Too much homework surely hurts a child's development. I will argue this, rather unconventionally but quite effectively, from an engineer's point of view. First I will bolster the assertion and secondly suggest how to determine just sufficient homework to suit individual children.

The practical need for space is present in all devices and environments; concrete structures have expansion joints, dams have sluice gates and spillways, houses have air vents, vehicles have exhausts.

If engineers and craftspeople didn't provide for safe venting, these structures would fail sooner rather than later. The same goes for schoolchildren. They need gaps between and within homework.

The redundancy of solidness in devices is another reason to avoid packed homework schedules. Engineers soon realized that there is no solidity in natural objects. Even big trees are spread out and air flows harmlessly through the branches. In windy conditions it's the sparsely branched trees that survive. The more solidly packed ones catch the gales and go down. Similarly, the schoolchild with homework overload often does poorer than a student with breathing space to allow reflection and unforced assimilation.

Electric pylons are mainly empty space with latticework of just the right members in just the right places to do the job. The wheels on vehicles, from bicycles to trucks, have spoke-like rims because it has been found that extra solidness adds no benefit. So too should be the homework load on our children; just the right quantity with ample space to stimulate, allow natural imbibing of information and self-paced discovery through curiosity.

The human brain is arguably the most complex device or machine available to human beings and it was created by arguably the best engineer there is the Creator. He too made generous provision of holes and spaces on and in the brain and the skull (noses, mouths, ears, hollow vessels, neck, sponge-like brain and so on) to allow efficient function. Even our lungs are a means to create space inside our bodies but critical space. Hands up those who want their lungs packed solid! None? Then why would we expect our children to learn effectively with packed homework schedules?

It will be argued that different children will, naturally, require different amount of mental ventilation. One neat solution could be to structure homework on a cafeteria system. Different children aided by their parents and teachers should be allowed to select different chunk sizes and frequencies of homework to suit their personalities and mental makeup. Some may prefer many little assignments submitted frequently and others may prefer larger assignments submitted less frequently and between the two extremes many combinations.

There could even be different modes of homework; narrative, visual, interactive and so on to cater for the children's different modes of learning. Naturally the teachers and administrators will need to take more time creating the materials. Once done, however, it allows different students to create personalized but equally valued homework from the menu offered. That way we can get more fun, fresh air and performance from our children without homework overload

Learn more about this author, Mattie Mutare.
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