Homework sucks

Remember when we were kids, and after school, we had time to do our homework and play sports and still had time after that to play with our friends and just be a kid? Kids today aren’t so lucky.

The last three years, mommies in my ‘hood have been complaining about their young kids being overwhelmed with hours of homework every night. Why is that? Fortunately, Evan’s school does not overwhelm him with too much homework, but I know his school is an exception.

I talked to some teachers from other schools, and they explained to me that kids today are expected to learn at a faster pace and understand more difficult subjects at a younger age. And if a kid can’t keep up, class doesn’t slow down for them. Instead, the teachers will suggest that the parents pay for a private tutor to make sure their kid picks up what the teachers don’t have the time to teach. These kids are being treated like mini-adults, being prepped early for a lifetime of running on a hamster wheel faster and faster just to keep up.

Is this what’s best for our kids? Is this what we really want for our kids? Personally, I don’t think it’s right or fair to the teachers, parents or kids. While homework is obviously really important, I think it’s also important for kids’ development to have some unstructured time to socialize, play and explore. But what can be done about it?

One thing I’ve learned along the way is that when you want to effect change, one of your best allies is science. Fortunately, science gives me some backup ammo here — research shows how important imaginary play is during childhood, because it leads to other academic skills and also helps teach social and problem-solving skills that are useful later on in life. Because of this, developmental psychologists often say that play is the “work” of childhood.

I think this is something we have to remind people. Kids are in school for a good part of the day, and then when they get home, because of all of their homework, they no longer have time to play! It seems like more and more children are being diagnosed with anxiety at a young age, and maybe being overscheduled with homework and other stuff is contributing to this.

Maybe if our young kids had a little less homework and a little more time to flex their imagination and creative muscles with their friends, it would help them grow into more well-rounded adults who work well with others. As long as they don’t just spend all of their downtime playing video games — but that’s a topic for another day.