When you think about school, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
For me, it’s homework…mountains and mountains of homework. And as far as I can remember, about 92% of that was just busy work…not actually anything that helped me retain or learn information. Please know that I’m in no way blaming my teachers for this, though. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this that I won’t get into here.
But one really cool second-grade teacher decided to take a different approach with her homework policy this year…she’s not going to assign any!
If you haven’t read this story already, I’ll give you a brief run-down. (You can also check out the USA Today article about it, too.)
Last week, Brandy Young, a teacher at Godley Elementary School in Godley, TX, sent a letter to her students’ parents that informed them of her decision to try out a no-homework policy this school year.
Why?
Well, because science, that’s why. As she explains, “Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance.”
And she’s right. For YEARS, we’ve been largely ignoring an ever-growing body of research that argues against the idea that homework helps kids learn. If anything, the studies have shown that assigning more and more homework actually stresses kids out! (If you’re interested, you can read a blog post by Alfie Kohn that outlines these issues a little better than I can.) So there’s that.
But wait! Mrs. Young gets even cooler. She continues: “Rather, I ask that you 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.”
Love. Absolutely love. The cherry on top is that the parents AND her school district actually support her no-homework policy, too! And while I know virtually nothing about the education system, I do know that it’s rare to see parents and/or districts support their teachers when they make such unconventional and innovative changes.
I don’t know about you, but I’m pumped to find out how this school year goes for her!
