Do I have to do my homework?

I got in to a discussion with someone recently about something that is a “hot topic” to me in regards to parenting.  My husband and I have had this discussion in many forms over the years. When we were dating, when we were married before kids, and many times after having kids.  The scenario being what if a person (or child) is naturally very smart and quick to learn most things, is it okay for that person (or child) to take shortcuts and not do homework?  

So the person I talked to was telling me about a friend of hers who has a high schooler who just took the ACT, and without any preparation scored nearly a perfect score.  Also, this student gets average grades. And the reason being that the student doesn’t do any of the homework but gets A’s on all the exams. Understandably the parents are frustrated because they want their child to get good grades and they know that if the child just put some effort in to it, the child would be doing so much better.  The child’s reaction is that he/she knows all the material, so why waste time on homework?

My first reaction is that this kid should do his/her homework!  I mean it’s obviously not hard for this child to do it so it’s not a big deal and also because I really value diligence.  I think it’s important to teach kids to do “assignments” not just to practice the educational material but also to learn time management and problem solving.  It may be easy but there is always value in practice (IMO).

My second reaction is that this kid has a point.  Why waste your time when the point of homework is to help guide you through lessons and help you understand concepts.  If this student is absorbing all the material by just sitting in class or reading and can take exams and ace them, maybe it is annoying and a waste to be doing busy work.  I mean no one likes busy work?

When I discuss this topic with my husband we tend to disagree.  I am the homework person. I always did homework, did it ahead of time, and turned it in on time.  But was always not a good test-taker. I knew that too so the homework was a cushion to help improve my grades.  My husband is the total opposite. He learned early on that he didn’t need to do homework to pass the class so he would just take the exams, do well, and move on.

It’s hard for me to admit to myself that there isn’t one right way.  Being successful or productive in life doesn’t hinge on being able to do homework well.  There is a role and a position for all types of personalities out there. It’s hard as a parent to sometimes see beyond what your strengths and weaknesses are and to step back and look at the whole picture.  It’s our job to equip our kids with the tools they need for the future but it’s also up to them to figure out how they want to use them.