Looking at kids today, I can't help thinking that one of the greatest advantages prep school gave me was our requirement to have our lights out by 10:00. Sounds pretty basic and terribly old fashioned. We had chapel, classes, sports, rehearsal time, dinner, study hall from 7:30 to 9:30 then lights out.
We had very full and active social lives. Kids got into good colleges, got a great education, completed homework..all that kind of stuff. The fact is that we got enough sleep and quality homework that was expected to average 2 hours a night. I am a reader so I was never faced with the problem of not having read the book before a test or a paper. I think we all were. Obviously, there were no parents around to nag and cajole. We had support from teachers when we needed extra help.
There are a few things that might be helpful today as this is a world wide debate. How much homework? As much as can be done in a reasonable time. We do want our kids to be well rounded, happy, healthy, don't we? The quality of the homework should be interesting, adding to the classroom stuff, not just repeat it. But the big gift which we never recognized was that we got enough sleep. To this day I find that I am sharper, brighter, much more beautiful, and happier when I get a good night's sleep. Why, I ask you would it be any different for a child of 5, 10, or 18?
When I Googled this subject, there were over 8,000,000 entries. It must be an important question. I am a very simple and practical thinker. My thought is that we all know what is healthy. Kids need food, sleep, warmth, some dependability and regularity and interesting challenges. No one learns to deal with stress as an adult by being stressed out as a kid. It doesn't make sense. Nor do the 50 pound backpacks. Give me a break. Give the kids a break. Only do what works well for everyone. I am pretty happy that I have all the answers to all of life's problems. Yes, I am.
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