Submitted by George Cigale, Nov 29, 2006 09:32

For the past eight years, I have been building a company focused on helping kids with homework -- Tutor.com (www.tutor.com). A couple months ago, I ordered both books to get a better understanding of this phenomenon of perception of too much homework.

My conclusions so far:

-- Homework is necessary to reinforce what was learned in school and to prepare for the next step in learning.

-- Homework is good if:

-- it is truly tied to the instruction that was recently delivered,

-- it really helps the child understand the concepts better, and most importantly,

-- the child has someone to turn to when he or she is stuck.

So often, the child has no one to turn to when he or she is stuck. Parents are not home and when they are, so many parents are not able to help, especially with math and science problems. Teachers are not available in the evenings, and schools do not spend their limited resources to provide homework support consistently. Most families cannot afford private tutoring, and if they can, traditional tutoring has the child waiting a week and saving up all their questions for the next appointment, allowing the teachable moment to go away.

All of these factors add up to loss of confidence, kids falling behind, and parents getting frustrated that their child is struggling, that the can't help, and that homework becomes a point of stress for the entire family.

Tutor.com is not the solution for all of these problems, but we help thousands of kids each night through our Live Homework Help service available through over 1,500 libraries in 42 states (for free to kids), and through Tutor.com Direct, available on a pay as you go basis to families everywhere.

Another book needs to get written -- refuting the overly simplified notion that homework hurts students and they get too much of it. Especially in a world where our kids our falling way behind in math and science compared to the rest of the world. Good homework is good for kids, and providing them the support they need when they get stuck is critical.

George Cigale, Founder and CEO of Tutor.com

gcigale@tutor.com

blog: http://ceotutor.blogspot.com

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