Mike Walker, Col USMC (ret)
All,
Let us clear up this anti-homework stupidity.
First, homework is synonymous with practice. And no one can become a professional without practice.
Fully mastering educational standards without homework is impossible for all but a fraction of gifted students -- and you can bet they are smart enough to practice on their own.
Which gets to the second point: Involved parents will ignore the stupidity of not doing homework.
They will continue to help their kids outside school to ensure they get a quality education against the headwinds of the increasingly dysfunctional public school system.
And that leads us to the last point: When you teach new concepts mastery is NOT just narrowly learning the topic at hand.
Equally important is preparing the student to be educated for life.
That means two other goals must be pursued: Developing the student's ability to (a) master new concepts more quickly in successive grades and (b) memorizing information. That is where homework reaps its greatest life-long rewards.
Failure in the last two areas in essence shuts the door to professionalism and given our poor public school system, that means the most at-risk children will reap the whirlwind.
It will be a national disaster for as the old adage goes: The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions.
