The Death of the Intelligent Student

I can't think of a kid that doesn't hate homework. We joke about it all the time, but it's a big issue. The productivity of homework is very debatable, and as any student knows, so much of the work we get is just hammering dull, simple topics into our brain. Some of our youngest and brightest minds are loaded down with hours upon hours of homework every night, and the repercussions are widespread. Not only is it a waste of time and boring, it makes students value, as this Atlantic article aptly puts it, "Memorization, not rationalization." The article describes a middle aged man who, after seeing his 13 year old daughter up til 1 A.M. some nights completing math worksheets, decides to do her homework for a week. The results are disheartening to say the least. Karl Greenfield (the author of the article) averages about 3-4 hours of homework per night (and that's with his daughter's help and instruction) and is often falling asleep in the middle of assignments. Perhaps most amazing is when Greenfield, an author and reader by trade, is required to read a book for his daughter's English class and can't even finish half of the assigned reading in one night. 

Homework dehumanizes children. It's a bold claim, but a true one. As more and more work is piled on, less and less rational thought is put into it, but instead more memorization and repetition, a task many animals can perform. It's visible in the article, and at New Trier. Many a time I've had assignments that kept me up til 12 or 1 in the morning (giving me little sleep for the next laborious day) that required me use very little of my intellect. This so-called "busy work" is slowly killing the diligent student, and replacing them with a homework machine. If we don't cut down on homework, our students will lose all interest in strengthening their knowledge base and preparing themselves for their lives.