The Gaithersburg Elementary School in Maryland has abolished homework, and instead is asking students to read a book for about 30 minutes a night, according to a report in Fox news. When Stephanie Brant came aboard as principal two years ago, she and her staff conducted a review of homework assignments.
“We really started evaluating the work that we sent students home with,” explained Principal Brant. “We started looking, and really, it was a lot of worksheets. And the worksheets didn’t match what we were doing instructionally in the classroom. It was just: we were giving students something because we felt we had to give them something.”
So, Brant got permission from the school district to implement a radical experiment: the only homework assigned here is reading.
That’s the principal’s goal: 30 minutes a night of reading for every student. Parents appear to be generally supportive of the abolition of traditional homework.
“When [my son] comes home, he has relaxing time. And I think kids need that relaxing time,” said Luz Gomez, a parent of a third-grader at the school.
Principal Brant believes the generalized order to read something every night is sparking maturation and motivation among many students. (Read more in Fox news).
Should your child’s school in Lakewood – or elsewhere – do the same?
Homework is important! Stop with kids not working they have to work it won’t kill them!
and exactly how do parents know if the child is reading for 30 mins. , unless the child reads out loud? this may sound crazy, but why aren’t the students getting worksheets that coincide with the work being done in class as reinforcement?
yesss! we should its enough my son comes home 5pm!
YES we can. My kids get home after a really long day. They began their journey at 7:30 AM on a bus.
I feel that homework has become a huge stress and burden on our family.
I think many teachers are powerhungry. And use homework as a controlling thing
i agree with #4!!! I remember when i was in school how I came home and i couldn’t relax i always had the pressure on my head called homework!!!
A resounding yes!!! Kids are in school all day learning and come home wiped at the end of the day. They dont need the added stress of homework. Especially children that find school challenging, dont need extra work. It can be pure torture for them- not to mention the parents…
U guys are a bunch of wimps!!! Treating our children like babies will never teach them responsibility and hard efforts. . . What a lazy generation we are raising. . . We have to stop pampering our kids with this nonsense. Love them unconditionally yet teach them hard work pays off, they will appreciate it later in life!!!!
Why don’t the schools listen to us.
We really suffer with homework especially yontif time.
The teachers who are newly marrried or don’t have children rl are especially brutal and negligent in this area
Our daas torah clearly advised against homework.
Reb Matisyahu in his book on Chinuch is of the opinion to abolish homework. He feels that the home is supposed to be a safe haven where a child can come home and “chill out” it’s not to be a pressurized atmosphere. He believes keeping the school out of the home.
my opinion, is homwork is a way for teachers not to teach, but make the parents do everything, it’s not advised of by any gedolim, rabbi pam was against it, reb mattisyahu shlit”a is against it
this is good
I dont get it! What are they reading? Textbooks or novels?
i agree with 7 , kids need to learn how to work and be responsible
how are they going to learn if you spoil them all the time. That like handing them a trophy when they lose a event. what a poor ,sad society we’ve become.
i had homework and it didn’t kil me! if you want your child living with you when their 33 years old , then go ahead ,tell them they don’t need to ever work
i taught for 7 years and i firmly believe that there is no need for homewok. it never made kids any smarter. it just made my job easier as a teacher to know that the at home the parents would study with the kids. shall i say the parents were my assistant teachers?
if this wasn’t the case i would be pressured to make sure they knew my work cold before leaving the classroom…… wait! wasn’t that what i was getting paid for?!?
it wasn’t like i was doing half a job…i was a very sought after teacher.
the facts are: i teach and the parents reteach!
i do agree with some sort of reading program as reading always raises the intelligence of children and adults.
there is no need for homework. if a child is not understanding the lesson its the teachers job to explain it as many times as needed. i completely agree with this policy.
No more homework!! My kids are in school for 7 hours a day. Why in the world do they need to come home to homework? And why add so much stress to a house? When you take into account big mishpochos with multiple homeworks… Add bed time etc. It can really couse a lot of friction in a family.
No homework! Rabosai wake up before it’s to late; there is to much pressure in the kinderlach. If we want them ti be responsible let them help their parents.
#7–you are 100%
#14—didos
If I had to do homework growing up so should my child……………………………………………..
Of course there should be homework 1st of all the responsibility of teaching children is on the parents but since most parents can’t teach their children they hire teachers but the least you can do is help your child with homework 2nd it gives the parents time to bond and help their children and the child feels good that they have their parents attention
There should be no homework, it causes too much pressure on the parents and on home life. If you want to teach kids responsibility, give them housework to do. But reading 30 min a day seems like just as much pressure. Keep in mind that public schools have shorter hours than frum schools.
I think homework has its place. If a teacher is giving the students appropriate homework that reinforces what they are learning in school, then i think its valid. If a teacher is just giving homework for the sake of homework, then it is a waste of time.
If you have parents at home that are working with their children on a daily basis to make sure that they are truly learning what is taught in school, then “homework” would not be necessary. Unfortunately that is not always the case.
I don’t think homework is a bad thing. I just think that the amount of homework has increased over the years. Don’t abolish homework altogether, just decrease the amount. There is a middle of the road way to do things!
Teachers you have no idea what a pressure homework is on high school girls who have large families.
Homework is an artificial unecessary
pressure. Can we get some comments from principals and teachers or do they know we’re right and just unwilling to change because …………….
my girls school seems to have found a middle road –
they give homework but policy is that homework is between the the teacher and student, and therefore the parent only needs to be involved minimally, like to remind the kid, and to listen to reading etc at that age. my daughter does her homework in a few minutes with no input from me whatsoever.
Although I believe reading practice is essential, most other homework assignments seem to be pretty pointless….as a mother I find it very difficult to do homework with my various aged children while at the same time giving enough attention to my nursery / kindergarten / toddler age kids too….there are only so many hours between four and bedtime and giving homework nightly that involves the parents can be stressful on the whole family…..and what’s up with all these quizzes and tests on a daily basis? Am I the only person who believes applied homework helps a child think for himself way more than all these parrot fashion spitback tests?????
homework does put alot of pressure on the parents. for a working mother who comes home right before the kids and has to take care of the little ones, prepare supper, clean up from breakfast, do laundry and spend time with her kids, there really is no time for homework especially for the kids that hate doing the homework it just causes stress. my kids do not enjoy homework (except for one of them) and it really is a struggle. it would be so nice if they didn’t have any. although the boys who are learning gemarah should review at home if they could but that is not really homework, that should be a given
the truth lies in between. SOME homework is good.
I agree 100%, get rid of homework it’s an abomination, I pay full tuition, never asked for a discount, there’s no reason me or my wife should have to spend time doing schoolwork, when we should be spending quality time with our kids.
I guarantee you that all those here that are for homework, never sat and did it with their kids.
Home work must be done to establish responsobiity and parent envolvement, however shall be to get over with in five minutes