no homework message

International
Education Jobs
Schools directory
Resources Education Jobs Schools directory News Search

KS3 - Religious Studies/ Education (RS) - Homework pack and teams quiz for unit Why believe in God

Subject: Religious education

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

30 August 2024

Share through email
Share through twitter
Share through linkedin
Share through facebook
Share through pinterest

KS3 - Religious Studies/ Education (RS) - Homework pack and teams quiz to accompany the unit Why do people believe or not believe in God?

Differenciated reading packs and a quiz that can be set on teams etc to automark or can be printed and set on paper alongside the reading homeworks

Also included is a fully editable knowledge organiser for the unit -, A philosophy and world views focused SOW also available to purchase as individual lessons or a full scheme

If you purchase please be so kind as to leave a review :)

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

Your rating is required to reflect your happiness.

It's good to leave some feedback.

Something went wrong, please try again later.

This resource hasn't been reviewed yet

To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it

Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.

Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource:

'We want her back safe': Loved ones search for South Florida woman who vanished in Madrid

Sanna Rameau describes her best friend, Ana Knezevich , 40, as one of the sweetest people she’s ever met.

“She is just so caring, so sweet,” Rameau said. “She is funny. She is smart. She is adventurous.”

But now, Knezevich is missing.

“Someone has done something to her, and I’m trying to understand who it could be and why,” Rameau said.

Knezevich has been living in an apartment in Madrid, the Spanish capital, since December, but on Feb. 2, she vanished.

Neighbors said they last saw her around 10 o’clock that night.

According to Rameau, the move from Fort Lauderdale was a fresh start for her friend, who was going through a stressful time.

“She is divorcing her husband and is going through that,” Rameau said.

She said she sent Knezevich a text message the day she disappeared but didn’t hear back. The next day, however, Rameau received a message saying that Knezevich met someone and was going to his home two hours from Madrid and that cellular service would be spotty. Rameau found the message “strange” and believes someone else was texting her from Knezevich’s phone.

“I tried to respond saying I was worried about her, like ‘you don’t sound safe,’” Rameau said. “What is she talking about? This makes no sense, and my messages didn’t go through, either.”

When she hadn’t gotten a response by the next day, Rameau contacted police in Madrid.

More from NBC Miami

Woman struck and killed by truck while pushing stroller in Miami; child hospitalized
Schools hold moment of reflection to honor Parkland victims 6 years after tragedy
Broward sheriff’s sergeant arrested on drug charges at Miami International Airport

On Feb. 4, friends also called the local fire department to conduct a wellness check. The fire department said Knezevich wasn’t there.

“They didn’t find her,” she said. “Looks like she left the apartment locking it from the outside. That’s the last we know.”

Rameau said authorities in Madrid told her they did find something strange captured on security video about 30 minutes before Knezevich was last seen.

“A man with a helmet sprayed the surveillance cameras outside the directory of her apartment building and waited for two people to leave the building and took the opportunity to go inside and spray the surveillance camera inside by the elevator,” she said.

Rameau said that Madrid police are investigating and the family is working with the FBI but that so far, they have no leads.

“I honestly feel like I’m still living in a dream, to be honest with you,” she said. “I have never felt this pain in my entire life.”

Rameau is sending this message to her friend or to anyone who may know where she is:

“We miss and we love her,” she said. “We want her back safe.”

Kim Wynne is a reporter for NBC South Florida.

Why I Did it: The 'No Homework' Letter

Second grade teacher in Godley, Texas

You may have seen the “no homework” letter I wrote last week. It ended up being shared quickly by thousands around the world when Samantha Gallagher, the parent of one of my students, put it on Facebook . My only intention in writing it was to explain ― to the 21 parents in my class ― that I would no longer assign nightly homework to my second graders, and to explain why I thought it was in the best interests of their children. I had no intention of sparking a worldwide conversation. But I’m grateful I did.

Why? Because that little note is drawing attention to an absolutely critical topic: How can we extend learning from the classroom to the home? What can parents do to support what happens in the classroom? And why does it matter? The “No Homework Letter” is about connecting parents to the learning in our classroom. It’s about building community and creating opportunities for parents to learn right along with us!

As a second grade teacher and mother in Texas, I have seen the power that connecting home and school can have on both sides. When teachers and parents work as a team, students win. Frequent teacher-family communication has been shown to increase class participation by nearly 50 percent. It also has also led to students paying closer attention in class.

But building bridges between parents and teachers isn’t always easy. Years ago, as a fourth grade teacher, I sought parents out at community events, little league, and high school football games. I knew the value of having a solid parent-teacher relationship, but I needed a way to break down the barrier and establish an open-door policy that the families trusted.

Since “No Homework” went viral, a question I keep getting is: “How are parents supposed to know what’s happening in the classroom if you don’t send homework?” For me, the simplest way I’ve found to make these connections is through technology ― in my case an app called ClassDojo . ClassDojo makes it easy to break down those walls between home and school in ways that are intuitive for parents, easy for teachers, and fun for students.

On “Meet the Teacher” night I ask my parents to sign up for the app and then I start the year off by reaching out to parents immediately, letting them know that if we work together we can do more for their child. Reassuring them that I will be their child’s biggest supporter at all times.

During the day, I can quickly send a picture when their child is presenting or when they accomplish a new skill. It takes all of five seconds and what I hear from parents is one picture can open up the door to hours of conversation at home. Similarly, with messaging I can share their child’s struggles and suggestions for support. All of a sudden you are a team, working together.

In smaller ways, messaging has saved many children from things as small as shoe blisters and overdrawn lunch accounts, to last minute confusion on whether their parent is picking them up or if they’re riding the bus. Instead of having to go through the front office and leave messages, they can go instantly and directly to me: the adult who is not only responsible, but with, their child.

My students also love being able to use it to upload their own work into a free, digital portfolio that is shared with their parents. They have a real audience for their learning and it motivates them and allows them to reflect on how they’ve grown throughout the year. It really puts them at the center of their own learning.

Bridging the school-home divide is particularly important in schools that are transforming classrooms with project based learning ― where we’re helping students solve relevant problems and answer open-ended questions. It’s about moving beyond a packet of “work” to a continuum of learning that encourages students to engage with parents as they explore new and increasingly complex topics. It encourages students to be active learners, and continue learning outside of the classroom. But for that, parents and teachers need to work as a team.

In our classroom, we’ve also been using ClassDojo to share “big ideas” ― like the concept of growth mindset ― with both students and parents. Because shifting the way kids think about not just “what” but “how” they learn requires buy-in, support, and reinforcement at home as well. The first time I had a student finish another child’s sentence with: “Yet. You can’t do that…yet.” I knew we were on to something. Now, it’s commonplace and the word “yet” is plastered all over the small group table area where lessons are strictly differentiated and the children are most challenged. “Yet” reminds them of the power of their brain, and the classroom support system they have backing them up.

The sort of communication and transparency that technology now allows are why parents like Samantha Gallagher give me their trust. They understand that I believe in what I am doing; and they appreciate the transparency. There is nothing separating them from their child in my classroom. They can view measurable progress through the digital portfolio, and they are kept in the loop on their child’s education.

Trust and communication are what enabled me to explain to parents that no homework doesn’t mean no work. It’s why they believed in the potential for a more personal learning experience. It’s why they are opening their homes ― and minds ― to extend the learning experience.

At its core, that’s what “No Homework” is about. It’s about making it possible for kids to take what they’re learning in the classroom and use it at home. But most of all, it’s about ensuring our kids are surrounded by positive support and encouragement in every aspect of their lives. As teachers and parents, isn’t that what we should aim for?

Before You Go

From our partner, more in education.

7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

The push against homework is not just about the hours spent on completing assignments; it’s about rethinking the role of education in fostering the well-rounded development of young individuals. Critics argue that homework, particularly in excessive amounts, can lead to negative outcomes such as stress, burnout, and a diminished love for learning. Moreover, it often disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged backgrounds, exacerbating educational inequities. The debate also highlights the importance of allowing children to have enough free time for play, exploration, and family interaction, which are crucial for their social and emotional development.

Checking 13yo’s math homework & I have just one question. I can catch mistakes & help her correct. But what do kids do when their parent isn’t an Algebra teacher? Answer: They get frustrated. Quit. Get a bad grade. Think they aren’t good at math. How is homework fair??? — Jay Wamsted (@JayWamsted) March 24, 2022

As we delve into this discussion, we explore various facets of why reducing or even eliminating homework could be beneficial. We consider the research, weigh the pros and cons, and examine alternative approaches to traditional homework that can enhance learning without overburdening students.

Once you’ve finished this article, you’ll know:

Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts: Diverse Perspectives on Homework

Here are the insights and opinions from various experts in the educational field on this topic:

“I teach 1st grade. I had parents ask for homework. I explained that I don’t give homework. Home time is family time. Time to play, cook, explore and spend time together. I do send books home, but there is no requirement or checklist for reading them. Read them, enjoy them, and return them when your child is ready for more. I explained that as a parent myself, I know they are busy—and what a waste of energy it is to sit and force their kids to do work at home—when they could use that time to form relationships and build a loving home. Something kids need more than a few math problems a week.” — Colleen S. , 1st grade teacher

“The lasting educational value of homework at that age is not proven. A kid says the times tables [at school] because he studied the times tables last night. But over a long period of time, a kid who is drilled on the times tables at school, rather than as homework, will also memorize their times tables. We are worried about young children and their social emotional learning. And that has to do with physical activity, it has to do with playing with peers, it has to do with family time. All of those are very important and can be removed by too much homework.” — David Bloomfield , education professor at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York graduate center

“Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. In high school it’s larger. (…) Which is why we need to get it right. Not why we need to get rid of it. It’s one of those lower hanging fruit that we should be looking in our primary schools to say, ‘Is it really making a difference?’” — John Hattie , professor

”Many kids are working as many hours as their overscheduled parents and it is taking a toll – psychologically and in many other ways too. We see kids getting up hours before school starts just to get their homework done from the night before… While homework may give kids one more responsibility, it ignores the fact that kids do not need to grow up and become adults at ages 10 or 12. With schools cutting recess time or eliminating playgrounds, kids absorb every single stress there is, only on an even higher level. Their brains and bodies need time to be curious, have fun, be creative and just be a kid.” — Pat Wayman, teacher and CEO of HowtoLearn.com

7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework

Let’s delve into the reasons against assigning homework to students. Examining these arguments offers important perspectives on the wider educational and developmental consequences of homework practices.

1. Elevated Stress and Health Consequences

This data paints a concerning picture. Students, already navigating a world filled with various stressors, find themselves further burdened by homework demands. The direct correlation between excessive homework and health issues indicates a need for reevaluation. The goal should be to ensure that homework if assigned, adds value to students’ learning experiences without compromising their health and well-being.

2. Inequitable Impact and Socioeconomic Disparities

Moreover, the approach to homework varies significantly across different types of schools. While some rigorous private and preparatory schools in both marginalized and affluent communities assign extreme levels of homework, many progressive schools focusing on holistic learning and self-actualization opt for no homework, yet achieve similar levels of college and career success. This contrast raises questions about the efficacy and necessity of heavy homework loads in achieving educational outcomes.

3. Negative Impact on Family Dynamics

The issue is not confined to specific demographics but is a widespread concern. Samantha Hulsman, a teacher featured in Education Week Teacher , shared her personal experience with the toll that homework can take on family time. She observed that a seemingly simple 30-minute assignment could escalate into a three-hour ordeal, causing stress and strife between parents and children. Hulsman’s insights challenge the traditional mindset about homework, highlighting a shift towards the need for skills such as collaboration and problem-solving over rote memorization of facts.

4. Consumption of Free Time

Authors Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish , in their book “The Case Against Homework,” offer an insightful window into the lives of families grappling with the demands of excessive homework. They share stories from numerous interviews conducted in the mid-2000s, highlighting the universal struggle faced by families across different demographics. A poignant account from a parent in Menlo Park, California, describes nightly sessions extending until 11 p.m., filled with stress and frustration, leading to a soured attitude towards school in both the child and the parent. This narrative is not isolated, as about one-third of the families interviewed expressed feeling crushed by the overwhelming workload.

5. Challenges for Students with Learning Disabilities

In conclusion, the conventional homework paradigm needs reevaluation, particularly concerning students with learning disabilities. By understanding and addressing their unique challenges, educators can create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment. This approach not only aids in their academic growth but also nurtures their confidence and overall development, ensuring that they receive an equitable and empathetic educational experience.

6. Critique of Underlying Assumptions about Learning

7. issues with homework enforcement, reliability, and temptation to cheat, addressing opposing views on homework practices, 1. improvement of academic performance, 2. reinforcement of learning, 3. development of time management skills, 4. preparation for future academic challenges, 5. parental involvement in education, exploring alternatives to homework and finding a middle ground, alternatives to traditional homework, ideas for minimizing homework, useful resources, leave a comment cancel reply.

share this!

August 16, 2021

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in

by Sara M Moniuszko

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide-range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas over workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework .

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy work loads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold, says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace, says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.

And for all the distress homework causes, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night.

"Most students, especially at these high-achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school ," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework, I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic, making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized... sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking assignments up can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

Explore further

Feedback to editors

Doughnut-shaped region found inside Earth's core deepens understanding of planet's magnetic field

9 hours ago

Study combines data and molecular simulations to accelerate drug discovery

Biodiversity loss: Many students of environment-related subjects are partly unaware of the causes

10 hours ago

How stressed are you? Nanoparticles pave the way for home stress testing

Researchers identify genes for low glycemic index and high protein in rice

11 hours ago

New discoveries about how mosquitoes mate may help the fight against malaria

12 hours ago

New study highlights expansion of drylands amidst impact of climate change

Novel chemical tool aims to streamline drug-making process

13 hours ago

Heat waves impair bumblebees' ability to detect floral scents, study finds

Higher-order topological simulation unlocks new potential in quantum computers

Relevant physicsforums posts, incandescent bulbs in teaching.

Aug 21, 2024

How to explain Bell's theorem to non-scientists

Aug 18, 2024

Free Abstract Algebra curriculum in Urdu and Hindi

Aug 17, 2024

Sources to study basic logic for precocious 10-year old?

Jul 21, 2024

Kumon Math and Similar Programs

Jul 19, 2024

AAPT 2024 Summer Meeting Boston, MA (July 2024) - are you going?

Jul 4, 2024

Smartphones are lowering student's grades, study finds

Aug 18, 2020

Doing homework is associated with change in students' personality

Oct 6, 2017

Scholar suggests ways to craft more effective homework assignments

Oct 1, 2015

Should parents help their kids with homework?

Aug 29, 2019

How much math, science homework is too much?

Mar 23, 2015

Anxiety, depression, burnout rising as college students prepare to return to campus

Jul 26, 2021

Recommended for you

AI tools like ChatGPT popular among students who struggle with concentration and attention

Aug 28, 2024

Researchers find academic equivalent of a Great Gatsby Curve in science mentorships

Aug 27, 2024

More academic freedom leads to more innovation, reports study

Statistical analysis can detect when ChatGPT is used to cheat on multiple-choice chemistry exams

Aug 14, 2024

Larger teams in academic research worsen career prospects, study finds

The 'knowledge curse': More isn't necessarily better

Aug 7, 2024

Let us know if there is a problem with our content

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

We need your support today

Independent journalism is more important than ever. Vox is here to explain this unprecedented election cycle and help you understand the larger stakes. We will break down where the candidates stand on major issues, from economic policy to immigration, foreign policy, criminal justice, and abortion. We’ll answer your biggest questions, and we’ll explain what matters — and why. This timely and essential task, however, is expensive to produce.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

The Highlight

Nobody knows what the point of homework is

The homework wars are back.

by Jacob Sweet

An illustration shows an open math workbook and a pencil writing numbers in it, while the previous page disintegrates and floats away.

As the Covid-19 pandemic began and students logged into their remote classrooms, all work, in effect, became homework. But whether or not students could complete it at home varied. For some, schoolwork became public-library work or McDonald’s-parking-lot work.

Luis Torres, the principal of PS 55, a predominantly low-income community elementary school in the south Bronx, told me that his school secured Chromebooks for students early in the pandemic only to learn that some lived in shelters that blocked wifi for security reasons. Others, who lived in housing projects with poor internet reception, did their schoolwork in laundromats.

According to a 2021 Pew survey , 25 percent of lower-income parents said their children, at some point, were unable to complete their schoolwork because they couldn’t access a computer at home; that number for upper-income parents was 2 percent.

The issues with remote learning in March 2020 were new. But they highlighted a divide that had been there all along in another form: homework. And even long after schools have resumed in-person classes, the pandemic’s effects on homework have lingered.

Over the past three years, in response to concerns about equity, schools across the country, including in Sacramento, Los Angeles , San Diego , and Clark County, Nevada , made permanent changes to their homework policies that restricted how much homework could be given and how it could be graded after in-person learning resumed.

Three years into the pandemic, as districts and teachers reckon with Covid-era overhauls of teaching and learning, schools are still reconsidering the purpose and place of homework. Whether relaxing homework expectations helps level the playing field between students or harms them by decreasing rigor is a divisive issue without conclusive evidence on either side, echoing other debates in education like the elimination of standardized test scores from some colleges’ admissions processes.

I first began to wonder if the homework abolition movement made sense after speaking with teachers in some Massachusetts public schools, who argued that rather than help disadvantaged kids, stringent homework restrictions communicated an attitude of low expectations. One, an English teacher, said she felt the school had “just given up” on trying to get the students to do work; another argued that restrictions that prohibit teachers from assigning take-home work that doesn’t begin in class made it difficult to get through the foreign-language curriculum. Teachers in other districts have raised formal concerns about homework abolition’s ability to close gaps among students rather than widening them.

Many education experts share this view. Harris Cooper, a professor emeritus of psychology at Duke who has studied homework efficacy, likened homework abolition to “playing to the lowest common denominator.”

But as I learned after talking to a variety of stakeholders — from homework researchers to policymakers to parents of schoolchildren — whether to abolish homework probably isn’t the right question. More important is what kind of work students are sent home with and where they can complete it. Chances are, if schools think more deeply about giving constructive work, time spent on homework will come down regardless.

There’s no consensus on whether homework works

The rise of the no-homework movement during the Covid-19 pandemic tapped into long-running disagreements over homework’s impact on students. The purpose and effectiveness of homework have been disputed for well over a century. In 1901, for instance, California banned homework for students up to age 15, and limited it for older students, over concerns that it endangered children’s mental and physical health. The newest iteration of the anti-homework argument contends that the current practice punishes students who lack support and rewards those with more resources, reinforcing the “myth of meritocracy.”

But there is still no research consensus on homework’s effectiveness; no one can seem to agree on what the right metrics are. Much of the debate relies on anecdotes, intuition, or speculation.

Researchers disagree even on how much research exists on the value of homework. Kathleen Budge, the co-author of Turning High-Poverty Schools Into High-Performing Schools and a professor at Boise State, told me that homework “has been greatly researched.” Denise Pope, a Stanford lecturer and leader of the education nonprofit Challenge Success, said, “It’s not a highly researched area because of some of the methodological problems.”

Experts who are more sympathetic to take-home assignments generally support the “10-minute rule,” a framework that estimates the ideal amount of homework on any given night by multiplying the student’s grade by 10 minutes. (A ninth grader, for example, would have about 90 minutes of work a night.) Homework proponents argue that while it is difficult to design randomized control studies to test homework’s effectiveness, the vast majority of existing studies show a strong positive correlation between homework and high academic achievement for middle and high school students. Prominent critics of homework argue that these correlational studies are unreliable and point to studies that suggest a neutral or negative effect on student performance. Both agree there is little to no evidence for homework’s effectiveness at an elementary school level, though proponents often argue that it builds constructive habits for the future.

For anyone who remembers homework assignments from both good and bad teachers, this fundamental disagreement might not be surprising. Some homework is pointless and frustrating to complete. Every week during my senior year of high school, I had to analyze a poem for English and decorate it with images found on Google; my most distinct memory from that class is receiving a demoralizing 25-point deduction because I failed to present my analysis on a poster board. Other assignments really do help students learn: After making an adapted version of Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book for a ninth grade history project, I was inspired to check out from the library and read a biography of the Chinese ruler.

For homework opponents, the first example is more likely to resonate. “We’re all familiar with the negative effects of homework: stress, exhaustion, family conflict, less time for other activities, diminished interest in learning,” Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, which challenges common justifications for homework, told me in an email. “And these effects may be most pronounced among low-income students.” Kohn believes that schools should make permanent any moratoria implemented during the pandemic, arguing that there are no positives at all to outweigh homework’s downsides. Recent studies , he argues , show the benefits may not even materialize during high school.

In the Marlborough Public Schools, a suburban district 45 minutes west of Boston, school policy committee chair Katherine Hennessy described getting kids to complete their homework during remote education as “a challenge, to say the least.” Teachers found that students who spent all day on their computers didn’t want to spend more time online when the day was over. So, for a few months, the school relaxed the usual practice and teachers slashed the quantity of nightly homework.

Online learning made the preexisting divides between students more apparent, she said. Many students, even during normal circumstances, lacked resources to keep them on track and focused on completing take-home assignments. Though Marlborough Schools is more affluent than PS 55, Hennessy said many students had parents whose work schedules left them unable to provide homework help in the evenings. The experience tracked with a common divide in the country between children of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

So in October 2021, months after the homework reduction began, the Marlborough committee made a change to the district’s policy. While teachers could still give homework, the assignments had to begin as classwork. And though teachers could acknowledge homework completion in a student’s participation grade, they couldn’t count homework as its own grading category. “Rigorous learning in the classroom does not mean that that classwork must be assigned every night,” the policy stated . “Extensions of class work is not to be used to teach new content or as a form of punishment.”

Canceling homework might not do anything for the achievement gap

The critiques of homework are valid as far as they go, but at a certain point, arguments against homework can defy the commonsense idea that to retain what they’re learning, students need to practice it.

“Doesn’t a kid become a better reader if he reads more? Doesn’t a kid learn his math facts better if he practices them?” said Cathy Vatterott, an education researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After decades of research, she said it’s still hard to isolate the value of homework, but that doesn’t mean it should be abandoned.

Blanket vilification of homework can also conflate the unique challenges facing disadvantaged students as compared to affluent ones, which could have different solutions. “The kids in the low-income schools are being hurt because they’re being graded, unfairly, on time they just don’t have to do this stuff,” Pope told me. “And they’re still being held accountable for turning in assignments, whether they’re meaningful or not.” On the other side, “Palo Alto kids” — students in Silicon Valley’s stereotypically pressure-cooker public schools — “are just bombarded and overloaded and trying to stay above water.”

Merely getting rid of homework doesn’t solve either problem. The United States already has the second-highest disparity among OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations between time spent on homework by students of high and low socioeconomic status — a difference of more than three hours, said Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University and author of No More Mindless Homework .

When she interviewed teachers in Boston-area schools that had cut homework before the pandemic, Bempechat told me, “What they saw immediately was parents who could afford it immediately enrolled their children in the Russian School of Mathematics,” a math-enrichment program whose tuition ranges from $140 to about $400 a month. Getting rid of homework “does nothing for equity; it increases the opportunity gap between wealthier and less wealthy families,” she said. “That solution troubles me because it’s no solution at all.”

A group of teachers at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, made the same point after the school district proposed an overhaul of its homework policies, including removing penalties for missing homework deadlines, allowing unlimited retakes, and prohibiting grading of homework.

“Given the emphasis on equity in today’s education systems,” they wrote in a letter to the school board, “we believe that some of the proposed changes will actually have a detrimental impact towards achieving this goal. Families that have means could still provide challenging and engaging academic experiences for their children and will continue to do so, especially if their children are not experiencing expected rigor in the classroom.” At a school where more than a third of students are low-income, the teachers argued, the policies would prompt students “to expect the least of themselves in terms of effort, results, and responsibility.”

Not all homework is created equal

Despite their opposing sides in the homework wars, most of the researchers I spoke to made a lot of the same points. Both Bempechat and Pope were quick to bring up how parents and schools confuse rigor with workload, treating the volume of assignments as a proxy for quality of learning. Bempechat, who is known for defending homework, has written extensively about how plenty of it lacks clear purpose, requires the purchasing of unnecessary supplies, and takes longer than it needs to. Likewise, when Pope instructs graduate-level classes on curriculum, she asks her students to think about the larger purpose they’re trying to achieve with homework: If they can get the job done in the classroom, there’s no point in sending home more work.

At its best, pandemic-era teaching facilitated that last approach. Honolulu-based teacher Christina Torres Cawdery told me that, early in the pandemic, she often had a cohort of kids in her classroom for four hours straight, as her school tried to avoid too much commingling. She couldn’t lecture for four hours, so she gave the students plenty of time to complete independent and project-based work. At the end of most school days, she didn’t feel the need to send them home with more to do.

A similar limited-homework philosophy worked at a public middle school in Chelsea, Massachusetts. A couple of teachers there turned as much class as possible into an opportunity for small-group practice, allowing kids to work on problems that traditionally would be assigned for homework, Jessica Flick, a math coach who leads department meetings at the school, told me. It was inspired by a philosophy pioneered by Simon Fraser University professor Peter Liljedahl, whose influential book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics reframes homework as “check-your-understanding questions” rather than as compulsory work. Last year, Flick found that the two eighth grade classes whose teachers adopted this strategy performed the best on state tests, and this year, she has encouraged other teachers to implement it.

Teachers know that plenty of homework is tedious and unproductive. Jeannemarie Dawson De Quiroz, who has taught for more than 20 years in low-income Boston and Los Angeles pilot and charter schools, says that in her first years on the job she frequently assigned “drill and kill” tasks and questions that she now feels unfairly stumped students. She said designing good homework wasn’t part of her teaching programs, nor was it meaningfully discussed in professional development. With more experience, she turned as much class time as she could into practice time and limited what she sent home.

“The thing about homework that’s sticky is that not all homework is created equal,” says Jill Harrison Berg, a former teacher and the author of Uprooting Instructional Inequity . “Some homework is a genuine waste of time and requires lots of resources for no good reason. And other homework is really useful.”

Cutting homework has to be part of a larger strategy

The takeaways are clear: Schools can make cuts to homework, but those cuts should be part of a strategy to improve the quality of education for all students. If the point of homework was to provide more practice, districts should think about how students can make it up during class — or offer time during or after school for students to seek help from teachers. If it was to move the curriculum along, it’s worth considering whether strategies like Liljedahl’s can get more done in less time.

Some of the best thinking around effective assignments comes from those most critical of the current practice. Denise Pope proposes that, before assigning homework, teachers should consider whether students understand the purpose of the work and whether they can do it without help. If teachers think it’s something that can’t be done in class, they should be mindful of how much time it should take and the feedback they should provide. It’s questions like these that De Quiroz considered before reducing the volume of work she sent home.

More than a year after the new homework policy began in Marlborough, Hennessy still hears from parents who incorrectly “think homework isn’t happening” despite repeated assurances that kids still can receive work. She thinks part of the reason is that education has changed over the years. “I think what we’re trying to do is establish that homework may be an element of educating students,” she told me. “But it may not be what parents think of as what they grew up with. ... It’s going to need to adapt, per the teaching and the curriculum, and how it’s being delivered in each classroom.”

For the policy to work, faculty, parents, and students will all have to buy into a shared vision of what school ought to look like. The district is working on it — in November, it hosted and uploaded to YouTube a round-table discussion on homework between district administrators — but considering the sustained confusion, the path ahead seems difficult.

When I asked Luis Torres about whether he thought homework serves a useful part in PS 55’s curriculum, he said yes, of course it was — despite the effort and money it takes to keep the school open after hours to help them do it. “The children need the opportunity to practice,” he said. “If you don’t give them opportunities to practice what they learn, they’re going to forget.” But Torres doesn’t care if the work is done at home. The school stays open until around 6 pm on weekdays, even during breaks. Tutors through New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development programs help kids with work after school so they don’t need to take it with them.

As schools weigh the purpose of homework in an unequal world, it’s tempting to dispose of a practice that presents real, practical problems to students across the country. But getting rid of homework is unlikely to do much good on its own. Before cutting it, it’s worth thinking about what good assignments are meant to do in the first place. It’s crucial that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds tackle complex quantitative problems and hone their reading and writing skills. It’s less important that the work comes home with them.

Jacob Sweet is a freelance writer in Somerville, Massachusetts. He is a frequent contributor to the New Yorker, among other publications.

Mental Health
Social Policy

Today, Explained

Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day.

This is the title for the native ad

Homework vs. No Homework Is the Wrong Question

Does your school have a homework policy? How does your school ensure that teachers don’t overload students with busy work?

Two young boys wearing backpacks rushing down the front steps of school

The real question we should be asking is, "What do we believe should happen after the end of the school day to help ensure that students retain what they have learned and are primed to learn more?" Any answer with the word, "work" in its name, as in "homework," is not typically going to be met with eagerness or enthusiasm by students.

Ideally, we want children to understand that they are always learners. In school, we refer to them as "students" but outside of school, as children, they are still learners. So it makes no sense to even advertise a "no homework" policy in a school. It sends the wrong message. The policy should be, "No time-wasting, rote, repetitive tasks will be assigned that lack clear instructional or learning purposes."

A realistic homework strategy should be a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year. But it should also reflect a considered school policy and not simply be up to each individual teacher to carry out according to his or own theory of student learning. Another advantage of this approach is to ensure that individual children are not inadvertently overloaded with demands from teachers who may not know what other teachers are asking of the same student. This is a particular concern in secondary schools.

Home Activities That Matter the Most

Children should be encouraged to read, write, perform arithmetic, better understand the world around them in terms of civics, science, and the arts, and, of course, develop their people skills -- their emotional intelligence. This encouragement should be part of everyday family interactions outside of school, and the school should provide developmental guidance to all parents, in the appropriate languages, to help them do this. For some children, specialized guidance will be needed, and this, too, should be provided proactively to parents.

Some parents will select focused programs or after-school experiences to help foster their children's learning in one or more of the aforementioned areas. To promote equity within and across schools, communities should think about how to make these kinds of experiences available to all children in high-quality ways -- without undue or unrealistic expense to families.

Of course, some teachers will have specific, creative ideas about how learning can be enhanced at home, in the context of particular units of study in school. Maybe what we need is a new word for all this. Instead of "homework," how about "continued learning" or "ongoing growth activities?"

Parents Playing Their Part

Finally, students' learning would be greatly enhanced by schools taking a clear stance about supporting good parenting. My colleague Yoni Schwab and I have written about the importance of parents focusing on parenting as a priority, and secondarily working on assisting schools with educational issues (Elias, M. J., and Schwab, Y., 2004).

Aspects of good parenting that could be encouraged by schools include workshops, family nights, and discussion series on ways to promote:

Children's social-emotional and character development
Parents spending more time directly interacting with their kids in enjoyable ways
Parents visibly showing how much they value the importance of education and effort
Parents monitoring their children's use of and exposure to electronic media
Children's "continued learning" in as many possible opportunities during everyday household routines
Above all, schools should remind parents to never lose sight of modeling for their children the value of close relationships, support, caring, and fun. That is the most important home work of all.

Elias, M. J., and Schwab, Y. (2004). What About Parental Involvement in Parenting? The Case for Home-Focused School-Parent Partnerships. Education Week, 24 (8), 39,41.

Education researcher calls for primary schools to have 'courage' to rethink homework

By Georgia Loney

ABC North Qld

Topic: Primary Education

Two young girls in school uniform, on a swing set. Their mother is between them

Estelle Trueman says her daughters Perry and Bronte have benefited from no homework. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

When Estelle Trueman was growing up, homework was par for the course.

But now her two daughters are in primary school at Townsville in north Queensland, homework isn't mentioned.

"There's no pressure," Ms Trueman said.

"If we get home and want to prepare a meal together, or spend time together outside before bed, we can, and don't have to hope that we won't get in trouble tomorrow because we haven't done the reader."

A man in a blue shirt and pants leans against a railing and smiles.

John Hattie says homework is of little benefit in primary school. ( Supplied: University of Melbourne )

Across Australia, there's anecdotal evidence a growing number of primary schools have introduced no – or low – homework policies since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to University of Melbourne Emeritus Professor of Education John Hattie.

Professor Hattie said while there was some evidence homework benefited high-school students, there was no need for it in primary schools.

"The evidence is pretty clear that homework in primary school has a very low to zero effect," he said.

In a bid to modernise the education system, Poland last month scrapped homework for students in years one to three and made it optional for students in years four to eight .

Professor Hattie said Poland's move sent an important message, but it would take a "brave" politician to rattle the cage in Australia because of widespread views among parents here.

"There are parents who think homework is critical and essential for their children's future, which is not true," he said.

Homework out, reading in

In Townsville in north Queensland, Belgian Gardens State School has scrapped compulsory homework in favour of reading, practice, and play.

White school gates with Belgian State School

Belgian Gardens State School has an optional homework policy. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

"[Worksheet saturation] does not foster parent engagement, neglects the individual needs of students and in some cases leads to drawbacks including disengagement and frustration," principal Ryan Pedley said.

Students were given the option to undertake "practice" or "study habits" at home.

Mr Pedley said parents were highly engaged, through regular information sessions, about what was being taught at school.

A teacher in a blue dress standing while a female student sits

St Benedict's says at-home reading is required. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

St Benedict's Catholic School in the city's west is similarly taking a minimalist approach.

"We couldn't really see the benefits for doing homework … but we do require our students to be reading at home each night," assistant principal Aleesha Rockemar said.

"It [homework] can become a nightmare for families to get done."

A woman in her late 30's in a blue dress. She has a badge that says St Benedicts School, Aleesha Rockemer. She's smiling.

Aleesha Rockemer says a no-homework approach reduces stress on students and families. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

For 10-year-old Keira Warren, it was a pleasant surprise when she transferred to the school this year.

"I was very relieved, I hated having to go home and do more work," she said.

"I didn't like having to either get in trouble because I didn't go to sports, or get in trouble because I didn't do homework."

A nine-year-old girl with long fair hair in a striped school uniform in a school library. Smiling.

Keira Warren says having no homework was a surprise when she moved to Townsville. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

What are the rules on homework?

In Queensland, there is no one-size-fits all approach; it's up to each school principal to decide their homework rule book.

The Department of Education said it did not collect data on the state's 1,264 public schools' policies.

Instead, it stipulated principals needed to determine what worked for their individual school communities and to ensure any homework was meaningful.

"Schools work collaboratively with students and families to make sure to allow sufficient time for family, recreation and, community and cultural values," a department spokesperson said.

Brisbane Catholic Education, which oversees 146 schools across south-east Queensland, said it did not have a mandated homework policy, but any homework should complement students' learning and wellbeing.

Pros and cons

Professor Hattie has been researching teaching and student learning since the 1970s.

His latest publication in 2023 analysed more than 130,000 studies worldwide on what helps students learn.

Professor Hattie said the research found homework in primary school – if at all — should be kept short, review what had already been learned at school and not require parental surveillance.

"Don't get [children] to do a project unless you want to see what the parents contribute," he said.

"You've got to seriously question why you need homework at all. I want to give some courage to [primary] schools to drop it, if parents don't get upset.

"There's no need for it in primary school."

Amanda Hoffensetz says homework is an under-researched topic. ( Supplied: James Cook University )

Lecturer in early childhood education Amanda Hoffensetz, from James Cook University, said homework was a difficult topic to research and there were too many variables for conclusive evidence.

"Schools vary greatly in quality, quantity, and the amount of support that children are getting at home," she said.

Scott Wiseman says traditional homework might work best for some families. ( ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato )

For Scott Wiseman, the chief executive of P&Cs Qld, the peak body representing state school parents and communities, homework had traditionally played an important role in helping parents engage in their child's learning.

"Everyone learns differently and for some kids, doing the sight words or the fact sheets may actually be really important to reinforce their schoolwork," he said.

"It needs to be a consultation process between the school and parents and the community as to how they want education to work in that particular school."

Family impacts

At Townsville's Marian Catholic School, principal Kylie Helmore said changing its homework policy in 2023 had resulted in more student engagement in class and less stress on working families.

A woman with short dark hair and glasses, part of a picture is behind her.

Kylie Helmore says the school has drastically changed its approach to homework. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

"We're not getting the reports that 'my child is refusing to do anything'," Ms Helmore said.

But reading at home is still required and senior students must complete a passion project each term.

For mum-of-two Estelle Trueman, home life was more manageable without the burden of homework.

"Our kids are only little once," she said.

A woman in a dress with two children, one on a swing

Estelle Trueman says a flexible approach is needed to homework in primary school. ( ABC News: Georgia Loney )

This Mom Says She's Opting Her Kid Out Of Homework This Year

“The only thing that you should be worried about is learning and what time snack time is.”

A new parenting trend on TikTok begs the question: is homework optional? For some parents, that seems to be the case as some moms and dads are coming forward to announce that they are not making their kids do homework when they get home from school.

After an emotional homework session , one mom decided that all the fighting and tears were not worth the trouble, noting that she emailed her son’s teacher to tell him that he would not be participating in homework this year.

“For any parents that might not know this, and I just recently learned this, is that you can actually opt out of homework for your children,” Arizona mom, @cayleyxox said in her now-viral TikTok.

For context, her son goes to a charter school so this “opt out” news might not apply to all.

“I didn't know that until recently, and I just sent my son's kindergarten teacher a cute little email saying, ‘I'm sorry, based on the stress, mental, physical anxiety it's causing my kid, we are done. We are done opting out for the rest of the year.’”

She then shared the moment when she decided to make this change.

“On the first week of school ... he got this packet. It's for August. It doesn't look like it's all that bad, but it's about 15 to 20 pages double-sided. You do the math. We have been working on it and trying to work on it to the best of our abilities, and it is causing him so much mental, physical stress,” she shared.

“This morning I had him sit down. I felt so guilty for this. We were sitting down, I told him, ‘You can't even watch a show this morning. You can't do anything. It's going to be radio silence until you sit here and eat your breakfast and finish at least one or two pages of this. Because you're way behind.’ This is so much work for him. I started crying. He started crying. It was an emotional mess.”

She attributes the stress of homework to her son’s sudden lack of interest in going to school at all.

“I felt so guilty dropping him off at school. He didn't want to be there. For the last two weeks, he's told me he doesn't even like school and doesn't want to be there anymore, which hurts my mama heart because you were five. Five. You were in kindergarten. The only thing that you should be worried about is learning and what time snack time is,” she said.

Cayley then wonders what kind of message having kids to homework actually sends, noting that she wants to teach her kids to “work to live not live to work.”

“What are we teaching kids? What are we teaching them? That, ‘Oh, yeah, here you go. You're going to go to work and you're going to be paid salary, but it doesn't matter if you don't finish your work in the eight to ten hours that you're there Monday through Friday. You're going to bring that work home and you're going to do that on your own time.’”

“No ... not up in here. We are not teaching our children that. Work to live. We don't live to work ... In this household, we're done doing homework. I want my kids to love school. I want him to love to learn. I want him to have fun. I want to enjoy it ...”

The TikTok mom was met with mixed responses. Some users agreed with her take while others argued that she’s teaching her kid to be entitled.

“I hear this, but then I think how 50% of the population has a 7th grade reading level in the USA,” one user wrote.

“I would maybe find some strategies to motivate him to get his homework done. Positive incentives, goals, make it a game. Use fun pens etc. You have to put in the work to make it fun,’ another suggested.

Another noted, “I’m gonna play devils advocate, as a teacher mama who also hates homework because we have busy extracurriculars! Sometimes it’s less about ‘they need to be doing work’ and more about ‘sit with your kids And read to/with them, study spelling words, or do some math problems? Show them you are interested in what they are learning, and I promise the benefits will multiply!!”

The OP replied, “That’s a great point I personally am just ranting to the internet I’m respectful of his teacher and her doing as she feels best and will never speak down but things will be modified as needed”

Several TikTok users wanted an update, asking how her son’s teacher responded to her email regarding the homework boycott. Things didn’t exactly go well.

During a face-to-face interaction at school pick-up, Cayley and the teacher discussed the email.

According to Cayley, her son’s teacher noted she had never received a complaint about homework to which she replied that she wasn’t complaining but rather “addressing the situation that's no longer gonna work for their family.”

They went back and forth about the amount of work with the teacher trying to negotiate how much the kid could do. The OP did not back down but opted for a reading log of 15-20 minutes of reading per night.

“No more f**king packets are happening in this house. That's for damn sure,” she concluded.

Cayley is not alone in this thinking. Besides the hundreds of moms who supported her in her comment section, another mom on TikTok also shared that her children will not be doing homework.

TikTok mom ( @phillybee12 ) also shared that if her kids are doing well in school, she will not have her kids doing homework.

“We don't do homework. Yesterday ... I get a phone call from [my daughter’s] teacher. She's calling to tell me how well my daughter's been doing in class for the last week and tells me that her grades are good. I said, ‘Well, I just want to let you know while we're on the phone, we don't do homework.’ It is at this point in time that three other women inside the viewing room turn and look at me,” she beings, imitating confused glares.

“Like I'm some kind of psycho for not doing homework. Well, as long as the grades are good, we don't do homework. They're in school for seven hours. I'm not gonna have them come home and push homework. They go to sports. They sit at home with us. They talk. They play on their phones. We watch a movie together, whatever it is, it's not homework. So until their grades are bad, we're not a homework family. Are you a homework family?”

Is homework optional? Or are parents setting their kids up for an entitlement mindset?

Why I Did it: The ‘No Homework’ Letter

Brandy Young

You may have seen the “no homework” letter I wrote last week. It ended up being shared quickly by thousands around the world when Samantha Gallagher, the parent of one of my students, put it on Facebook. My only intention in writing it was to explain ― to the 21 parents in my class ― that I would no longer assign nightly homework to my second graders, and to explain why I thought it was in the best interests of their children. I had no intention of sparking a worldwide conversation. But I’m grateful I did.

This piece was originally published on The Huffington Post on August 30, 2016

Education is my passion! I love teaching and am currently a second grade teacher at Godley Elementary school in Godley, Texas, where I have taught for eight years. Previously I taught at the Intermediate and Middle Schools within the district. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Human Sciences from Tarleton State University and a Master of Education degree from Lamar University in School Counseling. I have been married to my husband Klint for 5 years and we have a 4 year old son named Sawyer.

No Homework Day Wishes Messages, Quotes, Status

March 6 th is observed as No Homework Day across the world. This day is all about giving students a break from their homework. Make sure that you wish everyone on this day with the No Homework Day wishes and greetings. Post on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram No Homework Day quotes and sayings.

Select from these Happy No Homework Day messages and status to wish your loved ones on this important day.

Wonderful No Homework Day Messages, Quotes

A very Happy No Homework Day to all the students. This day is about no homework and just a relaxed day at home.

On the occasion of No Homework Day, let us stand by the students and make sure that they don’t get any homework. Warm wishes to all.

Let us come together and make the most of No Homework Day by engaging in the hobby you love the most. Happy No Homework Day.

Warm greetings on No Homework Day. This day gives you all the rights to skip your homework and don’t feel guilty about it.

Wishing everyone on the occasion of No Homework Day. Ditch the homework and just have some good time doing things you like.

Most of the time the amount of homework students get, they miss on doing things they actually enjoy. Forget about homework on No Homework Day.

Wishing a very Happy No Homework Day. A homework is something that must not be given to students on this day in order to let them have some fun time.

Popular Messages:

https://www bestmessage org/no-homework-day-wishes-messages/

National South Carolina Day Wishes, Quotes, Messages

Top 10 Most Popular Messages

appreciation message
wedding invitation message
teachers day
appreciation messages
teachers day wishes
marriage invitation message
marriage invitation sms
welcome message
indirect love proposal quotes
valentine messages for girlfriend

Upcoming Events Messages

USA Labor Day 2024 Messages, Wishes Happy Father’s Day (Australia) Wishes American Chess Day Quotes, Wishes Slovakia Constitution Day Messages National Monterey County Fair Day National Cherry Popover Day Greeting Chicken Boy Day Wishes, Messages

Most Popular Events 2024

Malaysia Independence Day 2024 Wishes Kyrgyzstan Independence Day Wishes Whale Shark Day Quotes Messages National Holistic Pet Day Wishes National Mahjong Day Greetings Holiday National Eat Outside Day Trail Mix Day Messages and Wishes

Happy Teachers Day 2024

Happy Teachers Day Messages, Wishes Teachers Day Messages for Principal Teachers Day Thank You Messages Teachers Day Quotes to Teacher Teachers Day Wishes for Favorite Teacher Teachers Day Wishes for Whatsapp Status Teacher’s Day Messages for Colleagues

Share full article

Supported by

Student Opinion

Should We Get Rid of Homework?

Some educators are pushing to get rid of homework. Would that be a good thing?

By Jeremy Engle and Michael Gonchar

Do you like doing homework? Do you think it has benefited you educationally?

Has homework ever helped you practice a difficult skill — in math, for example — until you mastered it? Has it helped you learn new concepts in history or science? Has it helped to teach you life skills, such as independence and responsibility? Or, have you had a more negative experience with homework? Does it stress you out, numb your brain from busywork or actually make you fall behind in your classes?

Should we get rid of homework?

In “ The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong, ” published in July, the Times Opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that homework may be imperfect, but it still serves an important purpose in school. The essay begins:

Do students really need to do their homework? As a parent and a former teacher, I have been pondering this question for quite a long time. The teacher side of me can acknowledge that there were assignments I gave out to my students that probably had little to no academic value. But I also imagine that some of my students never would have done their basic reading if they hadn’t been trained to complete expected assignments, which would have made the task of teaching an English class nearly impossible. As a parent, I would rather my daughter not get stuck doing the sort of pointless homework I would occasionally assign, but I also think there’s a lot of value in saying, “Hey, a lot of work you’re going to end up doing in your life is pointless, so why not just get used to it?” I certainly am not the only person wondering about the value of homework. Recently, the sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco and the mathematics education scholars Ilana Horn and Grace Chen published a paper, “ You Need to Be More Responsible: The Myth of Meritocracy and Teachers’ Accounts of Homework Inequalities .” They argued that while there’s some evidence that homework might help students learn, it also exacerbates inequalities and reinforces what they call the “meritocratic” narrative that says kids who do well in school do so because of “individual competence, effort and responsibility.” The authors believe this meritocratic narrative is a myth and that homework — math homework in particular — further entrenches the myth in the minds of teachers and their students. Calarco, Horn and Chen write, “Research has highlighted inequalities in students’ homework production and linked those inequalities to differences in students’ home lives and in the support students’ families can provide.”

Mr. Kang argues:

But there’s a defense of homework that doesn’t really have much to do with class mobility, equality or any sense of reinforcing the notion of meritocracy. It’s one that became quite clear to me when I was a teacher: Kids need to learn how to practice things. Homework, in many cases, is the only ritualized thing they have to do every day. Even if we could perfectly equalize opportunity in school and empower all students not to be encumbered by the weight of their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, I’m not sure what good it would do if the kids didn’t know how to do something relentlessly, over and over again, until they perfected it. Most teachers know that type of progress is very difficult to achieve inside the classroom, regardless of a student’s background, which is why, I imagine, Calarco, Horn and Chen found that most teachers weren’t thinking in a structural inequalities frame. Holistic ideas of education, in which learning is emphasized and students can explore concepts and ideas, are largely for the types of kids who don’t need to worry about class mobility. A defense of rote practice through homework might seem revanchist at this moment, but if we truly believe that schools should teach children lessons that fall outside the meritocracy, I can’t think of one that matters more than the simple satisfaction of mastering something that you were once bad at. That takes homework and the acknowledgment that sometimes a student can get a question wrong and, with proper instruction, eventually get it right.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

Language learning for busy people

Learn smarter

The Importance of Homework in Language Learning: A Teacher’s Perspective

Why “No Homework” Equals “No Class” in Effective Language Acquisition

As a dedicated language teacher, I’ve encountered a scenario that highlights a crucial aspect of successful language learning: the importance of consistent practice through homework.

The Case Study: A Promising Start

Some months ago, a student autonomously purchased a 4-week package through my website , which included: 1. Weekly homework assignments 2. A weekly class The order was intentional – homework comes first for a reason.

Setting Clear Expectations

During our initial class, I emphasized:

– The necessity of inter-class work for visible results – My frustration with classes that lack preparatory effort – The clear statement of my methods on my website

The student enthusiastically agreed, stating, “I will definitely do everything because that’s how I like it too.”

Well… 😅

I was very hopeful and optimistic after that call . But then days started passing…

The Reality Check

Despite the promising start:

– Days passed without any submitted work – Gentle reminders were met with unfulfilled promises – A week of waiting led to a clear message: “No homework, no next lesson”

The Partial Resolution

After more time:

– Written work was finally submitted – Crucial voice messages – the core of my teaching method – were missing – The student’s speaking struggles became evident

The Dilemma

This scenario presents several challenges:

1. Financial loss due to time invested without billable hours. I am losing money with this system because I usually consider the weekly work we do and if I do nothing I feel too bad at billing anyway. 2. The risk of client disappearance and mutual ghosting. 3. Balancing care for student progress with business sustainability.

The feelings I had had during the call were so positive that I still didn’t want to give up.

Key Takeaways for My Work

I really care about the effectiveness of my work. I feel so bitter when people don’t take advantage of what I offer or don’t take me seriously.

She had also investigated my way of working and said that she had tested something on her own too. She had tried it on herself and it was a pain, but very effective.

I don’t know anymore whether she was serious or not, but that’s the reason why I introduced the application system.

Are you ready to commit to effective language learning?

Mastering English Pronunciation: A Personalized Approach to Accent Improvement

In my journey as a language coach, I’ve developed a unique philosophy: to offer others what I would have loved to receive as a language student. Among other things, this approach has led me to create a highly personalized method for helping individuals improve their English pronunciation and accent. Let me take you through my…

Mastering Italian Listening Skills: A Musical Approach to Language Learning

Improve your listening skills as a learner of Italian… but do it the smart way :)

Mastering Language Listening Skills: The Power of Precision and Repetition

If you are precise enough at articulating most of the sounds of a language, you are probably going to be able to recognise them much better when you are listening. “Precision” is a word that is too often despised in language learning, but I think that the hard truth is just that we have to…

Along with Stanford news and stories, show me:

Student information
Faculty/Staff information

We want to provide announcements, events, leadership messages and resources that are relevant to you. Your selection is stored in a browser cookie which you can remove at any time using “Clear all personalization” below.

Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students’ views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

“The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being,” Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

* Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

* Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

* Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act

The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.

“This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

“Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development,” wrote Pope.

High-performing paradox

In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. “Young people are spending more time alone,” they wrote, “which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities.”

Student perspectives

The researchers say that while their open-ended or “self-reporting” methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for “typical adolescent complaining” – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Media Contacts

Denise Pope, Stanford Graduate School of Education: (650) 725-7412, [email protected] Clifton B. Parker, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-0224, [email protected]

Grades 6-12
School Leaders

Have you gotten your free poster delivered? ✨

Dear Parents: Please Stop Asking Teachers To Give Your Kids Homework

If your kid’s teacher isn’t assigning homework, it’s for a good reason.

If I could change one thing about my past teaching, it would be homework. As in, I would never assign it. I’m just not convinced that the positives outweigh the negatives, and I’m not alone. Many teachers (even entire districts) are getting on the no homework train. Not everyone agrees, and some of the most vocal opponents of homework bans are parents. In fact, many parents seem to positively associate homework with teacher and/or school quality. I have school-age kids, and I can understand the discomfort around uprooting tradition. But since when has “that’s the way we’ve always done it” been a good reason to continue with a practice? Fellow parents, it’s time to take a long, hard look at homework.

Homework just isn’t that beneficial

Repeat after me: There is no conclusive evidence that homework improves student achievement. The research (not to mention how it gets interpreted) is mixed at best. But what stands out to me from the research is this: There is no correlation between academic achievement and homework for elementary students and a moderate correlation for middle and high school, which diminishes as more homework is assigned. So while you can probably make a case that there are benefits for older students doing homework (but no more than one and a half to two hours a day), there’s no reason your kindergartner should be coming home with it.

There are other ways of finding out what your child is learning

“How else am I supposed to know what they’re teaching my child?” It’s a valid concern. But homework isn’t your only window into what your child is learning. Familiarize yourself with the standards for your child’s grade level, which are readily available online. You can also learn about what’s normal for your child’s age (cognitively, social-emotionally, and physically) with a book like Yardsticks . Make sure you read the communications that come home via class newsletters or are posted by your child’s teacher on school apps, as those typically have “what we’re working on” information. Reviewing the corrected work that comes home is also a great way to see what’s being taught and how your child is performing.

Parents aren’t experts on content or pedagogy

You are your child’s first teacher, and that’s important. However, unless you have an education degree, you don’t have the same level of expertise as a trained teacher. Non-teachers sometimes make the mistake of assuming that because they went to school, they know how a classroom should be run. And that’s just not the case. You have only to attempt “new math” to see that. So another benefit of not sending homework home is somewhat of a protective one. For example, we don’t want you introducing the traditional algorithm for addition with regrouping before we’ve had a chance to ensure that our students understand what’s going on mathematically in the process using manipulatives and visuals.

It sets kids up for poor work-life balance

Given its lack of proven benefit, homework is an unnecessary stressor. And it is stressful. Stephanie Donaldson-Pressman , clinical director of the New England Center for Pediatric Psychology and contributing editor to a study on homework, cites “a plethora of evidence that it’s detrimental to their attitude about school, their grades, their self-confidence, their social skills, and their quality of life.” It also sends the message to kids that it’s normal to work after school hours, setting them up for having their boundaries abused when they enter the workplace.

Homework is a burden on many families

If you’re a parent who’s clamoring for more homework, try to remember that not all families are in the same situation as you. Many parents are concerned with meeting their families’ basic needs. Not everyone works a 9-5 schedule. Even for those who do, not all of us are thrilled about coming home after a long day at work and having to fight with our kids to get their homework done (much less complete some elaborate science project or book report diorama that we all know they’re not doing on their own). By pushing your own agenda, you’re potentially marginalizing other families in your own school community. If it’s that important to you, come up with your own, but don’t drag everyone else with you.

What families can spend their time on instead

Reading to and with your children and listening to them read
Encouraging them to pursue passion projects
Providing space for unstructured play
Participating in extra-curricular activities that boost social-emotional skills and well-roundedness
Eating dinner together as a family
Keeping consistent bedtime routines that help everyone get a good night’s sleep so they are ready to work and learn the next day

To find out when more open letters like this are posted, sign up for our newsletters !

Plus, check out dear parents, please remember we’re on the same team ..

Is homework beneficial? An open letter to parents from teachers on why we're not assigning homework. It's just not worth it.

Photo of teacher benefiting from Friday early release model

My Teacher Happiness Soared After This District-Wide Schedule Change

At first I was skeptical, but the payoff was huge. Continue Reading

CORE CURRICULUM
LITERACY > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Literature, 6-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Literature, 6-12" aria-label="Into Literature, 6-12"> Into Literature, 6-12
LITERACY > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Reading, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Reading, K-6" aria-label="Into Reading, K-6"> Into Reading, K-6
INTERVENTION
LITERACY > INTERVENTION > English 3D, 4-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="English 3D, 4-12" aria-label="English 3D, 4-12"> English 3D, 4-12
LITERACY > INTERVENTION > Read 180, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Read 180, 3-12" aria-label="Read 180, 3-12"> Read 180, 3-12
SUPPLEMENTAL
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12" aria-label="A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12"> A Chance in the World SEL, 8-12
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Amira Learning, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Amira Learning, K-6" aria-label="Amira Learning, K-6"> Amira Learning, K-6
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Classcraft, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classcraft, K-8" aria-label="Classcraft, K-8"> Classcraft, K-8
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > JillE Literacy, K-3" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="JillE Literacy, K-3" aria-label="JillE Literacy, K-3"> JillE Literacy, K-3
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Waggle, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Waggle, K-8" aria-label="Waggle, K-8"> Waggle, K-8
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > Writable, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Writable, 3-12" aria-label="Writable, 3-12"> Writable, 3-12
LITERACY > SUPPLEMENTAL > ASSESSMENT" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="ASSESSMENT" aria-label="ASSESSMENT"> ASSESSMENT
CORE CURRICULUM
MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Arriba las Matematicas, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Arriba las Matematicas, K-8" aria-label="Arriba las Matematicas, K-8"> Arriba las Matematicas, K-8
MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Go Math!, K-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Go Math!, K-6" aria-label="Go Math!, K-6"> Go Math!, K-6
MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12" aria-label="Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12"> Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12
MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Math, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Math, K-8" aria-label="Into Math, K-8"> Into Math, K-8
MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Math Expressions, PreK-6" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math Expressions, PreK-6" aria-label="Math Expressions, PreK-6"> Math Expressions, PreK-6
MATH > CORE CURRICULUM > Math in Focus, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math in Focus, K-8" aria-label="Math in Focus, K-8"> Math in Focus, K-8
SUPPLEMENTAL
MATH > SUPPLEMENTAL > Classcraft, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classcraft, K-8" aria-label="Classcraft, K-8"> Classcraft, K-8
MATH > SUPPLEMENTAL > Waggle, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Waggle, K-8" aria-label="Waggle, K-8"> Waggle, K-8
MATH > INTERVENTION > Math 180, 3-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Math 180, 3-12" aria-label="Math 180, 3-12"> Math 180, 3-12
SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Science, K-5" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Science, K-5" aria-label="Into Science, K-5"> Into Science, K-5
SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM > Into Science, 6-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Into Science, 6-8" aria-label="Into Science, 6-8"> Into Science, 6-8
SCIENCE > CORE CURRICULUM > Science Dimensions, K-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science Dimensions, K-12" aria-label="Science Dimensions, K-12"> Science Dimensions, K-12
SCIENCE > READERS > ScienceSaurus, K-8" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="ScienceSaurus, K-8" aria-label="ScienceSaurus, K-8"> ScienceSaurus, K-8
SOCIAL STUDIES > CORE CURRICULUM > HMH Social Studies, 6-12" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="HMH Social Studies, 6-12" aria-label="HMH Social Studies, 6-12"> HMH Social Studies, 6-12
SOCIAL STUDIES > SUPPLEMENTAL > Writable" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Writable" aria-label="Writable"> Writable
For Teachers
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Coachly" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Coachly" aria-label="Coachly"> Coachly
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Teacher's Corner" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Teacher's Corner" aria-label="Teacher's Corner"> Teacher's Corner
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Live Online Courses" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Live Online Courses" aria-label="Live Online Courses"> Live Online Courses
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Teachers > Program-Aligned Courses" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Program-Aligned Courses" aria-label="Program-Aligned Courses"> Program-Aligned Courses
For Leaders
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT > For Leaders > The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" aria-label="The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)"> The Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)
MORE > undefined > Assessment" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Assessment" aria-label="Assessment"> Assessment
MORE > undefined > Early Learning" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Early Learning" aria-label="Early Learning"> Early Learning
MORE > undefined > English Language Development" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="English Language Development" aria-label="English Language Development"> English Language Development
MORE > undefined > Homeschool" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Homeschool" aria-label="Homeschool"> Homeschool
MORE > undefined > Intervention" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Intervention" aria-label="Intervention"> Intervention
MORE > undefined > Literacy" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Literacy" aria-label="Literacy"> Literacy
MORE > undefined > Mathematics" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Mathematics" aria-label="Mathematics"> Mathematics
MORE > undefined > Professional Development" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Professional Development" aria-label="Professional Development"> Professional Development
MORE > undefined > Science" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Science" aria-label="Science"> Science
MORE > undefined > undefined" data-element-type="header nav submenu">
MORE > undefined > Social and Emotional Learning" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social and Emotional Learning" aria-label="Social and Emotional Learning"> Social and Emotional Learning
MORE > undefined > Social Studies" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social Studies" aria-label="Social Studies"> Social Studies
MORE > undefined > Special Education" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Special Education" aria-label="Special Education"> Special Education
MORE > undefined > Summer School" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Summer School" aria-label="Summer School"> Summer School
BROWSE RESOURCES
BROWSE RESOURCES > Classroom Activities" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Classroom Activities" aria-label="Classroom Activities"> Classroom Activities
BROWSE RESOURCES > Customer Success Stories" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Customer Success Stories" aria-label="Customer Success Stories"> Customer Success Stories
BROWSE RESOURCES > Digital Samples" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Digital Samples" aria-label="Digital Samples"> Digital Samples
BROWSE RESOURCES > Events" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Events" aria-label="Events"> Events
BROWSE RESOURCES > Grants & Funding" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Grants & Funding" aria-label="Grants & Funding"> Grants & Funding
BROWSE RESOURCES > International" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="International" aria-label="International"> International
BROWSE RESOURCES > Research Library" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Research Library" aria-label="Research Library"> Research Library
BROWSE RESOURCES > Shaped - HMH Blog" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Shaped - HMH Blog" aria-label="Shaped - HMH Blog"> Shaped - HMH Blog
BROWSE RESOURCES > Webinars" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Webinars" aria-label="Webinars"> Webinars
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Contact Sales" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Contact Sales" aria-label="Contact Sales"> Contact Sales
CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Customer Service & Technical Support Portal" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Customer Service & Technical Support Portal" aria-label="Customer Service & Technical Support Portal"> Customer Service & Technical Support Portal
CUSTOMER SUPPORT > Platform Login" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Platform Login" aria-label="Platform Login"> Platform Login
Learn about us
Learn about us > About" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="About" aria-label="About"> About
Learn about us > Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" aria-label="Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion"> Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Learn about us > Environmental, Social, and Governance" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Environmental, Social, and Governance" aria-label="Environmental, Social, and Governance"> Environmental, Social, and Governance
Learn about us > News Announcements" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="News Announcements" aria-label="News Announcements"> News Announcements
Learn about us > Our Legacy" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Our Legacy" aria-label="Our Legacy"> Our Legacy
Learn about us > Social Responsibility" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Social Responsibility" aria-label="Social Responsibility"> Social Responsibility
Learn about us > Supplier Diversity" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Supplier Diversity" aria-label="Supplier Diversity"> Supplier Diversity
Join Us > Careers" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Careers" aria-label="Careers"> Careers
Join Us > Educator Input Panel" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Educator Input Panel" aria-label="Educator Input Panel"> Educator Input Panel
Join Us > Suppliers and Vendors" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Suppliers and Vendors" aria-label="Suppliers and Vendors"> Suppliers and Vendors
Divisions > Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)" aria-label="Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)"> Center for Model Schools (formerly ICLE)
Divisions > Heinemann" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="Heinemann" aria-label="Heinemann"> Heinemann
Divisions > NWEA" data-element-type="header nav submenu" title="NWEA" aria-label="NWEA"> NWEA
Platform Login

HMH Support is here to help you get back to school right. Get started

SOCIAL STUDIES

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Instructional Practices

What Are the Benefits of No Homework? It May Produce Better Results

WF1995913 Shaped 2024 Classcraft blog batch2 17

As a teacher, you want to make sure that you find a healthy balance of homework —if you give too little, students may lose interest, but if you give too much, they may get overwhelmed.

In my years of teaching, I’ve found a sweet spot with homework, that actually involves lessening my students’ homework load. I’ve seen great results and encourage you to reconsider how much homework your currently assigning. Here are a four reasons why students should have less homework.

4 Reasons Why Students Should Have Less Homework

1. students are encouraged to learn.

You don’t just want to hand your students a fish; You want to teach them how to fish. Lectures, discussions, and readings should all engage students and encourage them to get involved in the material. Homework should then be used to practice what’s been covered in class or to give a very brief introduction to new material.

Try to find assignments that your students might enjoy, like creating a Facebook profile or blog for a character from a Shakespeare play you’re reading. I’ve found that when students have a more manageable homework load, they’re more excited about school and learning in general.

2. They are better rested and focused

School days can end up being long for students, especially high schoolers. Students may normally arrive at school between 7 and 8 a.m., stay in school until 3 p.m., might have after-school activities until 5 or 6 p.m., and may not be able to start on homework until 7 or 8 p.m. after eating dinner. Even if your students have a homework load of just 1–2 hours, that means they won’t be able to get to bed until 9–10 p.m.

Sleep is incredibly important for growing children and teenagers. Teachers can minimize the impact that homework and school have on their students’ sleep. One of the benefits of not having as much homework is that your students will have the opportunity to get more sleep, which means they’ll be more awake and engaged in class the next day.

3. Free time makes them well-rounded

It’s important for students to have a life outside of school, and homework means that more time for extra-curricular activities that students enjoy. Encourage students to engage in activities outside of school so they can develop into well-rounded individuals.

4. Family time is valuable to wellbeing

Spending quality time with family is another reason why kids should have less homework. If they did one less hour of homework and had one more hour of time with their families to play a game, watch movies, or just talk, it would contribute greatly not only to the health of the family but also to the wellbeing of the student. It also minimizes discipline issues as parents would be more involved in their children’s lives.

The Verdict: Kids Should Have Less Homework

Some of the benefits of less homework is that you’ll find out that your students love learning, are getting more sleep, enjoying themselves more with outside activities, and have more time to spend with family.

If you want to give this a shot, you should think about practical ways that you can reduce your students’ homework load. For homework, I originally assigned five discussion questions that my students had to answer and three that they had to write short responses to. Later, I decided to change that to two discussion questions and two written-response questions. I found that the results were significantly better because the students were much more inclined to do the homework!

For you, maybe it’s reducing the number of questions like I did. Maybe it’s assigning fewer pages of reading. Whatever it is, know that giving less homework to your students will likely produce better results in class!

This article was adapted from a blog post initially developed by the education technology company Classcraft, which was acquired by HMH in 2023. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.

Find more lesson plans and classroom resources on Shaped .

COMMENTS

No, Democrats are not using a Nazi slogan in campaign
No evidence of Democrats using Nazi slogan. On the campaign trail and in Democratic National Convention speeches, Harris, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and other Democrats have ...
KS3
KS3 - Religious Studies/ Education (RS) - Homework pack and teams quiz to accompany the unit Why do people believe or not believe in God? Differenciated reading packs and a quiz that can be set on teams etc to automark or can be printed and set on paper alongside the reading homeworks
Loved ones search for South Florida woman who vanished in Madrid
This makes no sense, and my messages didn't go through, either." When she hadn't gotten a response by the next day, Rameau contacted police in Madrid. More from NBC Miami
Why I Did it: The 'No Homework' Letter
The "No Homework Letter" is about connecting parents to the learning in our classroom. It's about building community and creating opportunities for parents to learn right along with us! As a second grade teacher and mother in Texas, I have seen the power that connecting home and school can have on both sides. When teachers and parents ...
Why Students Should Not Have Homework
Examining these arguments offers important perspectives on the wider educational and developmental consequences of homework practices. 1. Elevated Stress and Health Consequences. According to Gitnux, U.S. high school students who have over 20 hours of homework per week are 27% more likely to encounter health issues.
Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in
The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.
Homework is pointless. Here's what you should do instead
Next door, the kids have homework. This involves 30 minutes of child-wrangling and patience-testing five days a week, pressure-cooking the little downtime they have together as a family. Meanwhile ...
Homework vs. No Homework Learning Strategies: Exploring the Debate!
No Homework Learning Strategies: 1. Quality Classroom Instruction: Advocates for no homework argue that well-designed classroom instruction should be sufficient to meet learning objectives. Instead of assigning homework, teachers can focus on engaging and interactive lessons to ensure effective learning during school hours. 2.
Why does homework exist?
Updated Feb 23, 2023, 3:04 AM PST. Jiayue Li for Vox. As the Covid-19 pandemic began and students logged into their remote classrooms, all work, in effect, became homework. But whether or not ...
If Elementary Schools Say No to Homework, What Takes Its Place?
Many high schools are getting the message about student stress and are looking for ways to lighten the homework load. The so-called "no homework" movement is focused on elementary grades, but framing the choice as "no homework vs. homework" is misguided, according to Maurice Elias of Rutgers University and co-author of Emotionally Intelligent ...
Homework vs. No Homework Is the Wrong Question
It sends the wrong message. The policy should be, "No time-wasting, rote, repetitive tasks will be assigned that lack clear instructional or learning purposes." A realistic homework strategy should be a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.
Primary schools urged to have 'courage' to rethink homework if parents
His latest publication in 2023 analysed more than 130,000 studies worldwide on what helps students learn. Professor Hattie said the research found homework in primary school - if at all ...
This Mom Says She's Opting Her Kid Out Of Homework This Year
Cayley then wonders what kind of message having kids to homework actually sends, noting that she wants to teach her kids to "work to live not live to work." ... "Like I'm some kind of psycho for not doing homework. Well, as long as the grades are good, we don't do homework. They're in school for seven hours. I'm not gonna have them come ...
Persuasive Essay For Students: No Homework For Students
Importance Of Homework Essay. Above all, homework allows the students to gain responsibility, time-management, perseverance, and self-esteem. "The act of completing homework has benefits in terms of developing good habits in students.". This shows that, students are gaining many skills from homework.
A World Without Homework
A World Without Homework. Published On: February 6, 2020. In recent years, researchers and teachers have been experimenting with a "no homework" policy in the classroom. Though it may sound dubious, some evidence suggests "no homework" might be a good idea. Studies have shown that more homework in elementary and middle school does not ...
Why I Did it: The 'No Homework' Letter
The "No Homework Letter" is about connecting parents to the learning in our classroom. It's about building community and creating opportunities for parents to learn right along with us! As a second grade teacher and mother in Texas, I have seen the power that connecting home and school can have on both sides. When teachers and parents ...
The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong
The authors go on to argue that since this is the case, teachers should "interpret differences in students' homework production through a structural inequalities frame.". What they have ...
No Homework Day Wishes Messages, Quotes, Status
A very Happy No Homework Day to all the students. This day is about no homework and just a relaxed day at home. On the occasion of No Homework Day, let us stand by the students and make sure that they don't get any homework. Warm wishes to all. Let us come together and make the most of No Homework Day by engaging in the hobby you love the most.
Thinking About a No Homework Policy? Here's What You Should Know
The teacher decides the amount of homework to be given and should do so based on the classroom's and school's needs. After all, all schools are different because no one school serves the same ...
Dialogue between teacher and student for not doing homework
Teacher: Good morning. How are you today? Student: Good morning. I'm fine, thank you. Teacher: That's good to hear. Can I see your homework from last night? Student: Um, I didn't do it. Teacher: May I ask why not? Student: I had a family emergency and didn't have time to finish it.
446+ Homework Quotes That Speak Your Student Struggles! (Images)
Famous Homework Quotes. "Homework is the price we pay for success. It may seem steep, but the dividends it yields are immeasurable.". - Robin Sharma. "Homework is not just an academic task; it's a character-building exercise that shapes you into a resilient and disciplined individual.". - Stephen King.
Should We Get Rid of Homework?
Homework's value is unclear for younger students. But by high school and college, homework is absolutely essential for any student who wishes to excel. There simply isn't time to digest ...
The Importance of Homework in Language Learning: A Teacher's
- A week of waiting led to a clear message: "No homework, no next lesson" Photo by Bibhash Banerjee on Pexels.com The Partial Resolution. After more time: - Written work was finally submitted - Crucial voice messages - the core of my teaching method - were missing - The student's speaking struggles became evident. The Dilemma
Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework
Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor. * Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other ...
Dear Parents, Homework Isn't All That Beneficial
Homework just isn't that beneficial. Repeat after me: There is no conclusive evidence that homework improves student achievement. The research (not to mention how it gets interpreted) is mixed at best. But what stands out to me from the research is this: There is no correlation between academic achievement and homework for elementary students ...
What Are the Benefits of No Homework? I HMH
One of the benefits of not having as much homework is that your students will have the opportunity to get more sleep, which means they'll be more awake and engaged in class the next day. 3. Free time makes them well-rounded. It's important for students to have a life outside of school, and homework means that more time for extra-curricular ...