We’re about a month into the new school year, so homework has once again become the villain in education discourse. It’s blamed for burnout, family stress, inequity, and the loss of childhood joy. Some schools have scaled it back considerably. Others have officially cut it altogether. And plenty of parents cheer when their kids come home with nothing—less to fight about, fewer late-night meltdowns, one less thing on the to-do list.
The truth is bad homework is everywhere. Assignments feel completely disconnected from what’s taught in class. Tasks require a tutor to reteach the lesson. Projects have elaborate material lists that assume you’ve got a working printer, a free evening, and no other obligations.
But the idea that homework is inherently harmful is wrong. When it’s done well, homework plays a real and meaningful role in enhancing learning.
The best homework is clear and targeted. It reviews content students have already been taught and gives them a chance to practice while the material is still active in their minds. After all, repetition and rehearsal is what helps move skills from short-term understanding into long-term memory.
Homework also gives students a chance to try things on their own. Not while the teacher is walking them through every step, or while they’re sitting in a group where someone else figures it out first, but alone, when it’s just them and the task. It helps metacognition (i.e., thinking about their thinking) to develop: Can I do this without help? What did I get wrong? What should I go back and review? Students begin to turn into self-aware learners.
In order for this to happen, though, homework has to truly be done independently. If an assignment depends on an adult to explain the instructions, clarify the lesson, or supervise every step of the process, it’s not assessing what the student can do; it’s assessing who’s available to help.
It also has to be transparent. Students must have access to answer keys and be taught how to use them: not to copy, but to compare, reflect, and self-correct.
This doesn’t mean kids need to have homework every night in every subject. But the answer to bad homework isn’t no homework; it’s thoughtful homework, assigned with purpose.
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Only Broadway-adjacent but posting this because it feels like we’re overdue for some good piano rock.
Indeed, homework itself is never the problem. In fact, the purpose of studying or performing academic work is to of course learn, but more importantly reinforce underlying skills. However, nowadays, simple facts and output are the expectation. Yet, thinking about that type of knowledge transfer doesn’t create independent critical thinkers.
Uluru, helps students level up by scaffolding the metacognitive skills necessary to develop greater self-direction, and motivation. All while removing the academic “burden” from families. Students across the city and in LA are starting to use it. Visit www.theuluru.com to learn more!