Parents like homework because they believe it reinforces learning at home, reveals what children are learning in school and establishes good routines. Those against assigning homework say it reinforces a sedentary lifestyle, leads to frustration, exhaustion and stress for children, gives them little time to do other constructive things, can lessen children's genuine interest in learning, burdens teachers to design and grade homework and is pointless, since there is no evidence it leads to improved performance later in school.
In advocating literacy, we have mostly discussed the importance of reading aloud with children. But there's a second part we haven't addressed as deeply: writing. Writing is powerful. Consider this: history happens, but the one who writes it down becomes the arbiter of its future understanding. The writer shapes public opinion, provides context, persuades and inspires. We would know virtually nothing of the past were it not for writers. Time changes everything, but in books, it will always look as the writer wishes.
