The Homework Hoax: Why Primary Schools Should Put Down the Pencil

 

Let’s get straight to it: homework, that sacred cow of the school system, might just be the most overrated educational tool ever invented. For decades, we’ve asked children, some barely out of nappies, to drag their weary little bodies home after six hours of school, only to sit down and… do more school. But is this actually doing anything helpful? Or have we simply confused busywork with brilliance?

Spoiler alert: it’s the latter.

Where’s the Evidence?

The great irony of homework is that it’s often defended in the name of “academic rigour,” yet the actual evidence supporting it is flimsier than a Grade 1 glue stick. Alfie Kohn, one of education’s most notorious myth-busters, points out that there’s virtually no evidence that homework improves academic outcomes in primary school. And he’s not alone. Harris Cooper, who has churned out more meta-analyses on the subject than most of us have had hot dinners, found that homework has little to no impact on younger learners’ achievement.

So why, in 2025, are we still clutching our clipboards and insisting that eight-year-olds need to copy spelling words ten times in a row to become successful adults?

The Great “Rigour” Delusion

There’s this belief, deeply rooted and rarely questioned, that homework builds discipline. That it “prepares kids for high school.” That it separates the winners from the slackers. Nonsense. It’s not discipline, it’s drudgery. And no, forcing a seven-year-old to complete five pages of maths at 7pm isn’t going to “toughen them up.” It’s just going to make them hate maths - and probably you, while they’re at it.

This obsession with keeping children “on task” all the time reveals more about adult anxiety than it does about what children actually need. We’re terrified of gaps, of silence, of unstructured time, so we fill it. Usually with worksheets.

Homework’s Hidden Price Tag

Even if homework did help academically (which it doesn’t), the emotional cost would still be worth debating. The American Psychological Association has found what any frazzled parent could tell you after supper time: homework causes stress. It can make kids anxious, tired, irritable, and in some cases, flat-out miserable.

Worse still, it turns learning into a chore. Homework becomes a nightly battleground, with kids begging for a break and parents playing the reluctant prison wardens. And what does that teach them? That learning is something unpleasant you do under duress. Hardly the message we want to send.

Let Kids Be Kids

Primary school should be about curiosity, exploration, and joy. Instead, we’re treating it like corporate training. Children need time to play, to build LEGO cities, to climb trees and fall off bicycles. This isn’t wasted time, it’s how they learn about risk, resilience, creativity, and relationships.

We know that reading for pleasure, imaginative play, and quality time with family are far better predictors of success and well-being than worksheets ever will be. So why do we still treat after-school hours like an extension of the classroom?

The Inequality Equation

Let’s not pretend all homes are equal. In some families, homework is tackled by a parent with the time and education to offer gentle guidance. In others, it’s a lonely, frustrating exercise done at the kitchen table while mom works a night shift or dad struggles with English as a second language. This isn’t levelling the playing field, it’s widening the gap.

When we assign homework, we’re unintentionally measuring parental support as much as student effort. And that’s hardly fair.

A Better Way Forward

Instead of homework, imagine this: an afternoon spent reading a silly book, baking muffins with gran, building a spaceship out of cardboard, or playing outside until the sun goes down. These aren’t just “nice-to-haves”, they’re the building blocks of confident, creative, emotionally healthy children.

Yes, learning matters. But so does joy. So does freedom. So does the opportunity to be a child, not a junior executive.

Final Word: Let It Go

Homework in primary school is a relic from an era when children were seen, not heard - and preferably seen doing long division at the kitchen table. But we know better now. Or at least, we should.

It’s time we stopped clinging to this outdated ritual and asked ourselves: what do we want for our children? To tick boxes? Or to light up when they talk about what they’ve learned?

The answer is obvious. So go on, be brave. Say it with me: no more homework!