The school year has gotten off to a controversial start for a second grade teacher in the city of Godley, Texas.
Brandy Young sent a note home to her students’ parents explaining her homework policy for the year. It’s pretty simple, really: There is none.
The note reads:
“After much research this summer, I am trying something new. Homework will only consist of work that your student did not finish during the school day. There will be no formally assigned homework this year. Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance. Rather, I ask you to spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early.”
Ms. Young’s unusual policy seems to have been well-received by parents so far: “My initial reaction was positive,” mom Samantha Gallagher, who posted the now viral note to her Facebook page, tells CNN. “She handed out the letter at a meet-the-teacher night and discussed her reasoning with us. My husband and I were both taken aback, in a good way. [Our daughter] Brooke has had homework since preschool. So the idea of not having any made her extremely happy!”
This isn’t the first time that a no-homework policy has made headlines.
Last year, a New York City elementary school banned homework for its entire student population, noting negative effects – including “children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and family time and, sadly for many, loss of interest in learning” — and encouraging families to spend that time together instead. It was a move that didn’t necessarily please parents.
“I think they should have homework — some of it is about discipline,” one dad vented at the time. “I want [my daughter] to have fun, but I also want her to be working towards a goal.”
My oldest is just going into grade 5, and so far her homework hasn’t been too rigorous. It usually takes her around an hour a day to complete. That seems reasonable to me, but I know quite a few kids who receive so much homework that it really puts stress on the entire family. Kids who have dropped extra-curricular activities, who have to stay up late at night, who are fairly regularly reduced to tears because of the amount of work they need to do.
This might sound extreme, but a recent study found that elementary students are sometimes getting three times more homework than what’s recommended. The consequences of all of this extra work can include increased family stress, lowered self-esteem, and a negative impact on social skills.
In terms of building life skills, homework doesn’t seem any more important to me than things like team sports and time with family. I don’t argue against an hour or so a night for kids who are in the higher grades, but more than that really seems counterproductive. Any at all for kids who are in preschool or kindergarten seems pointless.
Even the minimal amount of homework that my daughter has puts a squeeze on our after-school schedule when you factor in extracurricular sports, activities, bath, and bedtime, the near non-existent family dinner. There’s really no downtime in the week during school year, no time for evening board games or walks to the park.
That’s a big reason why I love the summer months so much. Homework and everything else grinds to a halt and there’s suddenly all this time and space to fill together.
Would you be in favor of a no-homework policy at your kid’s school?
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