Homework for primary school pupils is unnecessary, debilitating and risks putting a child off learning for good.
And it's stressful for parents.
These views, expressed by US author and parenting expert Alfie Kohn in his book The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing, have sparked local and international debate.
In South Africa, children from Grade 1 to 7 are given homework in subjects like literacy, numeracy and life orientation.
In an audio clip on his website, Kohn says that virtually no research supported the claim that homework was good.
And Professor Jonathan Jansen, a leading education expert and the vice- chancellor of the University of Free State, agrees.
"I believe that homework is unnecessary in the lower grades, but managed carefully, can be a positive way of extending and enriching classroom learning in the higher grades," Jansen said. "Schools seldom co-ordinate homework tasks across the subject areas - with the result that young people are stressed with too much to do in a grade."
He said "good teaching within the school periods" could offer an alternative to homework in primary school.
Clinical psychologist Sinette van Rooy Booysen said homework could lead to conflict between parents and children. "Homework is then seen in a negative light and will create a daily 'battlefield' between child and parent," she said.
But other experts, as well as private and state schools, remain adamant that homework is necessary.
Dr Tintswalo Manyike, based at the University of South Africa's department of educational studies, said homework "does not put added stress on parents if it is diagnostic and planned".
"The homework should be given constructively, and not as a punishment, as this will help primary school learners to look forward to doing their homework," she said.
