Next week, the students in my son’s second grade class will get their first homework assignments. He couldn’t be more excited. He has no inkling that this is the first step into a nightmarish and seemingly never-ending pit where the casual and carefree exuberance of his youthful afternoons and evenings will be obliterated. And chances are, mine won’t be nearly as fun either. Karl Taro Greenfeld wanted to get a better idea of just how much work was being done by his 13 year-old daughter, who “has the misfortune of living through a period of peak homework.” So he decided to try to do her homework for week. From The Atlantic: My Daughter’s Homework Is Killing Me.

+ How much homework do American kids do?