I think the time has come for the first school to announce its intentions to abolish children’s school homework once and for all.
The topic, discussed in the past, should be a non-topic by now.
I, as a former Rebbe, honestly don’t understand the advantages of adding additional Limudei Chol homework to the already-tired and worn out child.
In my opinion, the cons of homework outweigh the pros for several reasons.
1) As previously mentioned, the child who sits in school for eight+ hours daily studying and all, does not need the extra burden homework brings.
2) How many times has your young child sat down to do homework on his or her own? As much as the homework requires the dedication of the child, I believe most of the pressures fall on the parents’ shoulders.
Instead of the child, and now-obligated parent, spending time playing a family game or other family-oriented activities together, the time -sometimes time not available – is now spent on more school-related subjects which in my opinion puts a strain not only on the parent-child relationship, but also on the home in general.
3) I firmly believe that adding more school-related studies to the child’s schedule, the resentment it brings about has a snowball affect on the child’s in-school studies.
As a former Rebbe, I’ve seen first hand the difference in children being children, and children being robotic devices loaded with unnecessary burdens.
My experience has shown me that giving the child the freedom, family time and quality activities in a home, keeps the child satisfied at home and satisfied in school.
Mixing the intended activities with one another leaves room for much dissatisfaction, both at home and in school.
Thank you.
A parent,
Lakewood, NJ.
(TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected])
1: “does not need the extra burden homework brings”. One can say the same thing about all the “voluntary” learning programs made available to the boys as well.
2: “How many times has your young child sat down to do homework on his or her own?” One can also ask, how many times has your child sat down to chazer the passuk or mishna he learned that day on his own, too?
3: “and children being robotic devices loaded with unnecessary burdens.” It is not the homework that has made todays “kids” robotic devices.
Kudos to the author! Homework creates so much tension for the whole family, with Mommy being pre-occupied with homework and unable to properly care for the younger ones who are essentially left to fend for themselves. Yes, every educator will say that homework is the childs responsibility, however in the younger grades parents are required to listen to kriah, reading, teitch etc and unless the older child is a perfect student they often need lots of help too….
Totally disagree. For some kids/families it’s good; for some not. Thats part of the problem w/ Rebbes/morahs: they give 28 kids the same test/homework when everyone is different. Glad ur a former Rebbe. Enjoy ur new career.
Agreed 100%
If someone can just explain to em the point of homework I would love to know….. Even if you come up with a point; do we need so much? So many nights? WHY?
Honestly; can’t they review for 10 minutes IN school?
I’m a teacher now – and I absolutely agree with you! The only homework I believe in is chazara – I believe it is essential to help the kids keep up. Written homework is so hard for the kids and an unnecessary burden.
The problem is the schools almost require the teachers to give the homework. They dont want to be different so for example if all the schools require 6th grade girls to do a certain work at home, no school wants to be different.
We are all scared of our own shadows, and I wish I could do something to change it at least for my class!
Homework should be done. Ie:sweeping mopping laundry baking cooking.
I think a big part of the problem is that a lg percentage of the teachers are younger and don’t have large families with kids at all stages and they don’t realize the stress that homework causes.
Perhaps with homework we will be able to produce literate children, so when they grow up they will know the difference between passed and past; out way and out weigh; and affect and effect.
Homework, when given properly, solidifies what the child learned in school and gives a unique time for parents to bond with each child. It actually lets the parent in on the child’s day, giving the child an opportunity to talk with their parent.
lol. btw: it’s spelled “past” not passed.
I taught for 36 years. in public school. The board of education set the rules.
Beginning with first grade, homework was ten minutes increasing with each grade level another ten minutes. When assigning homework, my rule 10-15 math problems. It was my responsibility not to have a child cry over homework.Therefore, two-three problems were completed in class.
Reading is for pleasure & learning, Not the standard book report.
Homework does not need to be crying or burdensome.
Kriah homework for the younger ones is the only homework that is important and makes sense to me. Maybe chazarah for the older grades but only voluntary. All other homework creates such a burden on overworked parents it’s just unfair. Yes, it would be beautiful to bond with your child while your doing homework but I’d like to know how often that is happening. Don’t know about you, how many times is homework done as the morning bus is coming?? When will things change??? Which school will be brave enough to take the step??
Public school kids comes home at 2:30! The non public school kids are coming home after 5 with so much homework – it just doesn’t make sense.
Additionally, too much of anything is never a good thing. That might be something to consider when enrolling your 13-year-old in a yeshiva that lets out at 9:30 PM.
The author only has a problem with lemudai chol homework?
Why? It serves the same purpose of the lemudai kodesh homework. If chazara is necessary for retaining information, then why wouldn’t the same theory apply to English subjects?
Whoever wrote this article obviously isn’t concerned with anybody who wants to raise their children so that they can string together a coherent sentence.
In your article you mention only Limude Chol homework.
Why should there be Limude kodesh either?
For the same reasons mentioned in your article Limude kodesh can takes a long time as well.
to the one who wrote that “as a teacher you only give 10 minutes of homework a day that it goes up 10 more minutes every older grade. The problem is that some families have more than one child. They are not in the same grade. So you may have a 1st grader – 10 min homework for English and Hebrew for each. Then you have a 4th grader 40 minutes h.w English and Hebrew each. 8th grader 1hr and 20 min each …get my point , that’s just my three kids . I have more K’h.
I totally hear the no homework argument, but homework is not for parents, it is for children. Parents should not sit the entire time coaching their child to do the homework…if the child has questions, then they should ask, otherwise homework is suppose to be completed by the child. If anything, the child learns achrayus and responsibility from this task, as I did throughout school.
You are living in Fantasy Land if you sincerely believe at the average family would be playing a family game or conducting some other family oriented activity on a nightly basis if schools would not give homework. While homework is routinely based on the grade level, family games and activities are quite difficult to satisfy a wide range of ages.
Some children can do the homework easily by themselves and some may need some help. Some Mechanchim/teachers insist that they want the homework to be a best effort product of the student without parental help. Some of the homework is necessary as review for tests. Not everyone will retain the information from classroom time study alone.
As a former Rebbi I am quite surprised that you don’t appreciate the opportunity to have a pulse on where your child is holding on a nightly basis. I routinely review my children’s homework that I expect them to predominantly do on their own. I point out some things that may require correction on occasion.
Chinuch begins at home and ends at home. It continues in school in between. If it is determined that your child attends a general studies program, it is incumbent on you to maintain a positive attitude and stress the need for performance and achievement in such studies. Especially for students that will not be having a full general studies high school program, it is essential that they graduate elementary school with a commanding knowledge of their secular studies so that they do not remain illiterate for a lifetime ahead.
“Past,” “outweigh”… maybe the author has an issue with Limudei Chol homework because he didn’t learn to spell properly. Our children need to have a better Chol education than this if they’d like to function in the real world!
I wonder what “other family-oriented activities” the author has in mind, and when he believes these would be held. Which family members does he believe will be in attendance at the “activities”? i dont know about his household, but in my home it is not till close to 10PM when the high school boys get home after seder and maariv that everyone is at home. By then, the younger kids are (hopefully) fast asleep!
I agree with Alte Lakewooder. The current situation is pretty pathetic. Kids need to do their homework on their own! The parents already went through school-they don’t need to do second grade homework again especially if it means the child doesn’t. It’s no wonder most graduates of yeshiva system type schools haven’t the first clue when it comes to proper English whether written or spoken. Do parents really expect these kids to be successful in their lives, or do they want them to be limited to lakewood teaching, sheitel styling and being a playgroup morah/babysitter? Homework is a tool for teachers to use at their discretion. It can be to preteach, review, prepare, sharpen a skill, assess knowledge without the pressure of tests…and many more purposes. Do people really believe there should be no homework? Get real