Homework has always been considered a positive activity for children; it helps them learn, it teaches them self-discipline, and it shows them how to focus.
But, can there be too much of a good thing?
Bunmi Laditan, a mom living in Quebec, Canada, thinks so. On April 25th, 2017, the 33-year-old author took to Facebook to protest the amount of homework her daughter had been receiving.
Bunmi shared an e-mail that she had sent to her daughter’s school. Alongside it, she included a paragraphing describing how her 10-year-old daughter will not be doing any more homework for the remainder of the school year.
She writes, in part, “My 10-year-old loves learning. She independently reads 10-12 chapter books a year and regularly researches topics that interest her… But over the past four years I’ve noticed her getting more and more stressed when it comes to school. And by stress I mean chest pains, waking up early, and dreading school in general.”
The mother goes on to question the necessity of homework, noting that 2 to 3 hours of homework in addition to an 8-hour school day leaves very little time for unwinding, bonding with family, or simply being a kid.
She also uses Finland’s education system to support her point, writing:
“Did you know that in Finland homework is banned? And that they have the highest rate of college bound students in all of Europe?”
Since being posted to Facebook in April, Bunmi’s status has garnered over 21k shares and 8.2k comments. It can be read it in its entirety below.
Most of the comments in response to the post seem to agree with Bunmi’s perspective. Even teachers agree that there should be a limit.
In the comment section, Bunmi is clear that she is in no way blaming her daughter’s teachers, but more so the entire system, in general.
Research does seem to suggest that excessive homework can have negative effects on children. In an article by Penn State University, Gerald LeTendre, head of the university’s Education Policy Studies Department, states:
“Very simply too much of anything can be harmful […] It’s best to have no homework for kindergarten through second grade, and then maybe 10 minutes per day, increasing by 10 minutes as you go up each grade, so that you’re up to an hour or hour and a half of homework by middle school.”
LeTendre goes on to explain that young children and early adolescents do not have the self-monitoring skills that are necessary to truly benefit from homework or self-study. But, this does change as the child reaches high school:
“As you move into high school, individuals are increasingly self-aware and can better self-monitor.”
Since writing the Facebook post, Bunmi revealed to PEOPLE that she has yet to receive much of a response from her daughter’s school.
However, since the e-mail, she says her daughter has experienced “instant relief” and now spends most of her free time playing outside and spending time with her family.
What do you think about Bunmi’s decision?
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source: Bunmi Laditan via Facebook
