I applaud the second grade Texans teacher who recently took a stance against homework. This was clearly a bold move on her part for clearly she had no idea how the parents would receive it. The copy of the letter to parents was posted to Facebook. It has since gone viral with people citing reasons for and against.
Reading the letter made me smile as it sounds to me like she plans to be engaged with the students during the day while they complete their school work. Let's hope that more teachers understand the importance of being engaged. In May, I posted No More Homework which discussed how a school in Finland was making this work. I still believe that kids should be given homework but can see the reasons to avoid it.
Reason 1: The pressure of homework is unsettling with most children. Much like adults who work, they need time to wind down before performing other tasks. Depending on the child's grade and amount of homework given, there may be little time to do this before “life at home” kicks in.
Reason 2: Is homework decreasing “family time”? Not very many families spend daily quality time together outside of dinner. Eliminating homework could bridge that gap allowing time to tackle any rising problems.
Reason 3: Homework creates unnecessary conflict between children and parents. Parents seem to nag as the kids avoid them, while parents that are confused by the “new math” are avoiding the kids.
The ultimate measure of success is a joint effort between the child, teacher and parent.
What are your thoughts?
