According to a just released study, the amount of homework that children are bringing home from school is a major cause of stress; as the father of two school-age kids, I can’t say I’m too surprised.
When I compare the amount of homework my two girls get with what I remember from my primary school years (1968 – 1975 if anyone is curious) it’s amazing just how much they are expected to complete. Rather than acting as an enrichment or reinforcement of what has been taught, it seems more an act of desperation by a system trying to cram in an unrealistic curriculum.
In addition to the amount of homework, I am also concerned by the nature in which it is assigned; I get the sense that much of the material is not covered in class, but just assigned as homework; parents are drafted as de facto home-schoolers, and I can only imagine how hard it must be for parents whose native tongue is not English or French, and are themselves still working hard to learn English; despite the best efforts of these parents, can their children be said to be getting the same level of education as the children of English speaking parents?
When I get cynical, I wonder if the agenda is really to get this generation of children acclimated to the concept of chronic overtime as a fact of life. They see their parents working longer and longer hours, in a society where working 9 to 5, with everyone sharing a family supper becoming an archaic concept, so it is only natural that the same demands are made on them.
And finally, where is the time for self-directed learning? For exploration, imagination, and dare I say it, play? These are the activities that promote imagination, self-confidence and independent thinking. Although there are some in society who would see these as archaic concepts as well, and would prefer that schools manufacture predictable and obedient automatons who will score well on standardized tests, and go on to become docile workers, passive consumers and non-independent citizens.
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