This week I was able to the read an article published by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post titled "What happened when one school banned homework- and asked kids to read and play instead". Right off the bat this article peaked my interest, as I have always questioned whether giving homework to students is truly beneficial to them. The article explained that one school in Vermont unanimously decided to try an experiment of not giving homework for the year, and instead encouraging children to read (alone or with parents), play outside, and eat dinner with their family. The principal of this school reported that all classrooms in his school followed this idea, and it was posted on the schools official website.
Six months in to the 'experiment' the principal noticed that this ended up being a large success. Students were not falling behind as much academically. Although some parents were concerned about whether this was really preparing them for middle school and high school, teachers were noticing a difference in their students and most parents were on board with the project.
I absolutely love this idea of no homework, and having students read instead. I found that in my placement school the students who struggled with reading ended up struggling in every subject. being able to read is such a crucial skills for students to have. Even in math, they need to know how to read in order to accurately understand and complete word problems. Reading every night as opposed to doing other homework would be beneficial to ensure that students are working on their reading skills, and are moving forward in all other projects.
It's an interesting topic to think about, and I am sure everyone has their own side and opinion to this story. Ultimately, I feel that this could be a great idea to implement in a classroom, and would be interesting to see the outcome.
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