The Case Against Homework

By Jami Ingledue — BEHIND DOMESTIC LINES

How I loathe homework.

My son is now in second grade, and I knew this was coming. He is a kid that needs to move. He has an active mind in an active body. Worksheets are his nemesis.

But after a long day of holding it together at school and doing what seems to me a LOT of worksheets there, by the time he gets home he is just DONE. Done sitting. Done listening. Done focusing. Done doing stuff that he finds tedious and boring.

And so, the homework battle commences.

When other people say “homework refusal” they might mean whining and stalling and complaining. For my “spirited” kid, it means screaming, raging, throwing things, tearing pages. Remember, he’s held it together all day, and after-school release is a real thing. And, well, this is just who he is as a person. His tenacity and passion will serve him well in adulthood, we tell ourselves.

It wrecks the whole evening. Any time we would like to devote to family time, chores, even dinner. It’s all sucked into the homework battles.

And I can’t help but ask myself, is it worth it?

THE CASE AGAINST HOMEWORK

- It takes away from families being able to do enjoyable things together, like taking a walk or playing…