UK Teachers union: Homework makes kids "unhappy and anxious"

[Train]

My guess is they are probably hiding the fact that poor education systems are failing kids, and are now saying homework doesnt help kids learn. I say thats BS.

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080312/024459514.shtml

Teachers' Union Debating Ending Homework For Students

from the ah,-if-only-I-were-a-kid-again... dept

In the past few years, we've seen quite a few reports suggesting that homework doesn't help kids learn along with some other reports questioning traditional learning techniques. However, it's still a bit surprising for it reach the level where a teachers' union in the UK is already considering a proposal to ditch homework for most younger students and drastically scale back how much there is for older students (found via Digg). The reasoning is a bit different. The older reports we saw pointed out that homework wasn't particularly effective at helping kids learn. The reasoning for this new proposal is that homework makes kids "unhappy and anxious" and that leads to stressed out kids and potential disciplinary problems. It would be interesting to see any actual research supporting one side or the other here. I think it's great that teachers aren't just assuming that homework must be good, since that's how it's always been done, but that doesn't necessarily mean it should be done away with completely.

We need to stop babying these kids and worrying about thier mood and anxiety. Give them work, make them do it, and if they are sad about it, they will get over it. They need to be prepared for the real world.

 

[Atreus21]

Originally posted by: Train
My guess is they are probably hiding the fact that poor education systems are failing kids, and are now saying homework doesnt help kids learn. I say thats BS.

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080312/024459514.shtml

Teachers' Union Debating Ending Homework For Students

from the ah,-if-only-I-were-a-kid-again... dept

In the past few years, we've seen quite a few reports suggesting that homework doesn't help kids learn along with some other reports questioning traditional learning techniques. However, it's still a bit surprising for it reach the level where a teachers' union in the UK is already considering a proposal to ditch homework for most younger students and drastically scale back how much there is for older students (found via Digg). The reasoning is a bit different. The older reports we saw pointed out that homework wasn't particularly effective at helping kids learn. The reasoning for this new proposal is that homework makes kids "unhappy and anxious" and that leads to stressed out kids and potential disciplinary problems. It would be interesting to see any actual research supporting one side or the other here. I think it's great that teachers aren't just assuming that homework must be good, since that's how it's always been done, but that doesn't necessarily mean it should be done away with completely.

We need to stop babying these kids and worrying about thier mood and anxiety. Give them work, make them do it, and if they are sad about it, they will get over it. They need to be prepared for the real world.

I've never heard anything so ridiculous. If you want mastery, you practice. Plain. Simple. Who the hell are these teachers?

A revolution is afoot.

Stupidity can only be cultivated so long before something awful happens.

 

[3chordcharlie]

What I have seen is that homework in primary grades (1-3 or so) seems to have little positive effect, and plenty of negative effects. If this is a consistent result, it would make sense to heed it.

Now, a teachers' union picking up on this makes you suspicious that they just don't want to mark homework, but that doesn't mean they're entirely wrong.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Homework is ridiculous.

Kids need more development than school work. I'm tired of my kids coming home from school and working another 2-3 hours on homework.

 

[PingSpike]

Homework teaches kids important lessons about the heaps of pointless and irrelevant busywork that they will be further subjected to throughout their lives.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Homework teaches kids important lessons about the heaps of pointless and irrelevant busywork that they will be further subjected to throughout their lives.

Haha ok it does teach that.

 

[Moonbeam]

School destroys children's minds. It's another brick in the wall.

 

[Train]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
School destroys children's minds. It's another brick in the wall.

How can you have any pudding if you dont eat your meat?

 

[Ferocious]

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
School destroys children's minds. It's another brick in the wall.

How can you have any pudding if you dont eat your meat?

lmao

 

[BoberFett]

Somebody should tell the UK that there's no prize for being first in the race to the bottom.

 

[brandonbull]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Somebody should tell the UK that there's no prize for being first in the race to the bottom.

I thought they didn't keep score anymore so their feelings wouldn't get hurt

 

[Jaskalas]

This seems to be a minority opinion around here, that?s nothing new for me, but I have to agree with their notion and the reason behind what they are doing.

Making the students resent and hate education is not a surefire way to make sure they become educated. Practice makes perfect, but that should already be covered among the 6 hours they spend in school every day, and checked with testing. If the kid passes the testing, who the f? cares how many hours a day were taken away from them in order to achieve that result?

I?m thinking the homework is needed for students who struggle with education. In other words, those with lower IQ or disabilities. In which case why do you want to ruin it for everyone due to the folly of a minority?

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas
This seems to be a minority opinion around here, that?s nothing new for me, but I have to agree with their notion and the reason behind what they are doing.

Making the students resent and hate education is not a surefire way to make sure they become educated. Practice makes perfect, but that should already be covered among the 6 hours they spend in school every day, and checked with testing. If the kid passes the testing, who the f? cares how many hours a day were taken away from them in order to achieve that result?

I?m thinking the homework is needed for students who struggle with education. In other words, those with lower IQ or disabilities. In which case why do you want to ruin it for everyone due to the folly of a minority?

Exactly 50% of people have a lower than average IQ.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Originally posted by: brandonbull

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Somebody should tell the UK that there's no prize for being first in the race to the bottom.

I thought they didn't keep score anymore so their feelings wouldn't get hurt

Because our education system is so much better? lol yeah right.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Exactly 50% of people have a lower than average IQ.

Won't argue against that, but perhaps one shoe size does not fit all. Besides, we do not know at what percentile a large volume of homework becomes necessary for education. I agree with the notion that at some percentile it becomes necessary, but I would argue in favor of reducing it for kids who have higher grades as to not reap the negative effects on everyone.

Education needs to be tailored to the student?s learning ability, and to address those who fail to learn as easily as others. Blanket solutions will only hurt those at the top of the class.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Exactly 50% of people have a lower than average IQ.

Won't argue against that, but perhaps one shoe size does not fit all. Besides, we do not know at what percentile a large volume of homework becomes necessary for education. I agree with the notion that at some percentile it becomes necessary, but I would argue in favor of reducing it for kids who have higher grades as to not reap the negative effects on everyone.

Education needs to be tailored to the student?s learning ability, and to address those who fail to learn as easily as others. Blanket solutions will only hurt those at the top of the class.

Both of you guys didn't do enough homework when you were in school.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: Train

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
School destroys children's minds. It's another brick in the wall.

How can you have any pudding if you dont eat your meat?

Exactly the same stupid thinking that bricks up the mind. Humans were born with tremendous innate curiosity and capacity to learn, in other words, with a deep love of learning, and that is destroyed as quickly as possible by all us self hating competitive sick adults. We have never known real meat but by God our kids will.

 

[Moonbeam]

When God decided to teach man about evil he banned the apple and the lesson was guaranteed.

 

[cwjerome]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Making the students resent and hate education is not a surefire way to make sure they become educated. Practice makes perfect, but that should already be covered among the 6 hours they spend in school every day, and checked with testing. If the kid passes the testing, who the f? cares how many hours a day were taken away from them in order to achieve that result?

Give me a break. Homework is a good way to review or do some catch-up. Some of the smaller, easier, but still essential work can be done at home to make room for more of the nice labs and projects in the classroom. It also teaches some level of responsibility and self-discipline. There's nothing wrong with it... most of my homework is just simpler handouts that we don't quite finish in class, and that's maybe once a week.

I do believe that students should generally get no more than an hours worth a day though. 30-60 minutes, 4 out of 5 days or so is a good balance for kids in grades 7-12. I suppose it could be abused or become a problem if not handled right... but that's like anything in life. You don't ban it, you fix it.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Exactly 50% of people have a lower than average IQ.

Won't argue against that, but perhaps one shoe size does not fit all. Besides, we do not know at what percentile a large volume of homework becomes necessary for education. I agree with the notion that at some percentile it becomes necessary, but I would argue in favor of reducing it for kids who have higher grades as to not reap the negative effects on everyone.

Education needs to be tailored to the student?s learning ability, and to address those who fail to learn as easily as others. Blanket solutions will only hurt those at the top of the class.

I agree, that's why my daughter is homeschooled, but she still does homework. Homework is a part of demonstrating that the lesson has been learned adequately.

That said, I never did homework when I was a kid, and my grades showed it. I only managed a B average through high school because I could ace the tests in my sleep. That doesn't mean homework wasn't necessary, it showed people I'm lazy. Which I am, LOL. Instilling a work ethic is just as important to children as being book smart is.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Exactly 50% of people have a lower than average IQ.

Won't argue against that, but perhaps one shoe size does not fit all. Besides, we do not know at what percentile a large volume of homework becomes necessary for education. I agree with the notion that at some percentile it becomes necessary, but I would argue in favor of reducing it for kids who have higher grades as to not reap the negative effects on everyone.

Education needs to be tailored to the student?s learning ability, and to address those who fail to learn as easily as others. Blanket solutions will only hurt those at the top of the class.

I agree, that's why my daughter is homeschooled, but she still does homework. Homework is a part of demonstrating that the lesson has been learned adequately.

That said, I never did homework when I was a kid, and my grades showed it. I only managed a B average through high school because I could ace the tests in my sleep. That doesn't mean homework wasn't necessary, it showed people I'm lazy. Which I am, LOL. Instilling a work ethic is just as important to children as being book smart is.

People love to work when they follow their bliss.

 

[StageLeft]

Not sure on this issue. I hated school as a general matter of course. Everything about it, socially, intellectually. I found it simply abhorrent and my grades were in line with this loathing. Only when I realized I had to buck up or else pump gas for the rest of my life did I apply myself and excel. Before that final year, my parents had told me I could do well if I tried, but I didn't believe it and thus never did apply or achieve. I now know it's true, but the crushing demoralization of school and the teachers was a wholly negative experience for me. Something does need to change with schools. For me, homework was just a way to make the pain of a sh*ty day even longer. If I played my cards right I could even procrastinate until the night was nearly over, do it just before bed, and spend the vast majority of each day either at or thinking about school. School has such an inate ability to make things uninteresting that if they gave a hands-on class about flying a fighter jet, tank, or being a photographer for playboy they'd make it tedious.

On the other hand, I seem to have gained something from it somewhere, but school's approach is immutable and thus some kids do well and other kids, who are neither stupid nor lazy but are different, do badly.

 

[PingSpike]

At my school, if you didn't do homework they diagnosed you with ADHD and sent you to the basement with the real retards. After hanging out with the retards for awhile it didn't matter if you were originally retarded or not, through osmosis you became stupid.

Taxpayer money could be saved by accelerating this demoralizing brain rotting process. They could just give the kids a lobotomy, do one class on how to pump gas and then kick them in the ass on the way out the door.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
At my school, if you didn't do homework they diagnosed you with ADHD and sent you to the basement with the real retards. After hanging out with the retards for awhile it didn't matter if you were originally retarded or not, through osmosis you became stupid.

We ARE the retards.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Exactly 50% of people have a lower than average IQ.

Won't argue against that, but perhaps one shoe size does not fit all. Besides, we do not know at what percentile a large volume of homework becomes necessary for education. I agree with the notion that at some percentile it becomes necessary, but I would argue in favor of reducing it for kids who have higher grades as to not reap the negative effects on everyone.

Education needs to be tailored to the student?s learning ability, and to address those who fail to learn as easily as others. Blanket solutions will only hurt those at the top of the class.

I agree, that's why my daughter is homeschooled, but she still does homework. Homework is a part of demonstrating that the lesson has been learned adequately.

That said, I never did homework when I was a kid, and my grades showed it. I only managed a B average through high school because I could ace the tests in my sleep. That doesn't mean homework wasn't necessary, it showed people I'm lazy. Which I am, LOL. Instilling a work ethic is just as important to children as being book smart is.

People love to work when they follow their bliss.

That may be, but not all work is bliss. It's nice that the human species in general has been able to move beyond an agrarian, subsistence lifestyle. There are still jobs however that are mundane. Not everybody can do what they want for a living. Do you think every garbage man loves handling people's nasty, smelly trash? Probably not, but those people who do mundane tasks day in and day out are part of making modern life as comfortable as it is.