Sam Smathers 4th period

"My Daughters Homework is Killing Me"

Article By Karl Taro Greenfeld from The Atlantic
Commentary by Sam Smathers  

            This is an article about a father who is alarmed by the sheer amount of homework his thirteen year old has, and in turn decides to do all of her homework for a week. The dad does not do his daughters homework for her; he simply does the same assignments. The dad is also the author. He talks about how all the homework is “busy work” and about how, his daughter lives by the concept of “Memorization not rationalization” when it comes to topics covered by the school. He says five to seven hours of homework is normal for his daughter. The author bans together with other parents to discuss how their kids are losing out on the social part of their schooling because all they do during the weekend is homework. The kids lose their chance to develop hobbies and figure out who they are. The most effective schooling systems, such as the Norwegian, give only thirty minutes of homework a night and their kid’s test scores blow ours out of the water. Is more homework really a good thing?

            Middle school and high school are key points in any person’s life. We all undergo some major struggles in these years of our lives. These endeavors help us to better figure out who we are and develop our ardent desires. The act of being absolutely bored out of your mind is a key factor in development. How are kids that never have any spare time supposed to figure out how to entertain themselves? Making up games and ways to fill time makes your brain work out of its normal perimeters, thus creating a more developed person. Kids aren’t happy doing homework all the time, they need a natural outlet to get rid of stress and be a person. If there is not any time for this, friendships will never be fully created leaving the kid to never fall in love or feel anything close to strong connection with anyone other than a family member all through the duration of their first schooling years. This heavy amount of homework also prevents kids from being able to exercise, as well as being able to catch up with what is going on around them. This form of homework is abusive and stunts kids growth as humans. Who really cares if their SAT scores are all perfect if they can’t hold a conversation or have no hobbies? The world needs more passionate involved people, not people that can mindlessly memorize facts.