‘There’s only so far I can take them’ – why teachers give up on struggling students who don’t do their homework

Not all students have access to the same level of parental help at home. So why are they judged as if they do? Two scholars probe how educators view students who fail to complete their homework.

By: Jessica Calarco, Indiana University and Ilana Horn, Vanderbilt University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 3, 2026

Words: 1,370

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 1 day ago

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By Jessica Calarco, Indiana University and Ilana Horn, Vanderbilt University

Whenever “Gina,” a fifth grader at a suburban public school on the East Coast, did her math homework, she never had to worry about whether she could get help from her mom.

“I help her a lot with homework,” Gina’s mother, a married, mid-level manager for a health care company, explained to us during an interview for a study we did about how teachers view …

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