How much is too much?
(From American Teacher, March 1999, "The homework gap")

If you want to generate a lively discussion, ask a group of parents what they think about homework for first or second graders. Many of them will say they think it's inappropriate, unnecessary and--in an opinion that has some basis in research--doesn't even help their kids do better in school. Yet, a certain number--and particularly Asian-American parents--will likely believe the opposite.

To break things down along ethnic lines is obviously an over-simplification, but recent research by an AFT member points out some striking differences between Asian-American and European-American (i.e., white) parents when it comes to homework. AFT member Carol Huntsinger, a professor of psychology and education at the College of Lake County in Illinois, has followed groups of Chinese-American and white students, starting in 1993 when they were about 5½ years old and continuing through third and fourth grade in her latest analysis. (Both groups consisted of similar two-parent, middle-class families.) Rather than focusing on traditional school-assigned homework, her longitudinal study looked at the formal and informal work that parents give their own kids.

Her findings challenge the common view among early-childhood educators that formal teaching of young children is "developmentally inappropriate" and that they learn better through play, exploration and other less formal means. The practices of the Chinese-American parents--such as having their kindergartners complete problems in a math workbook and practice writing their letters for 20 minutes a day--would be labeled inappropriate by some. White parents tend to favor informal practices such as having their child help them measure ingredients while cooking or tell them a story by explaining the illustrations in a picture book.

"These [Chinese-American] kids don't look upon this as drudgery," Huntsinger says. "It's part of their day and they enjoy it."

On a variety of academic measures, assessed three times over the course of six years, the Chinese-American students impressively outperformed their white counterparts in math.  And, in a result that surprised Huntsinger, the Asian students even did better in English and vocabulary by third grade after lagging behind earlier (not surprising, because Chinese is the main language spoken in many of their homes).

Huntsinger is quick to add that the Chinese-American students showed no signs of undue stress and were no less creative than their non-Asian peers, two common stereotypes often directed at hardworking Asian students. Even among teachers, she says, she finds a mistaken belief that Asian parents are taskmasters who are too hard on their kids. "I think we need to understand what they're doing rather than immediately labeling it as pushing their child too much," Huntsinger argues.

When it comes to school practices, Huntsinger believes her research points to the value of some old-fashioned drill-and-practice homework. What she often sees instead are teachers who spend a lot of time trying to devise "creative" homework for elementary school students; the assignments take time to complete but don't really help the kids advance academically.

Another finding that concerns Huntsinger is the fact that physical education is the only subject in which teachers report that the white students are more skilled than their Asian classmates. For both groups of students, she found that greater participation in sports was linked to lower likelihood of reading during their free time. Chinese-American students, by contrast, tended to spend large amounts of time, starting at the earliest age, in music lessons and music practice at home.