Do Our Kids Have Too Much Homework? (Yes)
b'Some experts say we\\u2019re drowning today\\u2019s kids under nightly tsunamis of homework. Others disagree\\u2014 but one thing\\u2019s for sure: our kids have more homework than we did at their age. And more stress. And more \\u201cprojects,\\u201d a word sure to strike terror in any mother\\u2019s heart.\\n\\xa0\\n\\xa0In this episode, we take on homework, and discuss\\n\\xa0\\n\\xa0* whether kindergarteners should have it in the first place\\n\\xa0* how to avoid the nightly wailing and gnashing of teeth by setting your household\\u2019s \\u201creasonable limits\\u201d\\n\\xa0* whether we\\u2019re supposed to help our middle-schoolers with their assignments\\n\\xa0* whether we are smarter than third graders (spoiler alert: sometimes)\\n\\xa0\\n\\xa0Here\\u2019s links to some of the research discussed in this episode:\\n\\xa0\\n\\xa0The National PTA recommends ten minutes of homework per grade: in other words, ten minutes a night for a first grader, an hour for a sixth grader. We heartily agree.\\n\\n\\nKarl Taro Greenfeld, writing for The Atlantic on what happened when he tried to do his middle-school-aged daughter\\u2019s homework for a week.\\n\\n\\nThe University of Michigan\\u2019s study finding that the average time spent weekly on homework increased from two hours and 38 minutes in 1981 to three hours and 58 minutes in 2004.\\n\\n\\nThe Brookings Institute study on homework in America, arguing that the homework load has not actually gotten larger at all\\u2014 except for nine-year-olds.\\n\\n\\nand finally, the Texas teacher hailed across the nation after announcing she would be assigning exactly zero homework to her young students this year.\\n\\xa0\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'