A Florida county banned homework for elementary students. Could Colorado be next?
With school back in session for most Coloradans, many parents are excited for their children to be back in the routine. The downside, of course, is the return of homework and all the late nights spent trying to get your child to finish their math by a decent hour. After-school sports and activities don't help matters any; they simply delay the start of the inevitable. [gallery ids="21223,21222"] For Marion County in Florida, this isn't the case. In 31 elementary schools, a "no homework policy" has been implemented for this school year. Marion County Schools Superintendent Heidi Maier states,It’s no traditional homework, no work sheets, no endless pages of workbooks. Instead our children are reading aloud with their parents at least 20 minutes a night.”One Texas teacher took it upon herself to start a movement of sorts last year when she sent the following letter home at the beginning of the school year:
Dear Parents, After much research this summer, I am trying something new. Homework will only consist of work that was not completed during the school day. There will be no formally assigned homework this year. Research has 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. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early. Thanks, Mrs. Brandy Young"Her letter went viral and has been shared more than 70,000 times. Parents from all around the world could not agree more with Young's newfound policy. It appears as though a lot of parents feel the same, and perhaps the policy should be implemented country-wide. Florida's Marion County has jumped onto the bandwagon; does this mean Colorado's next?
Samantha Gallagher, a parent of a student in Young's class, feels lucky to have her as a teacher. Gallagher states, "We are very familiar with spending exorbitant amounts of time on homework on school nights, and I just knew this would alleviate a lot of weeknight stress. The fact that the post has been shared tens of thousands of times by people in countries all over the world tells you that this is indeed a universal issue."
Eliminating nightly homework, as you can imagine, sounds awesome to elementary school kids. If someone told you "no homework," I'm sure you would be just as excited! Young understands this.
The students obviously love the policy; however, they understand that doing away with the weekly homework packet is not an excuse to end learning outside of the classroom," Young said. "I hope that my students spend the extra time with their families, developing their whole person and becoming happy, healthy, and balanced individuals."Wouldn't we all love a teacher like Mrs. Young? What would you think if Colorado elementary schools implemented a "no homework policy"? Is Colorado next to experiment with this? Let us know in the comments!
