The reason that homework has been an issue may not have anything to do with education, but with power. Who controls a student’s time; is it the child, the parent, or the school? This power struggle is further hampered by No Child Left Behind in its test driven fury. Some schools find there isn’t enough time in the day to cover the required materials so they pile on homework in the hopes that some will stick and add another point to the final tally.

There has been a wide variety of studies about homework; ERIC alone has 3660 listed. But they may ignore a basic value of homework as the meeting point between school and home. Active parents can provide help, and keep track of their child’s progress. They can quickly inform a teacher of concerns and seek remediation. Homework is where the teacher, student, and parent come together. However, this does require a respect for the system. A parent who sees education as a means to an end promotes homework completion as part of this inculcation of values. The parent who does not care or sees such assignments as infringements on their rights is another matter. These parents may feel that playing sports, taking music lessons, or even school time vacations are better uses of their child’s time, and who can argue with that belief.

So what is a teacher to do? First, give as many homework assignments as you wish, but make them important to the topic. There are four main reasons teachers assign homework such as practicing, adding depth and variations, instilling time management and responsibility values, and finishing work not completed in class. All of these could be done if a teacher were given enough time in the school day and if the class sizes were not overwhelming. On the other hand, there would be no important meeting of the school and home. This latter concept cannot be emphasized enough.

Parents have a complicated task when homework is involved. They have to make sure there is a place for it to be done, free from distractions and yet not so private that supervision is not convenient, especially if the Internet is involved. Next, the parent needs to insure consistency. Placing a calendar on the refrigerator and having a student write down the homework assignments when they are given makes it easy to check. As well, an appointment calendar is important for them to carry. Finally, and perhaps the most difficult, parents must not be afraid to seek help if they don’t understand the homework. This usually happens with math. There are an abundance of homework help sites and all major textbooks have help sites as well.

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