Yet another article about the negatives of homework. I’ve posted about homework so many times in the past, but can’t pass up another one.

A few things in this article popped out — the mom saying she has backed off being the homework dictator, for one. I’ve done that this year, and it’s been a godsend for both my daughter and myself. The funny thing is, very little of the day-to-day homework gets done anymore, yet somehow she is doing just as well, and even better, than before.

The destruction of family relationships due to homework is significant in our house. Homework is very, very difficult for my daughter. A full day of school exhausts her. She has no room left for homework. This has been the case her entire life. Hindsight is 20/20, but I wish I would have said no homework until she was in 5th grade or so. There were FAR too many evenings arguing over stupid worksheets. I am so grateful to my daughter for broadening my mind to see beyond my world view that academics and school are everything. Just because it was for my, and school was very easy for me does not mean it is always the case.

My daughter did a major shift in type of class this trimester, away from the AP classes to more creative classes. In the little homework she’s done, it’s been with great interest and attention. Guess what – it’s all been creative, problem-solving types of work, not paper based assignments. Art projects and visual demonstrations of learning have been approached with enthusiasm.

The homework question is one we are seriously considering when looking for a school for our son, who is entering 9th grade in the fall. The high schools we like also have a reputation for considerable homework. At one interview, we made it clear that we do not want hours of homework per night. Maybe they won’t admit him because of this, but I just can’t see four years of him spending 3-4 hours a night on homework. That would leave him no time for music, for relaxing, for exercise.