully challenged and changed homework policies at her children’s schools.
I highly recommend this book to any family who thinks they spend too much time on homework.
Empowering, practical, and rigorously researched, The Case Against Homework shows how too
much work is having a negative effect on our children’s achievement and development and gives us
the tools and tactics we need to advocate for change. This tells that homework is useless without
having an instructor to help you better understand it. Like Comment Nathan Author 24 books 19
followers April 25, 2011 I feel compelled to qualify my 3-star rating. These studies help add some
validity to the book but I was expecting it to go much further. As the authors point out (and I can
attest to this with experience) parents tend to do most of the work. After reading this book, I would
suggest that parents, wanting more family time, assess homework when it seems accessive or odious,
and prioritize the most valuable assignments. Now that she’s in college, she’s still making choices
about whether to miss a class (seems like most professors these days have a set number of classes
students may miss). By the time meals and hygiene are taken care of, not a lot of time is left over for
these families. Work and school (and after school care) might take 10 hours out of the day. But a
2004 national survey of more than 2,900 children done by the University of Michigan found that the
time kids spend doing homework has skyrocketed by 51 percent since 1981. Like Comment Sharon
Falduto 1,204 reviews 12 followers Read April 15, 2020 A thought-provoking book which
questioned the need to have homework at all (does it actually teach anything?) and suggested that
homework steals time away from kids--time that could be spent with family, reading for pleasure,
taking ballet classes, etc. Adding a professional educator to the ranks of authorship would have been
a good idea. Personally, I don't think a person has to be a certified expert in a given field to lend
credibility to their own personal (and often very strong) opinions. I was an advocate in my work life,
so it comes naturally to me to speak up. Parents spend countless hours cajoling their kids to
complete such assignments—often without considering whether or not they serve any worthwhile
purpose. What's more, the book does something that is very rare: It gives parents solid practical
advice on how they can deal with teachers and schools to produce significant change. Let me
confess that I have no school age children, and I am reading this book as someone who tutors
children. More than likely, you’ll also do better on the teacher-created tests by studying for them the
night before. Yet the nightly burden is taking a serious toll on America’s families. Included are fact
sheets, surveys (for other parents in your kid's class), meaningful homework policies, and step-by-
step instructions for organizing other families to help reclaim their evenings, weekends, and holidays.
I have always made it explicit to the kids I’m not the Homework Enforcement Officer. Here’s how
to do better when your child comes to you with school refusal. However, the authors make some
assertions about the state of kids today that I believe are misdirected and falsely attributed to
homework and teachers. It robs children of the sleep, play, and exercise time they need for proper
physical, emotional, and neurological development. She successfully challenged and changed
homework policies at her children’s schools. Empowering, practical, and rigorously researched, The
Case Against Homework shows how too much work is having a negative effect on our children’s
achievement and development and gives us the tools and tactics we need to advocate for change.
She is an expert in the post-conviction representation of battered women and the wrongly convicted,
and lectures widely. Even when your child is a teen, try not to be overly concerned about grades.
The truth, according to Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish, is that there is almost no evidence that
homework helps elementary school students achieve academic success and little evidence that it
helps older students. Yet the nightly burden is taking a serious toll on America’s families. Parents
spend countless hours cajoling their kids to complete such assignments—often without considering
whether or not they serve any worthwhile purpose. If the boss wants an hour long presentation in 2
days, that’s what you do. Not only do I now quote this book but I make copies of certain pages to
give to my teachers and I bought a second copy to give to the school as a gift. In college, the
professor can then philosophize between Aristotle or Plato and how the Utopian world should be.
We had her do the background reading and not the assignments. Format: Video (2:09) Adele Faber
The famed How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk author offers her expert
advice on exactly what to say to a homework-hating child. You might be surprised at these low
totals--especially if your child does several times more than that. You’ll find out which assignments
advance learning and which are time-wasters, how to set priorities when your child comes home with
an overstuffed backpack, how to talk and write to teachers and school administrators in persuasive,
nonconfrontational ways, and how to rally other parents to help restore balance in your children’s
lives. Her friends who stayed in that school are doing terribly at this point. Discover more of the
author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more See more on the author's page Nancy
Kalish Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Nancy Kalish is a former senior editor at
Child and columnist for Redbook, Working Mother, and Selecciones. Taking into account the
average seven-hour school day, a middle schooler who does just one hour of homework each night is
putting in a forty-hour work week. One thing is for certain, however, and that is I never read one
God Damn book over summer that I did not want to read. The kids had to write a book report, and it
had to be 12-point font and three pages, no more and no less. From a literary perspective, the authors
should understand. Overall, this book could have been a thoughtful, well researched assessment of
homework and its place in education- I've read some short essays that were just that, and they were
more enlightening than this wordy book. Like Comment Lisa 27 reviews May 31, 2009 Although
written by parents for parents, every teacher needs to read this. If we want to improve, society tells
us, then we have to be constantly improving. If we want to improve, society tells us, then we have to
be constantly improving. Best of luck to the teachers on the receiving end of their memorized,
scripted conversations. However, the authors make some assertions about the state of kids today that
I believe are misdirected and falsely attributed to homework and teachers. Empowering, practical,
and rigorously researched, The Case Against Homework shows how too much work is having a
negative effect on our children’s achievement and development and gives us the tools and tactics we
need to advocate for change. I thought this book was a great book because it makes sense about
homework not being necessary to get a good education. In fact, more than one-third of the families
we surveyed and interviewed admit to feeling crushed by the workload. I found the arguments
against excessive busywork quite compelling. Accept that your child's intelligence may not be evenly
distributed in all subjects. The first time I let my third grader stay home and told the school secretary
that she was taking a personal day, the secretary laughed, told me she appreciated my honesty, and
thought it was a fabulous idea. But such reforms are always doomed to have a limited effect; the
developmental impact of wealth and family is simply too great to ignore.
The authors go on to present the research (or lack of it) around home work, The research that has
been done is not known by the average teacher. Sara and her cases have been featured in the New
York Times and on 60 Minutes II, Dateline NBC, and the Today show. I have begun studying and
researching similar ideas and believe that if we don't change something soon, then we are destined
for trouble in the future of our children. Pick up a copy of Predictable Success.Not Stress today and
start equipping your classroom for tomorrow. By 18, these seniors are supposed to be functional
adults that will eventually take over the business from their parents. However, the authors make
some assertions about the state of kids today that I believe are misdirected and falsely attributed to
homework and teachers. And when they do so, they aren't apt to have computers or reference books
on hand to help. The tone of the book is elitist and the authors could not conceive of just not doing
the homework. Many of the countries with the highest scoring students on achievement tests, such as
Japan, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, have teachers who assign little homework. Kids work best
in an atmosphere in which they feel safe to be themselves. In other words, free time on their own (as
opposed to organized sports) allows children the opportunity to problem-solve, which in turn
enhances their creativity. Nobody is saying you should go home, sit down on your couch, and do
nothing. If we had twenty vocab terms in social studies, I gave them four days to get it done, as well
as ten minutes of class time. You'll learn which assignments advance learning and which are time-
wasters, how to set priorities when your child comes home with an over-stuffed backpack, how to
talk and write to teachers and school administrators in persuasive, non-confrontational ways, and
how to rally other parents to help restore balance in your children's lives. In sodales suspendisse
mauris quam etiam erat, quia tellus convallis eros rhoncus diam orci, porta lectus esse adipiscing
posuere et, nisl arcu vitae laoreet. I found the arguments against excessive busywork quite
compelling. Like the authors of this book correctly point out, some homework assignments are a
complete waste of time and should not be part of the curriculum at all. These studies help add some
validity to the book but I was expecting it to go much further. I have experienced the homework
dilemma both as a student and a teacher. Like Comment Cortney 65 reviews 22 followers September
10, 2011 I'm pretty progressive when it comes to educational philosophy. Here’s how to do better
when your child comes to you with school refusal. More than likely, you’ll also do better on the
teacher-created tests by studying for them the night before. It may be true, but pointing it out is
bound to lead to defensiveness. 1 like Like Comment Suzanne 304 reviews January 25, 2008 This
book gave me a different perspective on homework. Some students certainly need homework more
than others in order to learn and to prepare for tests. I almost never did homework when I was a kid,
and I don’t like it as a concept now. It was well-written and easy to read, with strong arguments for
the reduction of or even eradication of homework, at least for the lower grades. Empowering,
practical, and rigorously researched, The Case Against Homework shows how too much work is
having a negative effect on our children’s achievement and development and gives us the tools and
tactics we need to advocate for change. It offers continuous rants from anti- homework students and
parents, explaining how homework is excessive and how it is tearing their families apart. Videos Help
others learn more about this product by uploading a video. As a teacher, my experience with
homework is from the perspective of an adult level (college teaching) and homework has always been
a part of my classroom agenda.
I like it, too, because it was truthful, it gave my daughter some control, it allowed her a little time to
regroup, and it served her well forever after. The time our children spend doing homework has
skyrocketed in recent years. More to the point, no one has ever studied whether something other than
homework--independent reading, for example--might improve test scores. I think that pushing our
kids to perform could actually be getting in the way of their success. The kids had to write a book
report, and it had to be 12-point font and three pages, no more and no less. So go ahead and scrap
homework. (And, while you're at it, build me a time machine back to high school.) Just make sure
you get rid of economic, social, and racial inequality, too. I am aware educators routinely bring work
home, but this is unusual. Our team consists of journalists, researchers, academics, former teachers
and education leaders — most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members — who not
only research, fact check, and write or produce this information, but who use it in our daily lives as
well. A lot of adults get a few; why not extend that same right to children. The main point of the
authors (and one I agree with) is that homework routinely becomes drudgery. GreatSchools: What
about parents helping with homework. Overall, this book could have been a thoughtful, well
researched assessment of homework and its place in education- I've read some short essays that were
just that, and they were more enlightening than this wordy book. You can’t choose only to have the
good aspects of teaching. There are some official studies cited in this book and these studies help to
back the authors' claims that too much homework is damaging to the overall health of students and
doesn't accomplish its main goal to help students learn. That's why Professor Cooper's examination of
the research found that, for elementary school students, in-class study with a teacher proved superior
to homework in terms of learning. The truth, according to Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish, is that
there is almost no evidence that homework helps elementary school students achieve academic
success and little evidence that it helps older students. Your child may not need help in certain
subjects, but that is why you need to sit down with them and see what areas need improvement and
what they are learning. Overall, The Case Against Homework is a decently- written book that tackles
a tough subject that many wouldn't dare to touch. There is no mention, for example, of the system of
standardized tests and whether or not they are worthwhile indicators of future success. Sara and her
cases have been featured in the New York Times and on 60 Minutes II, Dateline NBC, and the Today
show. I was reading this hoping to become more informed about homework (spoiler: it has little to
no influence on academic outcomes). What I have found in my 7 year old, first grade daughter and
touched on in the book is that there are two types of homework: Rote work and life based skills. Like
Comment Angela 313 reviews 3 followers February 22, 2019 I liked that it has a lot of references to
studies and statistical data, it seems well documented. I thought this book was a great book because
it makes sense about homework not being necessary to get a good education. You have nothing to
lose but your frustration.The Case Against Homeworkis an important book that takes on the 500-
pound gorilla-homework overload-long ignored by educational policy makers. Another example
described a battle that Kerri and I could have had. It demonstrates the students’ ability to
comprehend the problem presented and his ability to research and solve it. Bennett and Kalish reveal
that the homework emperor has no clothes; there is no good evidence to support piling on homework,
especially in the younger grades. I have got this far, I have opened the book and read the preface. In
fact, more than one-third of the families we surveyed and interviewed admit to feeling crushed by
the workload.