We're all familiar with the downside of homework: frustration, exhaustion, and nagging. But most of us assume that it's all worth it because homework promotes higher achievement, "reinforces" learning, and teaches study skills and responsibility. Unfortunately, none of these assumptions actually passes the test of research, logic, or experience. The available evidence indicates, for example, that homework provides absolutely no academic benefits for younger students. It also raises serious questions about whether homework is necessary for older students, and it challenges the belief that homework promotes independence and good work habits. If homework really offers all pain and no gain, then why do we force children to come home from school and work what amounts to a second shift? Kohn's incisive analysis reveals how a set of misconceptions about learning, a mistrust of children, and a misguided focus on competitiveness have left our kids with less free time and our families with more conflict. Pointing to stories of parents who have fought back-and schools that have proved educational excellence is possible without homework-Kohn demonstrates how we can rethink what happens during and after school in order to rescue our families and our children's love of learning. Book jacket.