Kralovec also doesn't believe that the PTA and NEA time guidelines are that useful because kids don't work at the same pace. And she doesn't buy into the belief that homework is the best way to teach children responsibility. The authors say homework is especially difficult for children who do not have a quiet, well-lighted place to study and for those who have other responsibilities at home. It costs the public nothing to give kids more homework. Kralovec would like parents to work with the school boards in their communities to design policies to improve quality of family life by limiting homework.
Educators have an important role, too.
So there needs to be a conversation about this. While the homework debate rages on, Margie Rosen has figured out a way to spend more time with her daughter. When Sarah is doing her homework, Margie sits on the floor in Sarah's bedroom and reads a newspaper, magazine or a book. It's a way to be with her. Every 15 years there is a call to abolish homework, he says.