Closing The Book On Homework: Enhancing Public Education

In this, the sequel to his critically acclaimed and controversial The End of Homework , John Buell extends his case against homework. Arguing that homework robs children and parents of unstructured time for play and intellectual and emotional development, Closing the Book on Homework offers a case for why homework is an outgrowth of broader cultural anxieties about the sanctity of work itself. After the publication of his previous book, many professional educators portrayed reducing homework as a dangerous idea, while at the same time parents and teachers increasingly raised doubts as to its continued usefulness in education. According to Buell, the importance of play is culturally underappreciated. Not only grade schoolers, but high-school students and adult workers deserve time for the kind of leisure that fosters creativity and sustains a life-long interest in learning. Homework is assigned for many reasons, many having little to do with learning, including an accepted, if unchallenged, belief that it fosters good work habits for children’s futures. As Buell argues, homework does more to obstruct the growth of children’s minds, and consumes the time of parents and children who may otherwise develop relationships that foster true growth and learning.