Homework

"From the first grade on, parents' attitudes should convey that homework is strictly the responsibility of the child and the teacher. Parents should not nag children about homework. They should not supervise or check the homework, except at the invitation of the children. (This policy may be contrary to the teacher’s wishes.) When parents take over the responsibility for homework, children let them, and parents are never again free from the bondage. Homework may become a weapon in the child’s hands to punish, blackmail, and exploit the parents. Much misery could be avoided, and much joy added to home life, if parents would show less interest in the minute details of the child’s assignments and instead convey in no uncertain terms, Homework is your responsibility. Homework is for you what work is for us.

"There are many fine schools that assign no homework to young children. The students seem to gain just as much wisdom as those who struggle with assignments at the age of six and seven. The main value of homework is that it gives children the experience of working on their own."

—Haim Ginott

Jesse McCarthy