Editorial
Time to end kids' homework blues
Just like wide ties and miniskirts, philosophies of education drift in and out of style every 10 years or so. It seems every time a different political party takes the reins at Queen's Park - or a new generation of school administrators ascends to power - our schools shift gears and embrace new, "better" concepts of education. We're sure it drives teachers up the wall, as politicians and administrators adjust and tinker. Many baby-boomers might fondly remember the almost laissez-faire Ontario education system of the 1960s, when open concept classrooms were the cutting edge and learning might have been more by osmosis than by studious endeavours. That didn't work so well, but we're certain it created some fine hippies. Skip ahead to the 1990s and Ontario's version of back to basics, with no time for frills such as elementary school shop and home economics classes or outdoor education centres, which might explain why it's so tough to find a young plumber or carpenter in this province. Instead, there was academics and homework - lots of it, as a way to keep our kids pace with high-achieving students in places such as Japan. Even kindergarten pupils were not exempt. Now Toronto's public school board, realizing Ontario kids spend more time on homework than any other students in Canada, is looking at rules to reduce homework and thereby lessen stress on students. The homework workload is also getting attention locally, with London school trustee Peter Jaffe noting it takes "enormous effort" for parents to keep on top of their kids' assignments. Particularly irksome - and unfair - are long and involved homework assignments that teachers expect to be completed during school holidays. With 11-year-old Grade 6 pupils expected to do an onerous 60 minutes of homework nightly, we suspect a lot of family time is sacrificed or parents simply cut to the chase and do much of the homework on behalf of their children to get it out of the way. It's time for educators to get real about homework loads - and understand the busy lives families lead in after-school hours. As Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's education minister said, kids need free time and "opportunities to play, imagine and be bored." POSTED BY: Wayne Newton, london POSTED ON: April 3, 2008 EDITORS NOTE: As published in The London Free Press on Apr. 3, 2008.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment