My Teacher Ate My Homework

Few have imagined, though many have dreamed, of school without homework.  Traditional thinking has always suggested that there aren’t enough hours in the school day and homework is a logical remedy.  But after years of complaints and protests from students and parents alike, what was once a student pipe dream is turning into something very real. In fact, more and more schools are now rethinking their homework policies with many reducing the nightly workload and some doing away with homework altogether.

The case in favor of homework is strong—in as much as it contributes to the learning process.  Homework facilitates relearning and offers students an individual approach to applying learned concepts.  The list of homework’s merits go on, all of which revolve around cementing concepts in minds.  Yet for all the reasons that homework is essential to maximizing retention and comprehension, schools like Grant Elementary in Wyoming, which adopted a no-homework rule last year, are making a sacrifice for happier kids.

But a sacrifice need not be made.  Effective pedagogy and student happiness are not naturally averse to one another.  Too often, that assumption is made and unwittingly promoted. Teachers and administrators need to make a conscious effort to uproot it and rethink the role of homework in their classes.  Moreover, study hall if administrated well and often can provide a simple relief to overwhelmed students.  This is only a starting point, however.  Teachers should draft schedules of assigned work and allow students the freedom and independence to manage their time.  The ability to plan out daily homework is absent at too many schools in this country and could go a long way to mitigate homework stress.  Of course, there are other ways to solve this problem.  But a solution is going to require a tremendous effort on the part of America’s schools to throw out ideas and experiment.

Schools like Grant Elementary should be commended for listening to the concerns of their students. But their leap of faith in radical progressivism was unwise and misguided.  The happiness of America’s students, if bought on the margin of a no-homework education, will not last. And accordingly, the complete overhaul of homework from America’s schools will prove itself counterproductive.