Part One of (what was originally going to be) Four
Homework. It’s evil, I say.
What’s wrong with homework? You say. Doesn’t it teach a strong work ethic? Doesn’t it communicate the importance of learning? Doesn’t it reinforce the learning that happened that day in class? Doesn’t it give the parents a window into the child’s day and therefore strengthen the family bonds?
Let’s take it from the top:
Strong work ethic.
Our children basically have a full time job. Most children are going to school for at least 7 hours a day with shorter and shorter breaks throughout that day. These are children. What would you do if your boss insisted that you do at least 30 minutes (and as children rise in grades, this amount rises to potentially hours) each evening also? Would that encourage a healthy lifestyle? A healthy relationship with your work? Your boss?
Children need to play. All humans need to play but someone else can tackle why adults need it. I’m going to focus on our children. Their brains and bodies need play. It’s how they develop proprioception and risk tolerance, and discover who they are in the world. And we have robbed them of nearly all unstructured play. And we wonder why they seem to lack the imagination of generations past. If they’re going to be locked up in classrooms all day, shouldn’t they at least get their evenings and weekends to develop some self-awareness through play?!
And we’re teaching them that it’s not only normal to take your work home, it’s imperative. There’s no time in the day that’s your own. You must be directed every waking moment. And forget any notion of harmony in your life. Your life revolves around your work whether you like it or not. Again, by ensuring there’s no time of their own, we rob them of the precious few moments they might have to discover themselves through self-chosen and self-directed activities. Is this really the work ethic we want to teach?!
What does this “strong work ethic” teach our children about the world they live in? Is it a world where they’re encouraged to find joy? To experience gratitude for the beauty and bounty of this planet they inhabit? Does it teach them that their desires have any weight? Or does it teach them to suppress their own longings in favor of mandated and fleeting “learning” prescribed by the all-knowing “educators”? And that life is dismal and revolves around our work?
Many anxious and depressed adults are suffering from this “strong work ethic.” I’ve been searching recently for a counselor, and nearly every marketing description for the plethora of counselors out there (most with full caseloads and waitlists) is targeting people who need help to create “work/life balance”.
We’ve got skyrocketing suicide rates among teens who are feeling the pressure of this “strong work ethic.” These are children! When my daughter was in the 8th grade (she homeschools now,) I had a conversation with the school counselor. I asked her how many of the middle and high school students at this highly-rated charter school would identify as anxious and depressed. She told me if they were to do a poll of the students, her prediction would be 90%. Ninety percent of teenagers would say they have anxiety and/or depression?! Does this seem right? Does it seem okay? What the hell?!
If you Google “work ethic” you get:
work eth·ic
/wərk ˈeTHik/
noun: work ethic
the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward.
Is it intrinsically virtuous? Anxiety and depression don’t sound like rewards to me.
I can’t solely blame homework for our anxious and depressed population, but homework is just one aspect of school that is contributing to this dismal state we find ourselves in. Maybe it’s time to reconsider this “strong work ethic” we’re teaching our children.
More on the evils of homework in part two…