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Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

economist.com

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Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#21

It's important to add here that homework has never been shown to improve grades or educational outcomes generally, and it's a very well-studied topic.

Interesting also that Finland has a good reputation for its education, and its WAY down the bottom of that list, which seems to agree with your statement.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#22
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linking to a single study is useless unless the topic is something very specific and the linked study happens to be a match (for the specifics being discussed). That said, OPs comment is overly broad and devoid of specifics, so okay, you refuted his "never".

Isn't it OP's job to present proof for his claim? He just made a sweeping statement with no proof backing it up.

> Isn't it OP's job to present proof for his claim?

No, it’s not his job. I’m guessing programming is probably his job.

He’s not a researcher and this is not a peer reviewed journal. This is a place where amateurs of conversation come to discuss things that are of interest, but most of us know nothing about, in our spare time. It started out differently but that’s basically what it has evolved into.

Providing citations is nice, it helps, it’s useful and constructive. But it’s not a job, it’s not a duty. You are a capable person with a working, sceptic brain who can do your own research if you so please. Anyone is free to make baseless claims, just downvote them or kindly ask for more info if you don’t like it.

But I’m tired of this “provide 3 different citations from peer reviewed journals to get a passing grade” attitude. It’s getting so bad I’m seeing it in daily life now, and it’s killing all sense of colloquial conversation. You do some work if you don’t like what people are saying. Everyone will thank you for it.

Or just ignore them. Or downvote them. Or be amicable, at least. But nobody has to do anything. I disagree.

Sorry, I guess :/ pet peeve.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#23

It's important to add here that homework has never been shown to improve grades or educational outcomes generally, and it's a very well-studied topic.

Again the issue is how we learn. Short sessions show some effects but homeworks are very tedious and put a lot of pressure on everyone.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#24
The reason for this is pretty simple: you get free public education in these poor countries, but only if you pass the entrance examinations.

For a lot of families this is the only way for their kids to get out of poverty. Moreover because of the way the school system is structured, your kid could easily fall behind at age 7 and never recover. The reason for this is because of stratified classes, where they group kids into classes, by their performance on yearly examinations.

So there is simply much more incentive for families in poor countries to put more effort into homework, which BTW, is nothing like the homework that American kids get.

It is nonsensical to try to compare what parents in India and parents in Finland are doing.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#25
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it OP's job to present proof for his claim? He just made a sweeping statement with no proof backing it up.

> Isn't it OP's job to present proof for his claim? No, it’s not his job. I’m guessing programming is probably his job. He’s not a researcher and this is not a peer reviewed journal. This is a place where amateurs of conversation come to discuss things that are of interest, but most of us know nothing about, in our spare time. It started out differently but that’s basically what it has evolved into. Providing citatio…

I didn't even downvote and I don't have a bone to pick in this fight.

But the discussion went:

* original poster (HN1) made a general claim

* someone (HN2) answered with a sourced counter-argument for a specific case

* another commenter (HN3) said something like "good on you, but your source doesn't prove much cause it doesn't disprove all the other cases"

Conceptually, for me at least, I'd rank their statements, from good to bad: HN2 > HN1 >>>>> H3.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#26
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it OP's job to present proof for his claim? He just made a sweeping statement with no proof backing it up.

> Isn't it OP's job to present proof for his claim? No, it’s not his job. I’m guessing programming is probably his job. He’s not a researcher and this is not a peer reviewed journal. This is a place where amateurs of conversation come to discuss things that are of interest, but most of us know nothing about, in our spare time. It started out differently but that’s basically what it has evolved into. Providing citatio…

This is so spot on, and I guess sometimes people forget that internet forums are to be taken with a grain of salt and you should do your own research.

The one thing I dislike the most is the IANAL - "Don't take this as legal advice" disclaimer that I see abused. I mean, really, who is naive enough to take random legal advice from strangers?

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#27
post #9

It's important to add here that homework has never been shown to improve grades or educational outcomes generally, and it's a very well-studied topic.

Really? Never? I find that hard to believe. Writing, to take one example, requires practice. The amount of practice you can get in a single academic year maxes out at 180 hours without homework and you would have no time to actually teach. I can imagine that 5 hours a week of writing homework in English rapidly exceeds the amount of time you could ever spend in class.

If children aren't receiving sufficient formalised practice in 30 hours of school per week then the curriculum is too crowded.

Imagine a manager saying "you need to brush up on your C++. But we're too busy to arrange training. An hour a day after work should help instead"

Children need time to develop in ways other than rote education. Homework steals that time from them. I am quite happy to write "did not have time to complete due to Scouts / swimming / x " on assignment sheets.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

please don't think about it in terms of "the virtues of unfortunate". Everyone wants "kids to get a solid education and get good jobs and lead a happier, fulfilling life". please, rather, try to think about it in terms of what best-explains the difference. this data seems highly inversely correlated with productivity, in countries with lower productivity, people spend more time with their child. Time available seems…

> Everyone wants "kids to get a solid education..." No, this is not universal. There are parents who had a bad experience of education and think that is universal, and those who fear that their children will move away if they become educated. It's one of the challenges of teaching in particular areas.

Do you mean "a bad experience of education" or do you mean "a bad experience of school"?

If its the former could you expand on that, like they learnt to read and it messed their life up?

I understand the selfish desire to keep children near, no need to go in to that.

Re: Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

#30
post #12

It's important to add here that homework has never been shown to improve grades or educational outcomes generally, and it's a very well-studied topic.

It has absolutely helped me to drill in my multiplication tables and learn to write at least somewhat legible letters. If there is one thing I regret about my college years it is not doing math assignments.

I found it completely impossible (and I did try) to pass university level maths courses without carefully doing every tutorial.
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