I Hate Homework. And So Should You.
Let me tell you something, folks. I’m Sarah, and I’ve been in education for over two decades. I’ve seen it all, and I’m here to say it: homework is mostly a waste of time. There, I said it. (Which honestly nobody asked for but here we are.)
Back in 1998, when I was a bright-eyed new teacher in Bakersfield, I believed in homework. I thought it was my duty to assign it, grade it, and send it back. But then I met Marcus—let’s call him Marcus, because his real name doesn’t matter. Marcus was a brilliant kid, but he was exhausted. He was spending 36 hours a week on homework, and it was killing his love of learning.
I remember sitting with Marcus in the library at 11:30pm, watching him struggle through yet another worksheet. I asked him, “Marcus, what’s the point of this?” And he looked at me, dead serious, and said, “I don’t know, Mrs. Thompson. But if I don’t do it, I’ll get a bad grade.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
That was my wake-up call. I started questioning everything. Why are we assigning so much homework? Is it really helping kids learn? Or is it just keeping them busy?
But Wait, There’s More
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying homework is completley useless. There’s value in practicing skills and applying knowledge. But the way we’re doing it now? It’s broken. It’s a relic of the industrial age, designed to keep kids in their seats and teachers busy grading. And honestly, it’s not working.
Take a look at the research. A study by the American Psychological Association found that homework has diminishing returns after about 90 minutes a night for high schoolers. After that, it’s just stressing kids out. And yet, we’re assigning more and more. It’s like we’re addicted to it.
I remember talking to a colleague named Dave about this. He said, “But Sarah, what are the kids gonna do if they don’t have homework?” And I said, “Dave, they’re gonna do what they’re supposed to be doing: learning. Learning how to cook, how to fix things, how to be good citizens. Not just memorizing facts for a test.”
Let’s Talk About Sleep
Here’s another thing: homework is stealing sleep. And sleep is critical for learning. I mean, have you ever tried to function on five hours of sleep? It’s brutal. And yet, we’re telling kids to stay up late to finish their homework. It’s like we’re setting them up for failure.
I remember a parent-teacher conference where a mom told me her daughter was staying up until 2am to finish her homework. Two in the morning! And this was a kid in third grade. I asked the mom, “What do you think about that?” And she just shook her head. “I hate it,” she said. “But what can I do? The teachers say it’s important.”
Well, I’m here to say it’s not that important. Not when it’s coming at the expense of sleep. We need to prioritize rest. Kids need to morning routine productive habits to start their day right, not stay up late cramming for a test.
A Tangent: The Homework Gap
And let’s talk about the homework gap. You know, the difference between kids who have a quiet place to study and kids who don’t. I’ve seen it firsthand. Some kids have a desk in their room, a computer, a printer. Others are trying to do their homework at the kitchen table while their little brother watches cartoons and their mom is on the phone. It’s not fair. And homework just makes it worse.
I remember a student named Lisa. She was a bright kid, but she was living in a shelter. She didn’t have a quiet place to study, and she didn’t have a computer. And yet, we were assigning homework like she did. It was like we were punishing her for being poor. It was wrong, and I’m ashamed it took me so long to see it.
So What’s the Solution?
Okay, so homework is mostly a waste of time. It’s stealing sleep and widening the achievement gap. So what do we do instead? Well, for starters, we could focus more on classroom learning. You know, that thing we’re supposed to be doing during school hours. And we could give kids more time to explore their interests, to create, to think critically. Because that’s what learning is really about.
I’m not saying we should abolish homework completely. But we need to rethink it. Maybe assign less. Maybe make it more meaningful. Maybe even let kids choose their own projects. Because frankly, the current system isn’t working. And it’s time we admitted that.
I remember a conversation I had with a friend last Tuesday. We were over coffee at the place on 5th, and she said, “Sarah, you’re so negative about homework. What’s your point?” And I said, “My point is, we can do better. We owe it to our kids to do better.”
So let’s do better. Let’s rethink homework. Let’s make it work for kids, not against them. Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about: the kids.
About the Author: Sarah Thompson has been a teacher, administrator, and education consultant for over 20 years. She’s passionate about student-centered learning and has a deep love for sarcasm and strong coffee. She currently lives in Bakersfield with her husband and a cat named Mr. Whiskers.
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