Opinion

Chris Donnelly: Michael D Higgins is wrong about wanting to scrap homework - it's crucial to closing the underachievement gap

Chris Donnelly

Chris Donnelly

Chris is a political commentator with a keen eye for sport. He is principal of a Belfast primary school.

Children are most likely to realise their academic potential when parents - and other adults - are actively and consistently involved in their academic life
Children are most likely to realise their academic potential when parents - and other adults - are actively and consistently involved in their academic life Children are most likely to realise their academic potential when parents - and other adults - are actively and consistently involved in their academic life

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins made the news last week following his calls for homework to become a thing of the past.

Speaking to an audience including school children, Ireland's most popular politician stated that "the time in school is an educational experience and it should get finished at the school and people should be able to use their time for other creative things".

One online poll conducted soon after Higgins's call found almost unanimous support amongst participants in support of the president's plea for homework to be scrapped.

This is hardly surprising.

After a day spent at work and a commute home, parents can be forgiven for not wanting to have to process maths word problems or check answers to a poetry comprehension while preparing dinner and tackling other nightly duties.

Like most Irish people, I'm very proud to call Michael D Higgins my president. In an age defined by the vacuity and mediocrity of political leaders on the international stage, Higgins's record, conduct and intellect has meant that he continues to tower above many as a man of substance and character.

The fact that Michael D served as Ireland's first arts minister underlines his passion and commitment to artistic endeavours. As a poet, writer and avid football fan, it is perhaps not surprising that Higgins would believe more time needs to be found in children's lives to explore the creative side to their identity.

Time lost on homework could be time spent finding and revelling in new found endeavours, so the argument goes.

Alas, I am going to have to respectfully disagree with the Uachtarán on this one, and for a number of reasons.

Children's education is not limited to what happens between the hours spent inside the walls of a school building.

The homework experience provides a consistent and appropriate opportunity for parents to be present in the educational development of their children. By wilfuly removing it, we run the risk of allowing parents - even unwittingly - to abdicate responsibility for their own kids' educational formation.

We can't collectively nod our heads in agreement to the wisdom of the proverb that 'It takes a village to raise a child' and then suggest that, when it comes to the three Rs, they're strictly a classroom-only affair.

Homework provides parents and other adults in a child's life with the guidance and age-appropriate material to actively support their children's learning.

What is caught as well as what is taught contributes to children's formation and development. This is not limited to conversations and observations to do with sports, the arts or other areas of life at home, the playground or streets. The content of a child's homework can often trigger discussions about experiences in the lives of their parents, grandparents and others.

Forgive me for bringing this conversation out of the clouds, but it is much more likely that less homework time in the early evenings will mean more time lost to TikTok, playing Goat Simulator 3 or the latest version of FIFA for many kids than resulting in children enrolling en masse to new drama, dance or chess clubs.

It is a fact that children today are already more likely to be actively involved in swimming, dancing, drama or sport clubs than was ever the case before and yet homework continues to be a part of their lives, balanced alongside these creative endeavours.

Almost a decade ago, I was involved in developing a father and son reading programme aiming to encourage male role models in children's lives to set aside time each night to read with their sons to make it into a familiar and shared experience.

As I was working in an inner city north Belfast school, Cliftonville Football Club was asked and eagerly got on board with the project with the intention of promoting the idea that a nightly reading homework routine should be viewed as a valued, shared experience as much as dads and lads attending football games.

The truth is that children are most likely to realise their academic potential when parents - and other adults - are actively and consistently involved in their academic life. Homework is crucial to closing the underachievement gap as many parents require the direct guidance and accountability that comes with it to ensure their children keep pace with others.

Helping a child develop the resilience to sit and learn spelling words, memorise times tables and to complete other learning tasks at home is an important life skill that will stand by them as they progress along their school journey and into adulthood. Removing homework may reduce stress levels at home, but it will come at a price.