How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning. As a researcher, writer, and editor for the U.S. Department of Education since 1986, Paulu has written many books on education reform. A Guide for Teachers. Paulu has a clear view of the teacher's perspective on homework. Students have more activities and options that compete for their time, such as jobs, sports, and television.
Many parents have less time and less energy to monitor assignments.
Some teachers report that there's less of a stigma today for students who fail to complete assignments. Those difficulties include troubled or unstable home lives, lack of positive adult role models, and a high rate of mobility found among families who move their children from school to school. Fortunately, Paulu suggests, teachers can take positive steps to lessen the impact of these influences from outside the school. The first step is to create good assignments that are well matched to the students. She says that this is the best way to increase the likelihood that the assignments will be completed successfully.