It’s the time of year to get your child all packed up and sent off to school again. For me, homework was always the worst part of going back to school, but then again, I wasn’t in Mrs. Brandy Young’s class.
The second grade teacher recently sent a note home to parents regarding her “New Homework Policy.” I know what you’re thinking, but it was—surprisingly—the best note they could have received. The new policy? That no formal homework assignments will be given this year. The only homework students will need to complete is work they aren’t able to finish during the day.
“Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance,” the note reads. “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.”
Samantha Gallagher’s daughter, Brooke, is in Mrs. Young’s class. Gallagher shared Mrs. Young’s note on Facebook after receiving it, and the concept of doing away with homework, at least at an elementary level, has clearly resonated. The post’s been shared more than 68,000 times, and Gallagher recently wrote a comment on her post noting that it’s been shared around the world, from Ireland to Africa.
According to Huffington Post, the teacher’s onto something with this “no homework” idea. The publication cites a study that found no direct correlation between homework and student achievement. In fact, the publication even goes on to say, “no research has ever found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind or in any amount) in elementary school.” So, all of that after-school work may not actually be improving your child’s chances of success. And, clearly, Mrs. Young just gets it.
“I’m just trying to be innovative — I really want to be a leader of my classroom. As a mom and as a teacher, [I found that] a lot of homework just wasn’t necessary, and it wasn’t the right thing for my students,” Young, who teaches at Godley Elementary School in Godley, Texas, told PopSugar. “Lower elementary school students are here all day with us, so I think it’s our job to educate them here and when they go home they have other things they need to learn there.”
Because homework isn’t the only way to teach children, after all.
