Comments on: Researchers ‘Discover’ Kids Don’t Like Homework

By: Asanath

Asanath — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:16:52 +0000

Cynthia, did you even read both articles? The title of this one is absolutely relevant to the “study”. The study as published is so full of holes and presumptuous bias that it boggles the mind. For example when it came to the paragraph describing the fact that the study did not result in supporting the incitement to violence in children by playing video games the authors cited what they believed to be several possibilities for that, none of which included the possibility that the study simply did not find what wasn’t there. Take a look and see if I am mistaken about this. Video games are the new comic books, much to the consternation of comic publishers. Frederick Wertham, author of “Seduction of the Innocent” trod this ground to death in the 50′s and what he concluded incorrectly then is still being concluded incorrectly today. E.C. Comics was one publisher that was literally decimated by this quack’s findings. Each generation of children has something that adults really hate and deem bad that turns out to be less than damaging at all. Video games are simply the latest in that trend of scapegoating an external cause for low test scores.

By: Cynthia Armistead

Cynthia Armistead — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:26:06 +0000

How long did it take you to come up with that title? It has little to do with the actual topic of the research study, does it?

Did you try contacting the researchers? They might welcome your questions.

Many families do have the “no ______ before your homework is done” rule in place, and they find ways to make it happen. Our family is fortunate in that I’ve largely been able to stay at home with our children, which has made it easier for us to monitor what was going on. Busy day care centers aren’t the best places for doing homework, from what I’ve observed the few times I’ve been in them.

What I’ve noticed in other families is that when “latchkey” children who are either at home alone or supervised by older children after school are involved, all bets are off regarding what really happens after school. If the worst of it is video games instead of homework, some parents feel that they’ve gotten pretty lucky. They already feel guilty for leaving the kids alone in the first place, but they also feel that they have no other practical choices. They’re just hoping to avoid legal problems or actual harm to their children or property.

I tend to believe that there are choices they haven’t found, but I haven’t been in their exact situations so I can’t presume to speak for them.

By: Callista

Callista — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:14:45 +0000

I know you’re talking about this being a totally uninteresting finding–hey, kids don’t like homework; duh, right?–but really, think about it.

I’m not a mom, but my mom had a baby when I was eleven, and through my teen years I helped raise my little sister. As she got older, I watched her learn. For my little sister, learning was fantastic. I remember she used to laugh in sheer joy when she learned something new, whether that was how to make sounds from a rattle, how to put on her socks, or how to sound out words in her first book.

So… what changed? Why was learning so much fun for my little sister–but such a chore for older kids? And why is it that when I learn something on my own, I get that exact same joy as my little sister had, while when I do (some of the) assignments for college, all I feel when I finish them is relief?

The difference seems to be that when I learn something that makes me happy like that, or when my little sister learned something, we were the ones who wanted to do it. We got interested; we motivated ourselves. We weren’t graded or evaluated. The point wasn’t to earn an “A”, it was to figure out an interesting puzzle, or build a collection of facts.

Last summer I had an internship where I found I didn’t know enough biochemistry; so I dug through some textbooks, signed on to Medline, and learned what I needed to know. I wasn’t worrying about grades or tests, just in collecting the information I wanted; and it was practically effortless, and it made me happy. Granted, I’ve always been a bit of an autodidact; but I wonder whether that is just because I haven’t lost whatever motivation it was that rewarded me for learning when I was a toddler.

Grades, timetables, and professors who expect that I want to be lazy and do the exact minimum… fellow students who have been basically taught that it doesn’t matter if you learn anything so long as you get an “A”… How am I supposed to keep my love of learning in these circumstances? Sometimes I think that despite my good grades (3.8 GPA), I can’t wait to get out of college so that I can really start learning again.

They say graduate school is better; that you get to do more on your own; that profs start caring more about your gaining skills. Maybe that’ll be better.

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:45:02 +0000

Like you, I’m very surprised that the study was published. Most definitly the results are inconclusive. Video games, like many other things, can be serious distractions for children, by they are not always bad. Good bi-directional parenting is key. Great comments by all: video games can be used as a great tool for behavorial modification through positive/negative reinforcement. Bonnie, you made a very good point. Though I am not a parent, I was raised with video games. Why reserach something that most modern parents are aware of? I’ll add one thing: it’s very crucial to raise our children on good time management skills. I know men in their thirties who call in sick at work because they stayed up all night playing video games. It’s all about making our world a more productive and engaging environment.

By: Ginkgo100

Ginkgo100 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:31:20 +0000

My kindergartener got his first-ever video game system for Christmas, and the result has been increased cooperation with household chores and his (very light) homework load. Why? Exactly what you mentioned: He can’t play Wii until he does these things. Now this ADHD kid who thought picking up toys was the most miserable, exhausting activity in the world cleans the living room without being prompted. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this week’s homework (write one sentence), after the first-time implementation of the rule “no Wii until your week’s homework is done,” was also the easiest so far in terms of attitude and cooperation.

Even when all his obligations are met, he is limited on video game time, too. I think an hour a day is PLENTY.

By: Bonnie B.

Bonnie B. — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:53:25 +0000

Sometimes I honestly wonder if any of these researchers have children or even younger siblings! Or, for that matter, have they forgotten their own childhood memories of homework?
I was in elementary school in the 1960′s. And there were no video games, computers, or movies on demand. But my friends and I still found plenty of activities that were far more appealing than homework, and were just as likely to lower test scores if we had been allowed to choose those activities over homework.
Maybe we need to research this collective loss of common sense…

By: Kenneth Lynch

Kenneth Lynch — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:31:03 +0000

I agree and my solution actually has been to turn to computers. I find that engaging my daughter with a computer fills both roles very adequately especially since she has learned that she can find the answer to nearly any question she has online this alone has driven her to spend more time reading and learning.

By: Emma

Emma — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:43:35 +0000

Similarly, I’d rather play video games than go to work! My husband would rather play video games or computer games than sleep (just until he gets the high score).
My 7 yr old would rather cook or clean than do homework. It’s on the bottom of his “to-do” list.