The Great Homework Debate: How Much Is Too Much?

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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) – Many parents and educators are resigned to the idea that homework is just part of learning and succeeding at school.

Frania Corniel's living room is now set up as a classroom.

Two years ago the New Yorker started homeschooling her sons and niece.

It was her niece Olivia's workload in kindergarten that drove the change.

"Every day she had to do reading, phonics, writing word math," said Corniel as she flipped through a big packet of schoolwork.

"It was very hard and I didn't like to do homework," added Olivia.

When children have too much homework, many argue that kids don't have time to be kids.

"You want to help kids to manage their time well," said Dr. Jaime Howard.

Dr. Howard is a clinical psychologist with the Child Mind Institute.

She says younger children should get no more than 20 minutes of homework a day. That's in line with the national PTA's recommendation of 10 to 20 minutes per night in the first grade, and an additional 10 minutes per grade level after that.

By twelfth grade, that's 120 minutes per night.

"Their attention span is short and they need to excel at other things," said Dr. Howard. "They need to be making and keeping friends and spending time with their families."

Corniel agrees. With the time they save on homework, her kids learn life skills.

"They expose themselves to other things," said Corniel.

Other things such as museums, the park, swimming and music lessons, so her kids can enjoy being kids.

Corniel has a masters degree in education. She says that she is prepared to teach the children through high school.