概要信息：



Should Parents Help Their Children 
With Homework?
As parents fret to give their children the tools to 
be successful in the future, are they doing more 
harm than good? Is parental involvement out of 
control?
INTRODUCTION:
Sociologists at the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University have found that 
parental involvement, including homework help, can have a negative effect on a 
child’s academic achievement.
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sociologist
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(109):
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Help Children Form Good Study Habits
Erika A. Patall is an assistant professor of educational psychology in the College of 
Education at the University of Texas at Austin.
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 
When it comes to helping with homework, education and psychology 
research suggests that it all depends on how parents become involved.
What is essential is that parents focus on supporting students’ motivation. 
Parent help can backfire when it involves providing instruction on homework 
content. In contrast, parents will support their kids’ school success when they 
communicate clear expectations and help students develop a homework 
routine. Students who have a clearly defined routine around homework — a 
set time, a set place and a set way to complete homework — are more likely 
to believe they can overcome challenges while doing homework, take more 
responsibility for learning, and 
ultimately do better in school. 
Homework is an especially good 
opportunity for parents to help 
young kids develop self-regulatory 
skills, by modeling study strategies 
and helping students set goals and 
make plans for completing 
homework.
Parents should also give kids autonomy. When kids struggle with homework, 
parents sometimes have an instinct to take control by using commands, 
incentives, threats, surveillance, or just doing the work themselves. These 
tactics may work in the short term, but won’t benefit kids in the long run. A 
better strategy is to explain why even the most boring homework could help 
students accomplish personal goals (aside from just getting a good grade). 
Providing choices related to homework and emphasizing that students should 
work in their own way is also important. When kids feel like homework has 
value and doing it is their own choice, it will seem more interesting and lead 
to greater achievement. Finally, whatever parents say or do related to 
homework, it is critical to communicate that mistakes are a welcomed part of 
the learning process and effort is at the heart of kids’ success.

When kids feel like homework has 
value and doing it is their own 
choice, it will seem more 
interesting and lead to greater 
achievement.
The Homework Parent Trap
Alfie Kohn is the author of 13 books, including "The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids 
Get Too Much of a Bad Thing."
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 
When parents aren't being faulted for insufficient involvement in their children's education 
– which often means failing to enforce the school's agenda at home -- they're being 
criticized for getting too involved. In particular, a subset of parents stands accused of 
providing their children with excessive homework help.
The most vociferous accusers seem to be animated not by any empirical finding that such 
help is actually counterproductive, but by a conservative narrative that consists of growling 
about how kids get everything too easily these days (A's, praise, trophies), that an 
epidemic of helicopter parenting shields them from “useful” failure, that we ought to 
promote self-sufficiency and self-discipline instead of self-esteem.
I've responded to this position at length in a recent book, challenging its false descriptive 
claims and dissecting the ideology that underlies them. In general, I think “back off and let 
'em fend for themselves” is poor advice. 
What's needed isn't less parenting but 
better parenting.
But that's not an argument for helping 
with homework. It's an argument for 
asking why homework is being assigned 
in the first place – particularly to kids 
below high-school age.
Remarkably, no research has ever found 
any benefit to any sort of homework in 
elementary school. It hasn't been found 
to correlate with superficial measures like standardized test scores, let alone promote 
meaningful intellectual growth. And as far as I can tell, no study has ever supported the 
folk wisdom that homework contributes to independence, responsibility or good work 
habits.
The main effects of making children work what amounts to a second shift when they get 
home from a full day in school are: frustration, exhaustion, family conflict (whether or not 
the parent decides to help), less time for pleasurable activities, and diminished interest in 
learning.
Asking whether, or how much, parents should help with homework distracts us from the 
question that matters: How can parents organize – and join enlightened teachers – to 
challenge the question's premise? What happens during family time should be for families 
to decide. Besides, six hours of academics is enough; we want our children to develop not 
only academically but artistically, socially, emotionally and physically. And we want them to 
have a chance to just be kids.
I think “back off and let 'em fend 
for themselves” is poor advice. 
What's needed isn't less parenting 
but better parenting. But that's not 
an argument in favor of 
homework.
Not All Students Have Access to Homework Help
H. Richard Milner IV is the Helen Faison professor of urban education at the 
University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of "Start Where You Are, but Don’t Stay 
There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps and Teaching in Today’s 
Classrooms," and the forthcoming "Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and 
Race in Schools and Classrooms."
UPDATED NOVEMBER 13, 2014, 11:19 AM 
When teachers assign homework, we must ask ourselves just whose work is being 
developed and evaluated. For instance, a mother who is a chemist probably has the ability 
to help her child with chemistry homework in ways that most people cannot. And even if 
that parent is unable to help with homework because she is too busy, she may have the 
ability to hire a nanny or tutor. In both scenarios the student is at an advantage because of 
opportunities that many children do not have. These advantages are a direct result of 
affordances – frankly, privileges – that are far beyond the control of the students 
themselves. The assigning of, expectations for, and assessment of homework, then, are 
equity issues that are not trivial by any means.
In my forthcoming book, "Rac(e)ing to 
Class," I discuss how a reasonable 
number of middle and high school 
students living below the poverty line 
work part-time jobs (babysitting, mowing 
lawns, working at fast food restaurants) 
to support their families. Many of these 
students are motivated to learn and 
aspire to earn good grades. A large 
number of them plan to attend either a 
two- or four-year institution of higher 
education. However, they struggle to complete homework assignments after school and on 
weekends, when they usually work long hours.
We should be looking at the ways homework further perpetuates inequity. Although I agree 
that homework could potentially enhance in-class learning, questions about the uneven 
distribution of resources to assist students should be at the very heart of our philosophies 
and practices in deciding on assignments. These decisions should be made with our 
heads and our hearts.
Teachers and administrators should be mindful that not all students have access to people 
and resources to help them reach their full learning capacity after school. Every child 
matters in our educational system. It is time for us – all of us – to act like it.
Questions about the uneven 
distribution of resources should be 
at the very heart of our 
philosophies and practices in 
deciding on homework 
assignments.
Autonomy Works Best for the Classroom
Jessica Lahey is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, columnist at Motherlode, and 
author of the upcoming book "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let 
Go So Their Children Can Succeed."
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 
Research has shown that the children of autonomy-supportive parents – 
parents who give their kids independence and control over their work – are 
subsequently better able to complete tasks on their own when that parent is 
not present. Conversely, the children of “directive” or “controlling” parents, 
who intervene and manage every detail of their child’s performance, tend give 
up when faced with challenge and frustration. Once these kids are in school, 
the children of autonomy-supportive parents are at a distinct advantage, 
because challenge and frustration during learning, so-called desirable 
difficulties, are among the best ways to turn fleeting, short-term realizations 
and memories into long-term, durable learning.
Parents should help students with 
their homework by being mindful 
of the purpose of high-quality 
assignments: to achieve mastery 
of academic material, strengthen 
organizational skills, and reinforce 
work habits.
Unfortunately, the sort of “help” 
many parents offer children at homework time undermines these goals. I’m 
not talking about the counterproductive help teachers rail against: those 
parent-provided answers on math homework and suspiciously adult edits on 
English essays. I’m talking about the habitual micromanaging, directing, and 
controlling of the when, where, and how of children’s school work.
Parents help when they give their children the time and space they need to 
work through frustration and challenge on their own. And ultimately, when 
those children have given it their best shot and need a parent to step in with 
additional help, it can come in the form of redirection and loving 
encouragement rather than solutions and easy answers.
The children of controlling 
parents, who intervene and 
manage every detail of their 
child’s performance, tend to give 
up when faced with challenge and 
frustration.
Support Your Kids By Letting Learning Happen
Martha Brockenbrough is a former high school teacher and the author of books for 
young readers. Her next novel, coming in 2015, is "The Game of Love and Death.”
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 
My daughters are 10 and 14. Once upon a time, I did everything for them. 
Then they learned and took over. This is a core principle of parenthood for 
me: If my kids can do it themselves, I don’t do it for them.
My daughters sometimes wear questionable outfits and pack questionable 
lunches. Likewise, they’ve handed in homework that’s less than perfect. And 
this might look like incompetence, but when I see it, I see learning in 
progress.
The principle seems to work equally well for all kinds of kids. One of my girls 
has learning disabilities and is in a private school that specializes in such 
things. The other is working two years ahead academically in a public school. 
Both have learned they prefer 
better grades and fewer 
corrections on their homework, so 
both do it carefully and on time.
In part because I have plenty of 
my own work, I decided early on 
that I wasn’t going to be a poster 
polisher.
My job is to ensure the girls have 
supplies, fuel, routines and the principles that support the work. This means 
snacks, sharp pencils, no distractions, and clear expectations about 
completing work and handing it in. I occasionally answer simple questions 
about the process that keep my kids moving along (a must with homework).
Otherwise, the good, the bad, the ugly of homework is between my girls and 
their teachers. Anything else gets in the way of the teacher’s ability to see 
where my kids are academically, and where their class is over all. It also 
cultivates incompetence — and insecurity for both of us.

My daughters have handed in 
homework that’s less than perfect. 
And this might look like 
incompetence, but when I see it, I 
see learning in progress.
Don’t Bother, Homework Is Pointless
Sara Bennett is co-author of "The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is 
Hurting Children and What Parents Can Do About It."
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 
Almost all research shows that elementary school homework is pointless. If 
families understood that, they would be thrilled to lose that nightly routine 
where the adults cajole and bribe, and the kids cry and throw tantrums.
I would love to see a one-week experiment where all parents agree not to say 
a word to their elementary school children about homework: not ask whether 
they have it, not lay out the supplies, not set aside the time, not read the 
instructions. I bet that most kids would not think about their homework at all. 
And, at the end of that week, educators would have to acknowledge that 
homework actually sets up a pattern of dependence that continues 
throughout the school years, rather than instilling responsibility and self-
discipline as they claim.
What if parents stopped asking 
about or helping with homework 
through middle, high school, and 
even college years, too? Teachers 
would finally see the true quality of 
students’ work. And parents would 
stop having crazy conversations 
like the one I once had with a 
middle school English teacher 
when I remarked on the 
differences between essays written at home and in school. The teacher 
believed that, at home, students had time to focus on grammar, sentence 
structure, vocabulary and ideas, and that explained why their essays were so 
much more developed than their in-class work. I tried to tell him that he was 
actually seeing the work of parents or tutors, but he refused to see the 
obvious.
Educators should realize that 
homework sets up a pattern of 
dependence that continues 
throughout the school years, 
rather than instilling responsibility 
and self-discipline as they claim.