The Homework Myth

I just started reading The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn. While I've had this book on my "to read" list for a long time, I've just never really gotten around to it. To be honest, I've always just had an impression in my mind of what the book was going to say. "Homework is bad because kids practice skills incorrectly." While the premise of the book is that homework, as administered by schools, does not work like it should. But the book isn't saying all homework is bad.

One point that Alfie made that I'm totally guilty of is what homework means. It would be understandable if teachers sent home assignments that were deemed important enough to commit family time to complete. But that's not what happens. In most classrooms (including mine), homework is an abstract concept. Teachers decide ahead of time that children will do something every night. Later on we'll figure out just what it is we will make them do. Many schools even go as far as to set a number of minutes of schoolwork at home. What's incredibly strange is that parents don't only accept it, they even expect it.

There was a quote taken from the American Educational Research Association way back in 1968 that particularly caused me to stop and reflect. "Whenever homework crowds out social experience, outdoor recreation, and creative activities, and whenever it usurps time that should be devoted to sleep, it is not meeting the basic needs of children and adolescents." I so agree with this statement. Alfie goes on to share an official stance on homework at Golden Independent School in Golden, Colorado. The administration believes that 6 and 1/2 hours a day in school is enough. Kids and families need the rest of the days/evenings/weekends/holidays for living- playing, having friends and pets, shopping, solving problems, cooking, eating, doing chores, traveling, playing on sports teams, communicating, finding out about world news, playing musical instruments, reading for pleasure, watching movies, collecting things, etc., etc., etc. The question is, what do we believe childhood should be about?

While I am fully engaged and inspired by this text, I have many questions that I'm hoping will be addressed.
1.  As an adult, I often have tasks that need to be completed by deadlines every day that I don't particularly enjoy. Colleges expect students to study for significant amounts of time. High Schools require assignments. If I weren't to assign any kind of homework, wouldn't I be withholding a very important skill?

2.  Schools have become a customer service industry. Parents have the choice to send their children wherever they want. If my school doesn't assign homework and a neighboring school publicizes the homework as "college preparatory," we could have declining enrollment, which in change could cost me my job. Is there a strong case for ending homework other than it doesn't do that much for kids?