Anti-Homework Movement
Homework: Helpful or Harmful?
Recently there has been a wave of interest in the subject of homework. Parents, students and even teachers are starting to question the hours of stressful and excessive amounts of homework that is plaguing the lives of middle school children in the U.S. Some believe that homework should be eliminated in its totality, while others believe that a less radical solution can be reached. I have collected my research from different books and articles to try to get the full story of homework. I also conducted an interview myself with my cousin who is a fourth grade English and History teacher. I believe all of these resources have helped me to gain different perspectives and the whole story behind the reasoning of homework and its increasing need for a positive change. It has also brought my attention to the fact that homework may be giving us just one glimpse into a problematic educational system.
Homework has pretty much always been in the lives of young students across the U.S., although the amount has fluctuated over the years reflecting social trends and the psychological beliefs of the time period. Slowly as time has progressed, the amount of homework increased by 40% in the lives of children at the elementary age (Buell and Kralovec). Throughout history, the American opinion has switched back and forth between pro and anti-homework. By the early 20th century, anti-homework movements began sprouting up across the U.S.; many experts in the medical pediatric field found that homework was the cause of "nervous conditions in children, stress, lack of sleep, and other conditions" (Vatterott 4). These findings sparked the beginning of revolutions against homework in the 1930’s and 1940’s. During this time in the U.S. workers were beginning to protest being unfairly overworked, demanding a 40-hour work week (Vatterott 4). This could have made adults more sensitive to the rights of children and their need for fresh air and free time to play
Recently there has been a wave of interest in the subject of homework. Parents, students and even teachers are starting to question the hours of stressful and excessive amounts of homework that is plaguing the lives of middle school children in the U.S. Some believe that homework should be eliminated in its totality, while others believe that a less radical solution can be reached. I have collected my research from different books and articles to try to get the full story of homework. I also conducted an interview myself with my cousin who is a fourth grade English and History teacher. I believe all of these resources have helped me to gain different perspectives and the whole story behind the reasoning of homework and its increasing need for a positive change. It has also brought my attention to the fact that homework may be giving us just one glimpse into a problematic educational system.
Homework has pretty much always been in the lives of young students across the U.S., although the amount has fluctuated over the years reflecting social trends and the psychological beliefs of the time period. Slowly as time has progressed, the amount of homework increased by 40% in the lives of children at the elementary age (Buell and Kralovec). Throughout history, the American opinion has switched back and forth between pro and anti-homework. By the early 20th century, anti-homework movements began sprouting up across the U.S.; many experts in the medical pediatric field found that homework was the cause of "nervous conditions in children, stress, lack of sleep, and other conditions" (Vatterott 4). These findings sparked the beginning of revolutions against homework in the 1930’s and 1940’s. During this time in the U.S. workers were beginning to protest being unfairly overworked, demanding a 40-hour work week (Vatterott 4). This could have made adults more sensitive to the rights of children and their need for fresh air and free time to play
Cited: Buell, John. Closing the Book on Homework: Enhancing Public Education and Freeing Family Time. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004. Print. Buell, John, and Etta Kralovec. "Time for a Recall." Saloncom RSS. Salon.com, 15 Sept. 2000. Web. 08 Dec. 2012. Kohn, Alfie. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2006. Print. Plato, JoLynn. "Research of the Pros of Homework, Part 1." Research of the Pros of Homework, Part 1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. Pope, Denise. Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students. Grand Rapids: Integrated Publishing Solutions, 2001. Print. Vatterott, Cathy. Rethinking Homework. Alexandria: ASCD Publications, 2009. Print.