The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning [Hardcover]

Etta Kralovec (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2000

In 1901, homework was legally banned in California. By the 1990's, assigning homework to our chldren has a priority equal to national security. Today, few question the need for homework in preparing children for their future. And yet research suggests that homework probably has no helpful effect in elementary school and questionable outcomes in middle school. Our kids are overworked, tired, and robbed of their childhoods; parents are robbed of leisure with their families. How did this happen?

In this, the first book to question the value of homework, Etta Karlovec and John Buell tell stories of students, who often come home to overworked parents and dometic responsibilities, with hours of homework they can't handle on their own and that would have been more effectively taught in the classroom. Arguing that in assigning massive amounts of homework to students, teachers and schools are essentially abdicating their responsibility to teach, the authors advocate forcefully for protecting the leisure time of children, who need a balance of work and play that allows them to prepare for their futures in work AND in citizenship. As an educator, Etta Kralovec examines carefully claims that homework is essential to the education of kids, and finds little or no support for the assertion.

Homework is especially burdensome to disadvantaged children who may not have the luxury of free time, of books and computers in their homes, or of a 'quiet, well-lit place to study. Linking homwork for the first time with school reform, THE END OF HOMEWORK advocates for a society we'd all like to see: one that recognizes the necessity of work without forgetting the significance of society, family, and leisure.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this brief but thoroughly researched treatise on the evils of homework, Kralovec, a teacher and teacher educator, and Buell, an author and former editor of the Progressive, argue persuasively for a fresh look at the homework debate. Most parents take for granted that a greater amount of homework leads to higher academic achievement and thus better life chances later on. But the easy correlation between homework and achievement remains an unproven assumption, and the cost of overburdening students may be too high. This book suggests that children's growth and development might be better served by more opportunities for leisure time, social relationships, pursuing extra-curricular interests, sharing household chores or just simply playing. The growing class divide in the U.S., as well as increasing corporate demands on our lives, serve as theoretical backdrop for this book. One of the great American myths is that schools can "correct for the damage done by a highly iniquitous class structure," yet Kralovec and Buell make a compelling case for the idea that there are educational "mechanisms in place that serve to make the system less workable for poor and working class kids." Furthermore, assigning homework increases the achievement gap between wealthy students with leisure and those who have children of their own, younger siblings to care for, after-school jobs or crowded, noisy living conditions. The authors even argue that an increase in homework is a major reason for the escalating high school dropout rate in this latter group. The critical analysis of consumerism and corporate values may displease some, but this book will satisfy those who have begun to question the advanced intrusion of school, state and business into personal and community lives. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This provocative book is one of the first publications linking homework with school reform. Reviewing the inadequate studies that have been conducted and citing historical documents on both sides of the debate, Kralovec, a former teacher, and Buell, an author and former editor of the Progressive, question the value of home work, providing a compelling argument that schools must educate children without over-relying on homework and extracurricular activities. Since the burden of teaching has been shifted from the classroom to the parents, the authors advocate for the reform of homework and its role, suggesting that homework negatively affects children from low-income families, where parents work all day and then return home only to be faced with intimidating volumes of their children's homework. They are simply not able to provide the same quality of guidance to their children as higher-income parents, who are usually more educated. These controversial ideas will certainly challenge both educators and parents.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (July 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807042188
• ISBN-13: 978-0807042182
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,469,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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74 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Might be the first shot fired in a necessary revolution !, July 9, 2001

By 

Daryl Anderson (Trumansburg, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning (Hardcover)

This book might turn out to be the "shot heard round the (educational) world." After all, right up there with Harry Potter's "he-who-must-not-be-named", is that-which-should-not-be-mentioned: HOMEWORK! This is a book for parents, for teachers and for school authorities who think its time we started talking about the darker side of homework.

I write this review as a father of four and as a teacher of, roughly, 125 youngsters each year. Under the former hat I've always found that my kids manage their homework load and doubtless "do better" in school because of the time they put into it. But wearing the latter hat I would have to absolutely agree that the authors, one a teacher of 12 years, have initiated an important and necessary discussion that needs to take place in America's homes, schools and legislatures.

Every teacher I know understands that anywhere from one-fifth to one-third of the students we spend our days with do not have both pieces of the homework compound word. The schools provide the "work", the kids are supposed to provide the "home."

But, at Kralovec and Buell make clear, so often "home" is, a sad and challenging combination of "dad's place Monday, mom's place Tuesday", or "mindin' my niece", or (in my rural district) a corner in a 60-by-12 trailer shared with five others and two televisions, or dodging bottles, or just trying to figure out what to do with so many sad or angry people in your life. We KNOW that if we took some metric like annual family income, or square-footage of home, or some measure of "intact" families and lined them up top-to-bottom next to grades or averages we'd find a pretty close correlation. A large body of research supports this fact.

Would I say to my class, "Tonight I want you all to log on to the Internet on a high-speed cable link (this site has lots of great Java applets) and complete this online project. Email me your results. This assignment will count as 10% of your grade"? Of course not! I know that more than half of them don't have the technology at home. Could I say "tonight's assignment is to interview both parents to get their opinions about Vermeer. Only one interview means half credit"? Of course not! I know that more than half don't have two parents to interview! Should I, on a daily basis, remind those children of what's missing in their lives? Teachers in some schools notice that when they count homework as a substantial part of the children's grade, and some do, their "bell curve" turns into "camels humps" - almost half D's and F's on the "restriction list" and almost half A's and B's as "students of distinction." Should we just develop a list of "home risk" factors and save all the lies, half-truths, recriminations and heartache by giving students with two $6-an-hour working parents C's and those living with alcoholics D's ? That's too often how it works out.

And that's just the rough stuff.

The book does a fine job of extending the argument. After all, the adults in those non-homes are rarely together enough or self-confident enough to stand up to the educational establishment. Something will only change if the functional "homes" are being impacted by homework. They are.

Kralovec and Buell frankly and compellingly point out the more subtle, negative effects of homework on more intact households: the inevitable disruption and lessening of family time, the shouldering-aside of other activities, other "learning" available in churches, clubs, neighborhood, even the elimination of play or simple, "down" time that most quite functional adults need and grab when they "veg out" with television after an exhausting day.

The book is convincing in moving beyond anecdote to highlight the simple, startling duals fact that there is startlingly little educational research on the effects or efficacy of homework and that what research there is provides a very inconclusive base of results. There is no compelling proof that homework increases true student achievement, especially before high school. Imagine that.

Moving from the kitchen table and the research, the third chapter in the book uncovers some surprising history for those of us younger than 70 or so. The history of homework is not at all one of wide acceptance. From the turn of the prior century to about the late 1930's there was a vigorous debate in the parenting press and even medical circles proposing the negatives of homework. It helps to realize that one is not really calling for revolution - only return to an older truth.

It is at this point that the book steps up and shows that it is about more than just dumping some bales of tea in the harbor. This is not just a PTA-chat book. Kralovec and Buell take some time to discuss and analyze the "political economy" of schooling. They describe how so much of the homework "ethic" which, more than fact or history, drives the push for achievement and rigor through homework, derives from broader and deeper cultural and economic themes. The links to these matters and such large issues as global economies and competitiveness is not typical PTA material but, nevertheless, at the core of this discussion.

It is here that some teachers and parents might start to detach from the book - especially if they are looking for simpler truths. I'd hope most would not because these elements truly do underlie any discussion of work or schools or their conjunction.

Stick with it, though, because the book concludes with a nicely practical suite of suggestions for changing things; starting where all big changes start - with conversations between friends and colleagues. I believe they are fundamentally correct in suggesting that those of us who start such discussions will discover many, many folks who also think something needs to be done about homework. We just thought we were alone in that belief. Not so.

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars compelling and convincing, August 20, 2000

By 

sam sochet (LONG ISLAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning (Hardcover)

As an educator for a decade and a half, I have always believed that assigning homework is an essential aspect of educating my students. It has almost come to a point where not assigning homework on a regular basis is almost unthinkable. Regardless, along comes a book that should make all eductators reexamine how homework fits into the overall education of our young people. The authors not only indicate that homework may not help students, they actually imply that it may in fact do more harm than good! This I find a bit hard to believe, but they do make a very convincing argument. Whatever your surface reaction is to this book, it would behoove all teachers to read this book with an open mind. It could transform you into a better teacher, or at least one with a greater appreciation for what students go through.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Former Child Remembers, January 3, 2002

By 

"avocado-girl" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning (Paperback)

I write this as a former child and recently retired library worker.

I was 11 years old when Sputnik went up in 1957, and I remember very well it's impact on education. I went through elementary shcool with no homework and plenty of time to walk to the local library and read books of my own choosing on which I did not have to write reports. I developed the lifelong habit of reading for pleasure. As described in this book, Sputnik launched a national panic about education and the homework was piled on. By ninth grade, I was lugging at least four very heavy textbooks home every night, and agonizing over whether I could do my homework and also read the books that interested me. Homework was never about the free exploration of ideas! It was about obedience.

While working in the library, I was dismayed to see how few children read for their own pleasure. They always have to write a report. Many times their assignments don't make sense, and they are always more concerned with figuring out what their teachers want than with discovering their own interests and abilities or, for that matter, finding the truth about the subject at hand.

The authors do a very good job of making the point that homework interferes with the personal development of children and youth. I also agree with their political views, and think that even those who don't will find them thought-provoking.