AEE 2696: Hate Homework? How to Connect About it in English

This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2696. Hate homework? How to connect about it in English. Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times.

Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American hosts, Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, and Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, coming to you from Arizona and New York City, USA.

Did you have a lot of homework growing up? Do you think schools should get rid of homework? On today's episode, we share our opinions and phrases you can use to connect about this controversial topic.

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Take our free two-minute fluency quiz and discover your English level today. Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E. Hello, Michelle. How are you this fine morning?

I'm doing well, Aubrey. Aubrey, did you have a lot of homework when you were a kid? Not too much. I remember I have this really clear memory that we had this thick book for like spelling and handwriting.

And I was so grateful that the teacher let me work ahead when I was finished with anything else because I didn't want to just be sitting there idle. It would be very boring. So I would pull that out and work ahead and And I remember a lot of students having to take that home and do it as homework.

And I was always so far ahead that I didn't have to. And I thought that was a really smart way. Even as a very young person, I remember thinking that was smart of this teacher to basically give me a chance to do the homework at school if I finish other things early. So but I don't remember taking a lot of homework home.

What about you? Yeah, I think we had a lot of homework. I mean, well, especially in high school. I mean, I remember, you know, having a lot then. Yeah, this was elementary school for sure.

Elementary school, yes, yes. Yes, there was a lot. Yes, in high school for sure. But in elementary school, maybe not too much. I mean, what do you think?

Like, do you think that a lot of homework is necessary? Yeah. No, it's been interesting. My children's elementary school does not give a lot of homework.

They request that students read at least 20 minutes every evening, and they do have options, right? There are quite a few things they can do to supplement if parents want homework, if parents want children doing homework, but none of it is mandatory. So they're sort of hitting both, right? People who don't want their kids to have to do any homework or parents who want it for them, which can be supplemental learning.

But I rarely make my kids do it. I'm like, go out and play. And you've been at school all day long, right? They do the 20 minutes of reading and then I rarely make them do any more.

Yeah, it's interesting. So my son just finished first grade and his teacher, I like what she did. She had like a homework menu. So it was just for the whole week and she would just send it home and it has a variety of different things and also reading is on there.

like reading at least 15 minutes a day and you can check off what you want to do. So, or you can do none of it. But I do think that that would be frowned upon. Like, I do think that there was this feeling of you should try and do as much as you can.

But sometimes my son didn't want to do it. And it was nice to know, okay, well, I don't have to force him. He reads a lot. He does so much and exactly playing outside that, you know, I don't know.

Yeah, you don't want to give them too much guilt if they're sort of burned out after a long day at school, and then they don't have to do it. But yeah, we had a homework menu like that. I think it was like first through third grade, which I really loved. I loved the options.

It's like choose one of these three activities to do, right? And it's also differentiating for different skills. Some of them would be more hands-on or more math-related. Some were more ELA, right?

So I loved that as well, to give kids... sort of freedom of choice that way a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. So today we're talking about an interesting idea.

So the question is, like, what if there was no homework? What if the school said, okay, we're not doing homework anymore? And we got this idea because there was a really interesting article on NPR by someone named Ariel Gilreath,

And this article was from April 28, 2026, and it's called Should Schools Get Rid of Homework? Some educators are saying yes. And again, this is from NPR.org. So yeah, I really wanted to just talk about this today.

So we're going to talk about... a little bit what the article says, but we're really going to talk about our own opinions and give you some ways to talk about homework as well. So you can see if you agree with us and it's going to be really interesting. But first, we wanted to share some results of a poll.

Yes, this we got record numbers of listeners responding to this poll, which was, do you like to hear gossip? And I kind of loved that people wanted their opinion to be heard. I feel like there are strong opinions on both sides. Yes, it was the overwhelming majority at 73% and just no 27%.

But it's interesting. I feel like everyone who came and answered that poll felt really strongly yes or no, right? Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. So interest.

So we got some we have some gossipers here or people who like to hear it. So very interesting, guys. So guys, we are actually going to have another poll for you at the end. And this is one of those special polls where we will announce the results.

So definitely wait until the end to hear that that's on Spotify. And also make sure you hit the follow button so you don't miss any of our episodes. Yes, guys, be sure to hit follow. And man, I just feel like this is such a great connection topic because I talk about this often with other parents, with friends, and no one is very rarely is someone apathetic.

Usually people have pretty strong opinions. So that's often what makes for the most interesting discussions. I want to know what others think and why. Because a lot of people, especially if you have children, but even from your own experience, college, high school,

education when you felt whether homework was helpful or not, everyone has opinions about this. So it makes for a great connection topic. It definitely does. So the article really discusses...

this school in Louisiana that decided to eliminate homework, like no more homework. And this was from lower elementary and all the way up to high school. So, you know, all the grades. And so it talks about what people felt about this.

And it was mostly positive, both parents and students, you know, it was mostly positive. So that was very interesting. And it also talked about the that there's research on homework and it's conflicting.

What do some of the studies say, Aubrey? Yeah, some were showing that homework had little effect. Others felt like kids' academic abilities, especially in math, were greatly enhanced by having homework. So this is interesting too, when research and studies sort of conflict, it's hard to know who to trust.

And And this article also touched on AI, which has made homework less valuable. And of course, kids can use it to answer questions, to help write essays. So sometimes it becomes more about just putting answers on a page rather than doing that mental work.

But I wanted to share my daughter in college has had an interesting experience where some professors are sort of helping students learn to use AI instead of fighting it and punishing them if they use AI to help with assignments. Instead, the assignment is use AI to do this project. And, you know, make the best use of it you can, which I think is really smart, because students are going to be using it. So they may as well teach them how to use it in the workforce, how to use it in their future career.

Yeah, definitely. So what is the best way you can utilize it? I mean, there's so much to learn about AI. So if they're going to use it, they might as well use it well.

Exactly. But let's talk more about our own thoughts on this. So, I mean, what, Aubrey, do you think are some pros to eliminating homework? We've talked some about things like more free time, kids being outside.

What else do you think? Yeah. So what's really interesting is... having less homework can give kids a chance to have more free time, being outside, more family time.

But in our day and age, what's tricky is, is that lack of homework just being replaced by screen time? I think that's what parents are fighting, right? If there's less homework, how can I make sure kids are being kids and having creative chances to play or create? And if they're just like, oh, sweet, no homework, I'm going on screen, it would be better for them to have a

Right? No, that's a good point. Yeah. So those hours that you're not spending on homework should be used well. Like it shouldn't, you know, you should be spending time with your family, you should be outside, you know, all sorts of things like that.

But yeah, I mean, other pros could be that there's less stress and burnout. I mean, I remember a lot of stress over homework, especially in high school. Yeah.

And then also it could create a fairer learning environment. So not, you know, like, okay, here, did you get help with your homework when you were a kid?

Some. Neither of my parents were great with math. So I was a little bit on my own, which I remember being frustrating. I remember taking calculus homework to parents and they're like, sorry, we can't help you.

And at the time there was no internet to Google YouTube videos to help me, which my kids use a lot now. But yeah, I had some help when I needed it. I had a quiet, well-lit space. And students now, when I was teaching in the Bronx, I really saw this, that a lot of students would come to me and they would need maybe extensions because they didn't have the best situation, right?

They didn't maybe have support or they were, as soon as they got home, they were a full-time caretaker for siblings, for example. Or there just was all kinds of issues that could potentially prevent them from from completing homework at the level other students could.

Right. And also, not everyone has access to the internet. So it's getting help, watching those YouTube videos that may not be possible for everybody. And also, the teachers aren't even able to supervise the homework that it's done.

So there could be cheating Maybe someone's getting an answer from someone else using AI like we talked about. So in some ways, it's just kind of what's the point here if those things are going to happen.

But what about cons, Aubrey? What are some of the negatives of just eliminating homework, would you say? I feel like school hours really are crammed with learning, at least here in the States. Teachers really do try to make every moment valuable, different activities often.

So there is a lot of pressure on teachers to do all of this with limited time. And so this makes it really tricky. It also doesn't give kids practice in autonomy, right? If they have no homework...

then they're not needing to learn to organize their time, that discipline to do this work on their own, which is really valuable. If they are constantly supervised, then they aren't learning that.

Right. So in some ways, it's not all just about the actual homework. It's about like building that muscle, that discipline. And so, yeah, that's interesting.

That's an interesting point. And also subjects, some subjects especially require a lot of practice. I mean, math, spelling, vocabulary. So it's it's you need your brain just needs more help than what can be provided during the school day.

Right. I think about like learning math facts, those multiplication tables. I think very few students are able to get all of that at school. Like we all were learning that at home, doing activities to try and memorize all of that.

It would be difficult for teachers to be expected to get all of that done during the school day. Don't you agree? Yeah, definitely. I remember sitting with flashcards in my room with my mom.

And I still remember learning the multiplication tables and things like that. So and the other thing is another con would be that advanced students might feel under challenged, right? It might just they might want need more to do at home. Right.

So sort of like I was saying, it's definitely necessary, I think, for teachers to provide scaffolding, to provide different resources for different kids, extra that doesn't just feel like busy work, but something that really feels valuable and creative for the students who need it or for parents who really feel like it's valuable, but then to have it be a little more optional so that for those who are really harmed by homework and are so stressed out after a school day that it wouldn't be mandatory. Right. Yeah. Yeah.

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All right. Now that we have some background info from this article, let's discuss how you can have conversations, right? Listeners at home, we want you to be able to talk about this with friends and coworkers. It's an interesting conversation.

Yeah, it really is. This is a good connection topic. So you could say something like, how did you feel about growing, about homework growing up? Or you could even say, I think I asked you, Aubrey, I said, did you have a lot of homework growing up?

So, you know, this is a really good opening question. I mean, did you have a lot? That's yes or no question. So, but the other one, how did you feel about it?

That's personal and open-ended, right? And it gives the other person in the conversation the opportunity to have a positive answer or a negative answer. So it could help start this friendly debate, which goes pretty far. And what I love about this is everyone will have something to say, whether they have kids or not.

Because a lot of the conversation I have surrounds the homework of my children, but not everyone has kids. And so this is a great way to spark that conversation with anyone.

Right, exactly. So here are some potential answers. You could say, I hated homework growing up. It was always a source of stress. Or I never had issues with homework.

I got it done quickly. Some people loved homework, right? If they were very studious, they loved to complete an assignment and feel like they were successful. So you'll definitely get a lot of different answers to this question.

Yep, exactly. Oh, well, here's a question, Aubrey. So like, do you, I mean, I think I might know the answer, but like when your kids would come home with homework, did you have them do it right away? And then it's like done and off the list.

Do you have them play first and then do homework? Or do you let them choose? I always give them a break at 30 minutes to an hour. Usually it's closer to an hour.

Ideally, I would love for them to go outside and play. We have a little park between the school and our house. So almost every day they're riding bikes home. They stop at that park, play with the kids at this park.

And by the time they get home... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don't make my son do homework right away. I mean, I don't know. They've had a long school day. They need a break.

Yeah. Also, I mean, I think I remember from growing up that it was just an unwritten rule in my house that I do my homework, but I didn't ever feel like I was being told, you must do your homework at this time. No one was policing it when you started. Yeah.

I don't know. I kind of like that for him. Sometimes I do have to say, okay, you didn't do it. You should do it. Time to get started. Sometimes I have to push him, but I'm not going to push him right when he gets home, but just personally.

Another question, do you think homework is helpful or a waste of time? So that's a good question. That's more specific. And it asks the other person to pick a side.

And then, of course, there's a follow-up. You can always just say, oh, well, why? Why do you think so? Or why do you think it's a waste of time? And this also could be asked for anyone, whether they have kids or not, just sort of in general, they can draw from their own experiences and

from when they were younger. Or you could ask if schools eliminated homework, what would change? This is interesting. This is sort of more hypothetical, theoretical, which could be a really interesting conversation, right?

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So you could say something like, I think students would be happier, or I think test scores and overall abilities would decrease. I think, though, that we should jump into a role play and see how this would sound in conversation. Yeah, you and I are friends having a casual discussion.

I'll start us out. So how did you feel about homework growing up? Ooh, honestly, I hated it. It's stressed me out every evening. What about you? I didn't mind it, actually.

I'd just get it done quickly and then forget about it. Well, do you think students have more or less homework than they used to? I'm not sure, but maybe less?

I agree, but I'm not sure it matters anyway. What do you think? I mean, do you think it's helpful or just a waste of time? Hmm. I'm not sure. I do think it's helpful for extra practice.

Yeah. I'm not sure it makes a big difference. And let's be honest. I mean, if schools eliminated homework, what would change? I think students would definitely be happier, but their skills might drop a bit.

Yeah. So this role play is amazing to show how you could use all of these questions to have a really interesting conversation about this. Yeah, exactly. We asked a lot of really helpful questions here.

So you can go through and listen to that. Again, listen to this role play. Think what would you answer? How would you answer these questions? And now we mentioned also that we were going to do a special Spotify poll.

So here is the poll. It is, in your country, do you think students have more or less homework than they used to? And you can tell us more or less, and we will read the results on a future episode. Yes, I'm really curious for the results there.

Let us know if this is changing. It does seem to be changing in the States. I'm curious what this is like around the world. And then also, if you missed it, check out 2691.

You could just scroll up, Three Tips to Master Past Subjunctive Grammar. This was a really good grammar episode. So go check it out if you missed it. Perfect.

All right. Well, this was a lot of fun to talk about. Great topic. And guys, I'm just curious to hear what you have to say about this. So let us know.

And if you have any follow-up questions, I mean, this is a topic we could continue to talk about on future episodes. So let us know your questions about homework and we'll try and cover them. Awesome. I'll talk to you next time, Michelle.

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