Less homework will free students and teachers to efficient learning, says US educator Matt Miller
SCHOOLS should ditch homework and focus on teaching more efficiently in class — that is the shock advice from a visiting education consultant. What do you think — VOTE NOW
SCHOOLS should ditch homework and focus on teaching more efficiently in class — that is the shock advice from a visiting education consultant.
US educator Matt Miller said he was “horrified” by the mountains of homework dished out to students, which could do more harm than good by burning students out.
He said it was often ineffective because students copied each other — or had under-pressure parents complete it.
“I can’t think of very many jobs where I would put in a full eight-hour day, come home and then be expected to do four and five more hours of work,” Mr Miller said.
“In a lot of jobs that’s going to lead to burnout, that’s going to lead to unhealthy lifestyles ... but that’s what we’re asking our kids to do.”
Mr Miller said teachers spent too much time giving out and correcting homework.
Doing away with the after-hours study and using technology to mark assignments now corrected by hand would free up time for teachers to spend with students, he said.
“We put so much time and effort into assigning this stuff and collecting it and recording it and communicating it and fighting about it,” he said.
“That time could be used so much more effectively if we basically just did away with it.”
Education guru John Hattie, from the University of Melbourne, said homework should not be eradicated but rather targeted — and should never include parental involvement.
“The thing with homework is that in primary school the benefit is zero but in high school the benefit goes up considerably,” he said.
“Most high school homework is a chance to practise what they’ve learnt that day and they can do it by themselves, which is good.”
National figures show that children aged 7 and 8 spend an average of 954 hours in the classroom — and that excludes time spent on homework.
In the past 15 years or so, setting homework for primary school and high students has become a wider practice — but whether young children should have to do homework is widely debated among parents.
The SA Government supports homework, saying it reinforces learning and developing skills.
On its website, it says that “practical exercises help students remember newly acquired skills such as memorising mathematical tables, practising spelling words, writing essays and reading for pleasure”.