How Much Homework is Too Much and How Does Your Family Cope?

Castro Valley parents have recently been flocking to sold-out performances of the documentary film  which looks at the sobering downside of the academic pressures that can overwhelm our children.

And there's nothing like a few hours of homework a night to make that pressure cooker erupt.

So we asked our Castro Valley Moms Council to take on this stressful topic and share their tips for keeping life sane when the work gets to be too much.

1. Does your family sometimes get overwhelmed by the amount of homework? How do you cope with it, especially if your child is having trouble in a subject?

Dana Leipold: Sigh. Homework is a touchy issue in our family because my husband and I sometimes have differing opinions on the topics. He believes whatever homework is assigned should be done, no matter how much or how complicated it is.

If homework takes three hours to do, then that is what it takes. While I don't totally disagree, I do think homework has gotten out of control over the past decade.

Studies continually show that loads of homework does not contribute to a child's grasp of the concepts or overall knowledge of a subject. Yet more and more homework keeps getting piled on children. 

My daughter is in second grade and is very bright and eager to learn. She is a good student and wants to succeed. That being said, she is beginning to become overwhelmed by the amount of math homework she has to do every night and is starting to not like the subject because of it. This makes me concerned that she will associate all the work with the subject and just shut down. 

Sophie Taylor:  At the moment, none of my kids are in grade school. When my oldest son graduated from high school I was so relieved: No more homework! At least until college, that is. The truth is, I couldn't make my kid do homework to save his life. He has ADHD, and once the meds wore off in the afternoon, he couldn't focus on anything. 

Danielle Keil: Yes, we do get overwhelmed. As they get older, they do a lot more on their own. My older children are in advanced sixth and eighth grade math. It's very hard when they need help because it's been a long time since I've done that math. Mostly my husband will help.

We did have a tutor come one time, and it did help my daughter a lot. My younger son whizzes through his homework once he can focus and sit down to do it. That is the hard part. 

2. How do you view the overall value of homework?

Dana Leipold: I think there IS value to homework in simply teaching children to take responsibility for following directions, completing the task and turning it in. I strongly believe that the school district should NOT rely on homework to do the teaching...meaning, expecting kids to learn and understand concepts through doing hours of worksheets each night. This is not learning!

Sophie Taylor: There is value in homework. However, children would be better served if it was individualized for their needs, especially children with learning disabilities. 504 plans (education plans for children with disabilities) only work if the teachers actually read them and make them "living documents."

For example, my child did better with assignments that had a beginning and end such as math problems. Endless text book and memorization assignments never worked. He didn't have the organizational skills to manage his time, chunk it up into smaller pieces to study each night, and in the end, he just gave up.

The problem with homework may not be the homework itself, but the expectation of parental involvement. I, for one, work all day and would like to get the household in order in the evening as well as spend some quality time with my kid. Bugging him about homework is not my idea of a good evening. In addition, more than one hour of your time is too much!

Danielle Keil: I think the value is high. It helps the kids understand more. Even if they listen in class and understand, going home and doing homework helps them understand even more. It is like studying, which they might not do since they can't turn it in for credit. 

3. How well do you think CV schools have handled this issue? Are teachers consistent in their expectations when it comes to homework? Is the homework quality work compared to busywork?

Dana Leipold: I think it depends on the school and the teacher. The school my children are at seems to have a very sensible approach to it and don't get obsessed.

My daughter's teacher is keenly focused on students learning during class time and views homework as a supplement, not an absolute determinate of how well they are learning. I feel very fortunate that my children are in the school they are in because of this. I cannot speak for the other schools.

I notice that the focus of homework seems to be quantity rather than quality. The objective is to "just get it done" rather than stop and take the time to absorb the concept before racing onto the next one. It completely drains the excitement and passion out of learning. 

Sophie Taylor: Depends on the teacher. The teachers who engaged were awesome. My son did very well when that happened. They helped ensure that he got his homework done by letting him come in early or stay after class.

Others were a real disaster. One teacher e-mailed me a progress update and stated that my son did not "appear to be paying attention." Really? What does "A" and "D" in ADHD stand for? I'm not sure homework was either "busy work" or "quality work." My feeling generally was that teachers were "teaching to the test," i.e. the STAR test. Once that was completed, homework was out the window. Play time the rest of the semester. Woo-hoo! 

Danielle Keil: Sometimes my girls get way too much homework and are up late doing it. I know there are other cities where there is a maximum amount of time (for homework given) for each subject. This would be nice. 

4. Any parenting tricks to make homework less painful that you'd like to pass on?

Dana Leipold: Short periods of time. Take breaks. LOTS of positive reinforcement.

Don't get obsessed with getting it done, rather focus on making sure your child "gets" the subject or concepts within the homework. I believe that will benefit your child in the long run rather than saying he/she finished all his/her homework but he/she really doesn't understand what it is about. 

Sophie Taylor: I'd love to hear them, I'm sure my little one will benefit in the future!

I would like to have seen teachers publish their assignments for the whole semester like they do in college. That would have helped me plan and be more involved in homework.

I know some teachers post assignments, but that's not as helpful when your kid claims to have forgotten the assignment at school the day before it is due and you had no way to remind him in the morning to bring it home.  

In addition, posting on disparate websites with various passwords was counterproductive. I believe schools are getting better about using their school websites, but I'm not sure how evolved they are in Castro Valley at this point. 

Danielle Keil: Starting early helps. The kids definitely get more tired at night. I find a homework helper (babysitter, etc.) does a lot better than I do with my son. Mostly because they are giving him full attention, and I am working at the same time.

I believe the best thing we did for our son was to do his kindergarten year twice. We knew how hard homework can be and did not want him to get frustrated and in turn not enjoy school.

He was 5 in September, so we had him do one year of kindergarten at another school. Then at 6 years old, he started at our local elementary.