A second-grade teacher from Texas has taken parenting corners of the social media world by storm with a letter announcing her new homework policy. The policy? No homework at all.
In the letter, which has been shared by thousands on Facebook and Reddit, Brandy Young explains the reasoning behind her decision:
After much research this summer, I am trying something new. Homework will only consist of work that your student did not finish during the school day. There will be no formally assigned homework this year. Research had been unable to prove that homework improves student performance. Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eating dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early.
The letter has its critics, of course: one unimpressed Facebook commenter argues that homework is “very crucial” in helping children “not only to learn schooling but also beginnings of responsibility,” adding that “kids nowadays are definitely babied more.” But the majority of commenters express support for the policy, reflecting a pushback in recent years against what many parents say is too much homework. An ongoing poll on Debate.org asking whether schools should abolish homework currently shows 71 percent of respondents in favor of the idea. – READ MORE
