Florida School District to Ban Homework
The start of a new school year brings excitement and anticipation for both parent and child. And then when reality hits, afternoons and evenings are chipped away by homework. Hours of homework, in fact. However, Marion County, Fla. kids won't have to worry about their afternoons being bogged down by homework because their school district has decided to ban it.
That's right! The "no homework" policy for all 31 elementary kids is due to research showing students perform better when given a break from homework, according to Marion County School District Superintendent Heidi Maier. Maier points to research from University of Tennessee professor Richard Allington, which found that reading to a child has more positive effects than homework. Instead of homework, the school is asking that all elementary children read or be read to for 20 minutes each night, WKMG-TV reported.
Children readind book in living room siting on the sofa
I, personally, love this idea. My kids' teachers often tell me their classroom is homework-free... unless... your child isn't able to finish their work during class. For one of my boys this meant daily homework. He writes slower than most of the other children and the time allotted was never enough. Some nights we would fight with him to get his homework done, but other days I would just give up. He ultimately decided he just didn't care about the classroom reward for completed homework--it was just too much for him (and was not worth the pain and tears to me to push it). This is not what school should be about.
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Would you support a "no homework" policy at your child's elementary school?
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