Homework Should Build Something
Homework has an unusual ability to change the emotional temperature of a house. A perfectly reasonable evening can shift from dinner to tension in about three minutes when someone remembers there is still a math page in the backpack, spelling that hasn’t been touched, and a child needs a ruler that apparently disappeared sometime during the previous administration. Parents get frustrated, kids get discouraged, siblings get pulled into the chaos, and suddenly the family spends the end of the day fighting about school. That is why I appreciated something Dr. Kathy said in our recent Celebrate Kids Podcast conversation: homework is not automatically good simply because it is homework. If it will take time away from family, play, rest, church, chores, and relationships, it should be doing something worthwhile.
The research discussed in the episode suggested that well designed homework can support academic progress, particularly for older students, while the effects appear smaller for younger children. But the key phrase is well designed. Dr. Kathy quickly pointed out that much of the homework families encounter does not meet that standard. Repetitive work that does not deepen understanding can create boredom and frustration without producing much meaningful learning, while thoughtful assignments can reinforce a skill, extend learning, or help students practice something they are ready to use independently.
Practice Matters, but Bad Practice Matters Too
Repetition has a place in learning. We develop competence by using skills again and again until some parts of them become more automatic. Math facts, reading fluency, vocabulary, writing, and many other abilities improve with practice. But practice helps only when the child practices the right thing. A student who goes home confused about a math process and completes twenty problems incorrectly has not simply failed to learn; he may have spent an evening becoming more efficient at doing the wrong thing.
Dr. Kathy shared an example from her own years teaching second grade, when a student completed every math problem incorrectly at home. In the classroom, she could have noticed the misunderstanding, stopped the process, and helped him correct it. At home, the worksheet simply became repetition without guidance. That is one question parents should ask when looking at homework: Is my child reinforcing learning, or rehearsing confusion?
Homework Should Not Destroy the Evening
Homework also exists inside a larger family ecosystem. Children may have siblings, chores, sports, jobs, church activities, grandparents, meals, conversations, exercise, play, and a need for genuine rest. Those things aren't distractions from development; they are part of it. If an assignment regularly takes a child two or three hours after a full school day, parents should not assume the only faithful response is to demand that the child keep grinding.
Teachers may not know how long the work is actually taking. Dr. Kathy encouraged parents to give respectful, concrete feedback: “This assignment took Josiah two hours,” or, “We noticed she understood the first section, but became completely confused after that.” That kind of communication doesn't undermine the teacher. It gives educators information they may need to judge whether an assignment is working as intended.
Homeschool Families Have a Different Advantage
For homeschool families, Dr. Kathy made an important distinction. The idea of “homework” often does not make as much sense because the school day is already happening at home. If the day's math or science assignment needs to be finished, the schedule can often simply extend until the work is complete, with natural consequences if a child wasted time earlier. That flexibility is one of homeschooling's strengths.
But even then, not every part of learning needs to remain formal. Reading can continue after the structured school day without feeling like another worksheet. A family can read independently, read aloud, read to siblings, or simply create a culture where books remain part of everyday life. The same can be true of writing when it becomes something meaningful rather than another school exercise.
Real Writing Is Better Than Artificial Writing
Dr. Kathy offered an example I loved. Instead of telling kids to write five boring sentences using spelling words, ask them to write a persuasive paragraph convincing someone that living in a cold climate is a good idea while using five of those words. The spelling practice is still there, but now the child has a reason to communicate. There is an idea to shape, a reader to persuade, and a little creativity involved.
That matters because children need to understand that writing exists for something beyond school. We learn to spell so we can communicate. We learn sentences so we can tell stories, write thank you notes, explain ideas, persuade people, and put thoughts into a form someone else can understand. When an assignment reflects the skill's real purpose, motivation often changes.
Struggle Does Not Automatically Mean the Work Is Bad
At the same time, parents should be careful not to conclude that any assignment producing frustration is poorly designed. Learning often requires effort. Building a new skill can feel difficult, just as building physical strength requires resistance. A child may need to keep going when the work is challenging rather than immediately stopping because it feels unpleasant.
The question is what kind of struggle is happening. Productive struggle says, “This is hard, but I am gradually figuring it out.” Unproductive struggle says, “I do not understand what I am supposed to be doing, and every additional problem is increasing my confusion.” Wise adults learn to tell the difference.
Toughing It Out Is Not Always the Answer
There are moments when “Keep going, you can do this” is exactly what a child needs. Perseverance matters, and kids should not learn that every frustrating assignment deserves an escape route. But if a child has worked faithfully, does not understand the material, and is becoming increasingly overwhelmed, continuing for another hour may not teach perseverance. It may teach helplessness.
Parents should feel free to pause and communicate with the teacher. “She worked for forty five minutes and reached this point, but she does not understand the process.” That protects both responsibility and relationship. The child sees that effort is expected, but also that adults care about whether the work is actually helping.
School Should Produce More Than Completion
This raises a larger question: what should parents expect from school? Dr. Kathy said we should expect our children to develop a love of learning, not simply become efficient at completing assignments. They should be able to ask questions without feeling ashamed, face appropriate challenges, meet teachers who care whether they understand, and spend their time learning things that feel relevant and purposeful. Memorization has a place, but memorization is not the same as understanding.
Parents can ask whether school is helping their child become a curious, confident learner. If every subject feels meaningless, if questions are treated as interruptions, or if constant comparison leaves a child believing they are unintelligent, something important may be going wrong. The point of education is not simply producing more education. It is preparing kids to engage life.
Comparison Is a Poor Motivator
One practice Dr. Kathy criticized in the episode was using another student's performance as a public motivational tool. “Look how well Jimmy did” may be intended to inspire, but comparison can easily create shame or resentment. Children do not need to believe they matter because they outperformed another child. They need to understand their own growth and what progress looks like for them.
That does not mean standards disappear. Kids can still be held accountable for quality, effort, accuracy, and improvement. But the reference point should not constantly be another child. Education is strongest when students can see, “I understand something today that I did not understand yesterday.”
Interest Can Become a Bridge to Learning
Dr. Kathy told a story from a reading program she helped develop while she was a professor. Many of the students, especially boys, did not enjoy reading and were struggling with comprehension and study skills. Instead of beginning with material they already hated, the program used content they cared about: football, including the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Comparison and contrast could be taught through quarterbacks. Teachers could teach cause and effect through the relationship between a quarterback, receiver, offensive line, and defense. Students could practice sequence through the flow of a play. Once students understood the thinking skill in a context they cared about, the teachers could show them how the same skill applied to a biology textbook. That is not lowering expectations. It is building a bridge.
The Smarts Can Help Us Design Better Practice
This is where the 8 Great Smarts become very practical. A word smart child may tolerate traditional reading and writing homework more naturally. A body smart child may need movement woven into study. A picture smart learner may understand the math problem faster with a diagram than through another paragraph of explanation. A logic smart student may need to know why a rule works before being willing to practice it twenty times.
Knowing how a child is smart does not mean they only do work that matches their strengths. School should stretch them. But we can use strengths to access harder skills. Good teaching does not simply say, “Everyone learns this the same way.” It asks, “How can I help this particular child understand what matters?”
Homework Should Help Children Believe They Can Learn
Perhaps one of the greatest risks of poorly designed homework is not boredom. It is identity. A child repeatedly faced with work they do not understand may eventually stop saying, “This assignment is confusing,” and begin saying, “I am stupid.” That is a very different problem.
Parents and teachers should guard against that shift. Difficulty should point children toward strategy, support, practice, and growth, not toward a global judgment about their worth or intelligence. The assignment can be hard. The child should not conclude that difficulty means they are incapable.
The Boy Brought What He Had
John 6 gives us an interesting picture of participation. The disciples see an impossible problem, and a boy has five barley loaves and two fish. From a practical standpoint, his contribution is almost comically small compared with the need before them. But he brings what he has, and Jesus uses it.
I love that as a picture of learning. The boy does not solve the entire problem. He participates. He brings what he has. And Jesus multiplies faithfulness.
Education Should Invite Participation, Not Just Performance
Sometimes kids look at an assignment the way the disciples looked at those loaves and fish: “This does not feel like enough.” They do not know everything yet. Their paragraph is imperfect. The math takes longer than they wish. Their spelling still needs correction. That is okay. Learning is not the performance of already knowing. It is participation in becoming someone who knows more than before.
Parents can reinforce that posture by asking, “What did you learn?” rather than only, “What grade did you get?” We can notice persistence, curiosity, improvement, and the courage to ask for help. We can pray over the work and remind children that faithfulness matters even when the result is not perfect.
Let Homework Serve the Child, Not Consume the Family
The goal is not to become anti homework or pro homework. The better question is whether the assignment serves learning. Does it reinforce something the child understands? Does it create meaningful practice? Does it have a clear purpose? Does the amount fit the child's age and the larger realities of family life?
If yes, then help your child engage it faithfully. If not, communicate. Ask questions. Pay attention. A worksheet should never become more important than the child sitting in front of it.
Engaging Homework Through the 8 Great Smarts
Word Smart: Let them explain answers aloud, read instructions to you, write creatively, or turn practice into meaningful communication instead of repetitive sentences.
Logic Smart: Ask why the process works, connect the skill to cause and effect, use patterns, and make sure the child understands before repeating the procedure.
Picture Smart: Add diagrams, color, visual organizers, maps, sketches, and pictures when the page alone is not helping.
Music Smart: Use rhythm, melody, rhyme, or background music when appropriate to support memory and concentration.
Body Smart: Build movement breaks into homework. Practice facts while tossing a ball, stand at a counter, or let them move between tasks.
Nature Smart: Connect concepts to the real world when possible. Measure something outside, observe patterns in creation, or move reading time outdoors.
People Smart: Let children discuss ideas, work through questions with someone, or teach a concept back to a parent or sibling.
Self Smart: Give them some control over the order of assignments, allow quiet processing time, and ask them to reflect on what helped them learn best.
Remember However your child is smart, remember this: homework should not simply fill time. It should help children practice something true, build competence, and discover that learning is something they can participate in faithfully.