homework ban canada

No more homework: Growing movement, especially early on, to ban after-school assignments

'I was probably making about 5% of my kids excited about mathematics," he said. Homework seemed to 'buoy the strong and discourage the weak'

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David Martin’s math classes used to look like any other: On a typical day, students might go over six or seven problems of increasing difficulty, followed by a word problem. Then they’d be assigned similar questions for homework.

The class’s drop-out rate got to around 40% before the Red Deer, Alta., high school teacher knew something had to change.

“I was probably making about 5% of my kids excited about mathematics,” he said. Homework in his class had always seemed to “buoy the strong and discourage the weak,” he said — the students who could do the 30 problems at home probably didn’t need to do them, he said, while the less math-savvy struggled with even one.

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So Mr. Martin pored through the research on this time-honoured academic practice, little of which he found convincing.

Homework, he decided, would have to go.

Now, three years later, his class looks totally different: Students work on one or two harder, critical-thinking problems per class and are encouraged to take their time and be creative. No work goes home. The drop-out/failure rate is now 4% to 5% and the class average remains the same.

“This kid I met after school in summer time [told me] ‘If I had to do homework or daily stuff, I would have failed,'” Mr. Martin said. Another former student told him he aced his university math course thanks, in part, to the no-homework approach.

He may be the only teacher in his high school who has nixed take-home work completely, but Mr. Martin is part of a growing cohort of parents, educators and even administrators who are “anti-homework” — viewing it as a stress-inducing, mostly useless practice that saps students’ desire to learn rather than nurture it. It’s a movement that has risen alongside the return of free play, the concern about raising innovative young people primed for the knowledge economy and families’ increasingly busy lives packed with extra-curricular activities. This week, Collège de Saint-Ambroise in Saguenay, Que., launched a year-long pilot project banning homework for students in Grades 1-6. Like in Mr. Martin’s class, the way students spend time time at school will be restructured to make sure children do not fall behind, school board spokesperson Marie-Ève Desrosiers told The Canadian Press.

Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.

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The news reinvigorated a debate about the value of homework — a conversation that has bubbled up and receded over the past five to seven years, gaining converts along the way. Even still, the issue remains divisive, with some parents campaigning hard for a homework-free experience that would give them their life back — and others worried about their children falling behind or failing to learn the discipline and time management required in high school and beyond. As one Collège de Saint-Ambroise parent said, “I’ll see how the year goes, but I’m very afraid. Homework is a way for us parents to evaluate whether things are going well, and to guide us in helping and supporting them.”

The research is also split or viewed with skepticism, muddying the waters for parents and educators.

“If you look at all of the different types of homework of all students, it has a moderate effect. It’s not big, but you can say ‘This does enhance student achievement,'” said Robert Marzano, CEO of Marzano Research Laboratory in Boulder, Co., which does research and development for K-12 education. “Do you actually have to have homework? No. You could have a system that didn’t have any homework and it could still be a good system. I can’t recommend getting rid of it, though, except at the primary level. But make sure you use it purposefully.”

A 2009 systematic review by the Canadian Council on Learning found that homework is linked to higher student achievement — but only if it is “judiciously assigned” and engaging to the student.

It’s up to school boards or even schools to enact homework policies. The Toronto District School Board, for example, says kindergarten students shouldn’t be assigned homework, and reading, games, having discussions and interactive activities should be the only thing students Grade 1 to 6 do outside of class time. But despite the Ontario government’s new Growing Success initiative, which says teachers should assess what’s done in the classroom and not what’s sent home, homework continues in most schools.

When Mark Barnes, an education consultant who lives outside Cleveland, Ohio, asks his teacher-audiences why they still assign homework, the answer is typically this: “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

The former middle-school teacher was a “very traditional, in-the-box sort of teacher” for the first 14 years of his career, piling on the homework on weekends and holidays. But half of his students were failing. Then he read The Homework Myth, the influential 2006 book by Alfie Kohn that debunks common claims about homework — that it reinforces classroom lessons, that it teaches responsibility and discipline. He also got interested in what actually motivates people, and students especially. They need to be “intrinsically” motivated, he found, where as schools cast homework as “extrinsic” — you have to do it or you fail.

“I stopped assigning homework all together,” he said. “Kids will do things academically when they see value in it.”

Peterborough, Ont., elementary school teacher Lisa Noble also stopped assigning homework in her core French classes when she saw her students weren’t progressing, but getting wrapped up in the “busy work” of memorizing verb tenses rather than developing an ability to converse in a second language.

Parents were confused — where was the homework that made clear what the students were learning in class? Some parents even asked that their children be enrolled in a class led by a more traditional teacher who assigned homework.

“As parents we still expect our kids’ school experience to look like ours and I’m not sure it should. That’s part of it,” she said. “Parents go ‘Why don’t you have homework?’ and it does put a bigger onus on the teacher to communicate it.’

The whole point of nixing homework, she said, was to create a more equitable learning experience — and you would see the difference in submitted homework, some with “parents’ fingerprints all over them,” as Jessica Lahey at The New York Times ‘s Parent-Teacher Conference blog puts it, and some in which it was clear there was no help at all.

There is concern, however, that students will be ill-prepared for older grades in which homework is demanded and expected, as students approach the self-directed university years. Anelia Coppes, a parent of four in Parry Sound, Ont., said a friend of hers has a child entering Grade 7 — the first year in which homework will be assigned.

“This kid is nervous, he’s making himself sick,” she said. “It shouldn’t be that way. Why do we have kids stressing over the fact that they have to do homework?”

It is indeed a challenge that high schools, which are still far more likely to assign homework, are not on the no-homework bandwagon or at very least mindful of its mission, Ms. Noble said. “They have four periods a day in a semester system, they’re 70 minutes long, and if you’re not doing that maintenance homework, you’re sunk.”

Still, there is a growing sensitivity to parent preference for work getting done at school.

At his son’s Grade 2 parent orientation this week, Calgary parent and radio broadcaster Buzz Bishop said teachers were almost regretful in telling parents a small amount of homework would be assigned — the bulk of it 15 minutes of reading a night.

“It was seriously almost apologetic — ‘This isn’t going to be every day, this is what we can expect, we know families are busy, we don’t want to burden you,'” he said.

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Should homework be banned? Toronto students, parents weigh in

The debate over how much homework students should receive has been ongoing for years and one the President of Ireland has recently weighed in on, sparking plenty of public opinion.

Michael D. Higgins, who once served as Ireland's Arts Minister, suggested in a recent interview that homework should be banned.

“I think myself, really, that the time at home, and the time in the school, is an educational experience, and it should get finished at the school, and people should be able to use their time for other creative things,” Higgins said in an interview with RTE's public affairs show for children, news2day.

The comments have triggered plenty of public opinion not only in Ireland, but also on this side of the Atlantic.

"With extracurriculars, it’s a lot - It can pile up, so maybe there should be a limit," said high school student Mya.

"Sometimes it can be overwhelming, especially around exams, but I believe it's necessary in certain subjects like Math where you need to understand it,” said high school student Nina.

But many parents who spoke with CTV News Toronto believe it's critical in helping understand how their children are progressing.

"It's good for the students to practice how to learn reading and write," said Emma Vachon, a mother of two.

"It's very little that we get. It helps everybody figure out how we're progressing and if we need help," another parent said.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) told CTV News Toronto the matter is not on the table.

Many school boards in Ontario have different policies on homework.

For the TDSB, that includes no homework for the youngest students in Kindergarten. For Grades 1 to 6, the policy states homework should reflect the unique needs of the child, and include reading and interactive activities at home. For students in Grades 7 and 8, homework should be completed within an hour, while high school students should complete their homework in two hours.

Math tutor Vanessa Vakharia says it's a conversation she often has with parents, and argues homework is critical and shouldn't be abolished.

"It gives students a chance to practice on their own and gives me, as a tutor, the chance to see what needs to be worked on further," Vakharia said. "I think it's important to remember if we give kids homework – that it's productive."

Ireland's presidential role is largely a ceremonial one, and at this point, there's no indication whether the country’s government would introduce legislation banning homework. 

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Marks go up after school bans homework

No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks. At least not because kids didn't do their homework -- because there isn't any at one Ontario school.

Kids at Prince of Wales Public School in Barrie, Ont. are probably some of the happiest in the country. Not only because their school banned homework last year, but because their marks actually went up as a result.

"As a whole we found marks have started to go up, our Education Quality and Accountability Office data has improved since we started," Jan Olson, the school's principal said in an interview with CTV's Canada AM.

He says there are also fewer behavioural issues as a result of the ban, and academic improvement was observed across the entire spectrum of students: wealthy and poor, special needs and gifted.

The ban was put into place after the school looked at research on whether there was any relationship between homework and student achievement.

"We didn't find a whole lot of achievement correlation between those so we decided, 'why do we need to do it then?'" Olson said.

But before the school could start the policy, it had to duke it out with parents who grew up with the notion that homework is best for their kids, he said. Staff had to convince parents that the existing data and research suggest just the opposite -- that no homework is the best homework.

But the students don't get off scott free from their scholarly duties--- they still have to study for regular tests. But the lack of homework helps teachers monitor the progress of kids more accurately because they get daily feedback and don't have to wait to mark homework and hand it back days later.

Olson says the policy is making life easier for teachers too.

"Teachers at my school have found that when they focus on effective classroom practices, students are engaged more, students are willing to complete their work more effectively," Olson said.

And if kids do get any homework, it is assigned in relation to how it will work best with the curriculum. For example, students could be assigned to ask questions or create a dialogue with their parents.

It's "creating relationships but not encompassing the parents and family's whole life," Olson said.

Canada AM's Your Say page got one of the biggest responses ever when it asked "Should homework be banned?"

"I think banning homework is very unnecessary, it gives us kids responsibility, discipline, and much more," wrote Kenzie Pero, 12, who goes to school in Nova Scotia.

"Spend time with them, talk with them, take them to events, concerts, and museums, this will give them more valuable learning than any amount of homework ever will," wrote Darcey-Joe from Winnipeg.

In January, the Simcoe County district School Board held a meeting with two education experts from the University of Toronto, who wrote a study that found homework isn't always beneficial and can give families stress, make children tired, and can even lead to marital problems.

Last month, the Simcoe County District School Board passed new homework guidelines for every school in the area, but did not ban homework altogether.

The new policy states that teachers should avoid assigning homework that is due the next day so kids can have more time to participate in extra curricular activities. It also says homework should meet the individual needs of students, and not require access to technology that might not be available to kids.

The new policy also prevents teachers from assigning homework before holidays or March break.

Cameron Hinojosa studies homework and works on resume's at his home Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009 in Fresno, Calif. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

This photo taken July 1, 2009 shows Kerry Dickinson,right, with her son, Sam, 13, an eighth grader, doing math homework at their home in Danville, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Quebec elementary school sparks debate after banning homework

A Montreal-area elementary school has sparked an online debate after adopting a “no homework” policy earlier this year. While students at Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School are still expected to do schoolwork — they’re now just given time to complete their assignments in class rather than at home.

“I was really happy obviously,” student Nicole Walsh told CTV News . “No homework? That’s, like, every kid’s dream!”

Although controversial, the idea isn’t new. Elizabeth Ballantyne has joined a list of other schools across Canada that have banned homework assignments, including a nearby school in Saguenay, Que. College de Saint-Ambroise adopted a no-homework policy in 2008 — it started as a one-year pilot project and continues to this day. Meanwhile, Prince of Wales Public School in Barrie, Ont., reportedly saw grades go up after adopting their homework ban in 2009 — it was even listed as one of the fastest improving Ontario elementary schools in 2015, according to the Fraser Institute’s annual school rankings.

South of the border, a Texas teacher’s note to parents about a “no formal homework policy” in her second-grade class went viral in 2016. “Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside and get your child to bed early,” Brandy Young wrote.

ALSO SEE: Ontario mom ‘humiliated’ after being told to stop breastfeeding at gymnastics class

The idea of ditching homework to spend time with family was an important factor for Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary.

“We want students to be at home, being with their families, being with their friends, playing and being children, not spending six hours at work and then going home and working for two more hours. ” Michael Brown, the school’s principal, told CTV News.

ALSO SEE: Mom tells daughter’s school ‘this is a homework-free household’

Although studies have found no correlation between homework in elementary school and a student’s academic performance, some believe it’s a prime time for kids to review what they have learned throughout the day

“Those study skills, those work habits (that) they develop by doing their homework will help them succeed throughout their lives,” Steven Erdelyi, head of Solomon Schechter Academy in Montreal, told CTV.

What do you think — should schools ban homework for elementary school students? VOTE in our poll below and let us know!

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Elementary school bans homework, encourages more family time instead

MONTREAL, Canada (WSVN) — A school in Canada has decided to ban homework in order to give students more time with their families.

Michael Brown, the principal of Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School in Montreal, told CTV News that the change was made because students should not have to spend all day at school working, only to have hours of after-school work to complete as well.

He said that, first and foremost, the kids should be able to spend time with their families and friends, playing and just “being children.”

“The best kind of homework is eating healthy, getting a good night’s sleep and being ready for the next day of school,” Brown said to  CBC News , noting the students will still have assignments, but they will be done in class rather than sent home each night.

Other schools in Canada have also instituted similar homework bans, citing research that found homework has little to no benefit for children through sixth grade. The study found homework can also be a source of stress and “burnout” in children.

“I hear the term ‘student burnout’ and those are two words, in my mind, that should not be together,” Brown said. “So where is the time? When does a child get to be a child? When does a child just get to shut down and go play?”

The reaction at the school has been mostly positive, but not every parent agrees with the plan. Lori Press’s son Riley is in second grade at the school, telling reporters she is “on the fence” about the homework ban. She argues that homework helps children learn study skills.

“Once they get into high school, it’s not the same thing. They’re going to have homework; they’re going to have to learn to study. They’re going to have to get that routine going,” Press told CBC.

Brown says the school’s standards have not changed, and parents are encouraged to read with their children at home.

While it is too early to determine the impact of the homework ban, Brown said staff have noticed a “calmer vibe” in the school since the new policy was put in place.

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August 16, 2021

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in

by Sara M Moniuszko

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide-range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas over workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework .

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy work loads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold, says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace, says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.

And for all the distress homework causes, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night.

"Most students, especially at these high-achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school ," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework, I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic, making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized... sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking assignments up can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

©2021 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Student Opinion

Should We Get Rid of Homework?

Some educators are pushing to get rid of homework. Would that be a good thing?

By Jeremy Engle and Michael Gonchar

Do you like doing homework? Do you think it has benefited you educationally?

Has homework ever helped you practice a difficult skill — in math, for example — until you mastered it? Has it helped you learn new concepts in history or science? Has it helped to teach you life skills, such as independence and responsibility? Or, have you had a more negative experience with homework? Does it stress you out, numb your brain from busywork or actually make you fall behind in your classes?

Should we get rid of homework?

In “ The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong, ” published in July, the Times Opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that homework may be imperfect, but it still serves an important purpose in school. The essay begins:

Do students really need to do their homework? As a parent and a former teacher, I have been pondering this question for quite a long time. The teacher side of me can acknowledge that there were assignments I gave out to my students that probably had little to no academic value. But I also imagine that some of my students never would have done their basic reading if they hadn’t been trained to complete expected assignments, which would have made the task of teaching an English class nearly impossible. As a parent, I would rather my daughter not get stuck doing the sort of pointless homework I would occasionally assign, but I also think there’s a lot of value in saying, “Hey, a lot of work you’re going to end up doing in your life is pointless, so why not just get used to it?” I certainly am not the only person wondering about the value of homework. Recently, the sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco and the mathematics education scholars Ilana Horn and Grace Chen published a paper, “ You Need to Be More Responsible: The Myth of Meritocracy and Teachers’ Accounts of Homework Inequalities .” They argued that while there’s some evidence that homework might help students learn, it also exacerbates inequalities and reinforces what they call the “meritocratic” narrative that says kids who do well in school do so because of “individual competence, effort and responsibility.” The authors believe this meritocratic narrative is a myth and that homework — math homework in particular — further entrenches the myth in the minds of teachers and their students. Calarco, Horn and Chen write, “Research has highlighted inequalities in students’ homework production and linked those inequalities to differences in students’ home lives and in the support students’ families can provide.”

Mr. Kang argues:

But there’s a defense of homework that doesn’t really have much to do with class mobility, equality or any sense of reinforcing the notion of meritocracy. It’s one that became quite clear to me when I was a teacher: Kids need to learn how to practice things. Homework, in many cases, is the only ritualized thing they have to do every day. Even if we could perfectly equalize opportunity in school and empower all students not to be encumbered by the weight of their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, I’m not sure what good it would do if the kids didn’t know how to do something relentlessly, over and over again, until they perfected it. Most teachers know that type of progress is very difficult to achieve inside the classroom, regardless of a student’s background, which is why, I imagine, Calarco, Horn and Chen found that most teachers weren’t thinking in a structural inequalities frame. Holistic ideas of education, in which learning is emphasized and students can explore concepts and ideas, are largely for the types of kids who don’t need to worry about class mobility. A defense of rote practice through homework might seem revanchist at this moment, but if we truly believe that schools should teach children lessons that fall outside the meritocracy, I can’t think of one that matters more than the simple satisfaction of mastering something that you were once bad at. That takes homework and the acknowledgment that sometimes a student can get a question wrong and, with proper instruction, eventually get it right.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

Should we get rid of homework? Why, or why not?

Is homework an outdated, ineffective or counterproductive tool for learning? Do you agree with the authors of the paper that homework is harmful and worsens inequalities that exist between students’ home circumstances?

Or do you agree with Mr. Kang that homework still has real educational value?

When you get home after school, how much homework will you do? Do you think the amount is appropriate, too much or too little? Is homework, including the projects and writing assignments you do at home, an important part of your learning experience? Or, in your opinion, is it not a good use of time? Explain.

In these letters to the editor , one reader makes a distinction between elementary school and high school:

Homework’s value is unclear for younger students. But by high school and college, homework is absolutely essential for any student who wishes to excel. There simply isn’t time to digest Dostoyevsky if you only ever read him in class.

What do you think? How much does grade level matter when discussing the value of homework?

Is there a way to make homework more effective?

If you were a teacher, would you assign homework? What kind of assignments would you give and why?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column . Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

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Should We Ban Homework?

The cons of homework are starting to outweigh the pros.

Recent research shows that teenagers have doubled the amount of time they spend on homework since the 1990s. This is in spite of other, well-documented research that calls the efficacy of homework into question, albeit in the younger grades. Why are students spending so much time on homework if the impact is zero (for younger kids) or moderate (for older ones)? Should we ban homework? These are the questions teachers, parents, and lawmakers are asking.

Bans proposed and implemented in the U.S. and abroad

The struggle of whether or not to assign homework is not a new one. In 2017, a Florida superintendent banned homework for elementary schools in the entire district, with one very important exception: reading at home. The United States isn’t the only country to question the benefits of homework. Last August, the Philippines proposed a bill  to ban homework completely, citing the need for rest, relaxation, and time with family. Another bill there proposed no weekend homework, with teachers running the risk of fines or two years in prison. (Yikes!) While a prison sentence may seem extreme, there are real reasons to reconsider homework.

Refocus on mental health and educate the “whole child”

Prioritizing mental health is at the forefront of the homework ban movement. Leaders say they want to give students time to develop other hobbies, relationships, and balance in their lives.

This month two Utah elementary schools gained national recognition for officially banning homework. The results are significant, with psychologist referrals for anxiety decreasing by 50 percent. Many schools are looking for ways to refocus on wellness, and homework can be a real cause of stress.

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Research supports a ban for elementary schools

Supporters of a homework ban often cite research from John Hattie, who concluded that elementary school homework has no effect on academic progress. In a podcast he said, “Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. In high school it’s larger. (…) Which is why we need to get it right. Not why we need to get rid of it. It’s one of those lower hanging fruit that we should be looking in our primary schools to say, ‘Is it really making a difference?'”

In the upper grades, Hattie’s research shows that homework has to be purposeful, not busy work. And the reality is, most teachers don’t receive training on how to assign homework that is meaningful and relevant to students.

Parents push back, too

In October this Washington Post article made waves in parenting and education communities when it introduced the idea that, even if homework is assigned, it doesn’t have to be completed for the student to pass the class. The writer explains how her family doesn’t believe in homework, and doesn’t participate. In response, other parents started “opting out” of homework, citing research that homework in elementary school doesn’t further intelligence or academic success. 

Of course, homework has its defenders, especially in the upper grades

“I think some homework is a good idea,” says Darla E. in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. “Ideally, it forces the parents to take some responsibility for their child’s education. It also reinforces what students learn and instills good study habits for later in life.”

Jennifer M. agrees. “If we are trying to make students college-ready, they need the skill of doing homework.”

And the research does support some homework in middle and high school, as long as it is clearly tied to learning and not overwhelming.

We’d love to hear your thoughts—do you think schools should ban homework? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, why you should stop assigning reading homework.

You Might Also Like

15 Things Educators Should Stop Doing, According to Principals

Their answers might surprise you. Continue Reading

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A call for the great Canadian homework ban

August 28, 2006 By Chris Corrigan Learning , Unschooling 14 Comments

My friend Alex Kjerulf today has a post about homework that I am in complete agreement with. He points to this TIME magazine story which, to an unschooling parent, is no news at all. I already don’t send my kids to school, which we can do here in Canada. It’s called unschooling . BUT if for some reason my kids did go to school I would do what I have advocated others do and that is, I would refuse to allow the school to assign them homework. It is not simply the fact that kids are overworked. There are four other reasons why homework would be banned at my house.1. They learn nothing from doing it. It is not homework that reinforces an idea or a skill, it is developing a passion for something and then having the time to follow it through that does the trick. Homework is a waste of time.

2. Schools already steal six hours or more a day from a child’s life. If they can’t do what they need to do in six hours, it is not my child’s responsibility to gives them more time. It seems to me that homework is not for kids to learn, it’s for schools to shift the responsibility. Teachers don’t get marked on how useful classroom time is, but kids get marked on whether they did their homework or not. That means a lot of classroom stuff that isn’t working is allowed to continue as long as kids do their homework.

3. Homework is an infringemnent on family time. Many of the big media that would otherwise say that homework is important also decry the fact that kids aren’t spending enough time talking with their families. It is not possible to create an atmosphere of deep family connection when parents and the kids are all working three or four hours a night at home. You need many hours together, playing games, reading books, fixing the house together, going to movies, conversing and cooking for friends to have a healthy and balanced family life. Being together only on weekends is like getting a two day pass from prison.

4. Homework robs children of the time they need to develop real skills and passions. When I was in school for example, I taught myself music theory and theology during my grade 11 year. I wasn’t taking either of these subjects at school, and I set aside a lot of homework to learn them. I failed several exams at Christmas 1985 because instead of studying, I was writing four part harmony arrangments of Queen songs and reading Martin Buber. Both of those experiences have stayed with me long after I can even remember what classes I took at school that year, and both continue to be useful in my life.

So, as we enter another “school year” my radical proposal is that those of you who want that time back with your kids, claim it back. And once you’ve gone a year without homework, it might give you the steel to rise up next year and opt out of standardized testing (which in British Columbia you can do , you know… with the support of teachers too , who really know the costs of this stuff).

And don’t forget parents, you need to set the example. Leave work at work! It’s no good having kids come home expecting some family time and have you under house arrest by your boss too!

Update: Rob Paterson has taken up the call and there are some great comments in his post from folks campaigning to ban homework in Atlantic Canada. I weighed in on a second post he has made

Update: A commenter at Rob’s site pointed to a nice post from Brian Alger from a couple of years ago on this topic as well. There’s nothing new about this, obviously!

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14 Comments

I am complete and full agreement. With the “agreement” signed between BC Goverment and Native Leaders in BC about the Education Agreement to create our own teachers, schools, and circulums, I am cautious of our own assimilated people basing our education off of colonial and settler “bank-teller” type learning. It’s like I say “I never let school get in the way of my education.”

I have a question now, can I guest blog this post on mine? You say it exactly what I am intending.

Yes D. Go right ahead…

I agree with an ever increasing amount of homework that today’s schools ladle onto our children. I avoided as much as possible and still managed to finish high school and a four year degree.

On the other side, practise makes perfect. Writing all those papers, from thirteen different psychology classes, have made me a better researcher and author. As a Buddhist, I struggle to appropriate enough time for my homework (as my meditation practice could be called.)

Practice makes perfect truly…

And I think one great teaching from Buddhism is about the true nature of practice. If people engaged in homework as an exercise in mindfulness, that would be one thing. But you never get marked on your meditation practice! (Except by yourself, and that becomes more grist for the mill!).

Here’s an interesting question: what if schools taught mindfulness about learning rather than homework? What if studenst were invited to go home and practice mindful reflection on their learning styles, their passions, their struggles and used their two hours a night for that? Wouldn’t that be more valuable than conjugating verbs in a language you have no intention of learning?

appreciated your ‘great cdn. homework ban’. I’ve had several occassions to encourage teachers over the years to trust the children to learn during school hours. I have been thinking about teaching mindfulness to my youngest son. He is learning ‘focusing’ as a way to relax at night and it is a real gift. Next step I think is to be conscious of the ‘observer’. Anyway, I was glad to be reminded of using our time together after school and it is good to know others are doing this.

It’s amazing to see the interest in this call. It seems to be touching a nerve and I’m hearing from people that deeply feel it, but haven’t figured out how to say it.

“Grist for the mill.” Amazing how something so easy as sitting quietly on a cushion can be so much like homework at times.

Teaching mindfulness rather than our current brute force approach to learning is an interesting concept. By definition, being mindful means being completely open to everything. It is much easier to learn a new concept or fact if you carry a postive frame of mind and you are focused on every moment. We have all memorized a phone number in one pass (for a attractive lady) but I still struggle to remember how to conjugate the past perfect of the Spanish verb “to have” (tener) even after seven years of high school and college classes and homework.

Note: Even the noun homework now has a negative connotation for most in this society.

Overall, I agree kids shouldn’t be sent home with extra homework. However, some children who have yet to develop time management skills don’t complete the work that’s assigned in class and teachers have to keep them in at breaks or if it’s still not done- send it home as homework. Maybe ask your kids which kind of homework they’re getting. Then the “who’s fault is that” logic might actually prevent a lot of that homework from coming home. It’s not the teacher or school’s fault your kid can’t finish at school what 98% of his classmates can. (No, I’m not a teacher but the majority of my friends and family members are) Even if all “extra” homework was banned…it’s highly doubtful all families would suddenly spend more time together and be able to bond more. The families that already do will spend more…parents who are content to park their kids in front of the tv or playstation will sadly, continue to do so. That said, ban the “extra” stuff…but don’t expect that kind of move to change your kid’s life. That’s the result when when parents teach their kids the skills they need to really make it in life like self discipline, critical thinking and accepting responsibility for their own lives. Just like homework, no one else can do it for them.

It’s a common thought not being able to complete work in class is a time management issue. My experience is that kids have no trouble completing endless amounts of work if it’s stuff they are truly excited about or enjoy or is somehow meaningful or useful to them. No kid is going to feel passionate about everything that goes on at school. Some kids will love reading and resent being forced to do science experiments. Others will blot out everything except what goes on in the lab.

One problem with schools and with homework that is assigned as “extra” work is that schools focus on failure. If you are doing well in something you are given an “A” but you are penalized by having your time dedicated to stuff you are getting D’s in. The basic assumption is that if you are getting a D, you need to work harder or manage your time better in that subject. This approach hides the fact that you can only get good at somethign by managing your time well. If work isn’t getting completed, couldn’t it also be that you simply don’t care about it? And there is nothing wrong with not caring about things, especially if in doing so you are clearing space to spend time developing your passions. People say we want kids to develop their passions, but in general, school focuses on developing what they are bad at.

Also, I’m not convinced that there is an absolute compelling reason for kids to finish work that assigned for them at school. How many teachers ask kids if they find class or homework valuable? What if the answer was “no?” How many are prepared to alter what they are assigning?

If my kid was asked to complete a mindless task which had no bearing on her learning, and she sensed that, I would have to take her side. I have no intention of creating a learning environment for my child where she feels like her time is being wasted for someone else’s agenda. So instead of laying the blame for work getting completed or not, I would ask the question as to whether the work that is going by the wayside is actually valuable. And if not, why the pressure to complete it?

Lastly, I think we can’t make assumptions about families and how they deal with extra time,especially if people haven’t shifted yet. But I know one thing for sure: if you DON’T let kids and families have the time, they will never have the chance to discover what they might also be as a family. It doesn’t seem a compelling reason NOT to change, to me. What if we tried something different and we liked it? And what if it felt better than doing all that homework or watching TV or playing video games? What if we found a way to do that again, and more of it?

Thanks for your comments Jill.

[…] Two weeks ago I blogged about an article that says that homework is bad for school kids. My canadian friend Chris Corrigan commented how he “unschools” his kids and wrote more about it on his (excellent) blog. […]

Go back to 6th grade, homework sucks and i hate it!! Ban it and burn it plz ban homework!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plz i cant do things love becuase of a gay piece of paper!!!!

The following statement included in the Great Canadian Homework Ban is completely false: “Teachers don”™t get marked on how useful classroom time is…”

Teachers are evaluated often by their administration who observe the teacher’s classroom management, the teacher’s lesson planning, the teacher’s competence. etc. I am a teacher who choses not to assign homework, because I don’t believe it is a useful tool for the students in my class. However, I am insulted when teachers are lumped into one great category in a complaint about homework. I find the statement about teachers not being accountable for their classroom time ridiculous. Teachers are always held accountable for their use of class time.

It sounds to me like the author has had a bad expereince, or two, with a poor teacher. The responsibility falls on the parent to communicate with the teacher and voice his/her concerns. You are your child’s biggest advocate, if your child’s teacher is not doing a good job, then talk with the teacher and the principal. If you don’t see results, then move your child to another class or school.

How foolish of you to lump all teachers together in a blanket statement that is not at all true. How silly that you have decided that homework is good for no one. Every student learns differently. In the same way that I treat students as individuals, and know that some students benefit from having homework assigned and others don’t., you should also recognize that teachers teach in different styles. If you don’t like the style your student’s teacher, if they are failing your student, then by all means do whatever it takes to get your child in a quality classroom. Don’t assume you know how teachers are held accountable for their time, when it’s obvious you have no clue!

Hey Dan…thanks for comments. Many of the teachers I have spoken with about these issues have agreed with me on homework at least – as you do – and some have disagreed, but that’s okay. It seems to me that the overwhelming evidence argues in favour of moving away from a standardized learning methods and empty assignments for all kids, just as you point out.

I am not lumping all teachers together into anything. As you can see, if you read to the end in my original post, I am 100% supportive of the teachers own statements about standardized testing in British Columbia. My statement that “teachers aren’t marked on classroom time” is a statement about the relationship between kids and the school system. The huge amounts of stress experienced by familes who struggle over meeting the demands of school outside of classroom time are not reciprocated in general by a similar level of accountability It’s the structural limitations of the system I am talking about. I can’t see how being evaluated on classroom management and lesson planning can give anyone an accurate picture of whether learning is happening or not. Many teachers I know would pass with flying colours on tests of their classroom management andtheir lesson planning, but they fail to ignite the spark of learning in kids or to find ways to meet kids needs. On the other hand the reverse is true as well. Shoddy classroom management might still result in a creative and respectful learning environment.

Teachers are not held accountable for their class time by students – this is the point. They are held accountable by administrators. In a deep and lasting learning relationship, students and teachers work together. I can think of a myriad of learning relationships I have and that my kids have that are truly reciprocal. The teacher is evaluated by the student. If the student is no longer learning anything, they move on, go and find another teacher. Most elementary school kids don’t have that option. Most high school kids who take that option are branded as “drop outs” when in reality the are pursuing a deeper learning path, and they need positive support to do so. There are no bad learners – only people learning irrelevant stuff

If I am to be blamed for mass generalizations, tag me for making sweeping statements about the education system in general, not about teachers There are always exceptions. In my experience the likelihood of creating or stumbling upon an exception far outweighs the work involved in getting the system to be more flexible. And so I have simply chosen to be a part of a learning family that experiences the world in an entirely different way, as life learners, and my invitation has always been to others to join us and see what we can create together.

Thanks for stopping by

[…] I didn’t champion the Great Canadian Homework Ban this year (although everything I wrote last year still stands) but my kids and I enjoyed a nice not-back-to-school week.  My six year old son and I spent Thursday down at our local golf course hitting buckets of golf balls into an azure blue sky, while the smoky blue mountains of Vancouver Island shimmered in the distance.  All the other kids were back at school and the adults were back at work and we had the whole place to ourselves.  Enjoying September days like this is one of my favourite side benefits of having a life learning family. […]

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College life is an amazing period when most people find their soulmates, meet friends, obtain knowledge, study favorite subjects, and decide on the career path. Don’t you agree?

However, homework has always been the main stumbling block for most students who choose to keep a balance between studies, work, and personal life. While some teachers and parents agree that homework assignments help to improve knowledge and train theoretical skills. However, when kids have no experience in doing assignments out-of-class or school students who get many assignments , they spent hours of homework which led to stress, headache, and burnout. Obviously, parents see these negative effects and start thinking about whether the government should ban homework.

Since students want to enjoy their youth, it’s no wonder that more and more people ask themselves: should students have homework ?

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The debate over banning homework isn’t new, but it has gained in popularity over the last few years. Today, more and more schools and colleges in the USA and Canada implement the ‘no-homework’ policy.

In this article, we’re going to find out whether homework should be banned.

First things first: let’s find out why homework is bad . Here comes the list of the pros of banning homework.

1. Stay Interested in Subjects

It’s no secret that students spend at least five days a week at colleges, but when they come back home, they still have to work on their homework which also takes a lot of time. Since most teachers assign too much homework, students waste many days working on assignments, so they lack sleep and feel stressed. Why? They are afraid of completing their tasks on a bad level, and therefore getting bad marks. While kids study hard to be skilled and well-rounded, they waste a lot of time online and these factors lead to stress and mental health problems, so students are losing interest in subjects.

2. Keep a College-Life Balance

The college life is not just about attending lectures, hitting the books, and doing your homework. It’s an amazing period of life that most young people love as it helps them meet new friends and decide on their career paths if they keep a college-life balance. With the growing amount of homework assignments, it’s getting harder for responsible students to manage their time wisely. Not only do students spend much time working on their tasks and projects, but also teachers assign too much homework.

More and more famous people support the idea of a homework ban as they believe that working too much on homework assignments doesn’t allow kids to keep a college-life balance. Here’s a popular Tweet from Gary Lineker , for example:

Having a balance in life is crucial for every person, but when it comes to the youth, it’s even more important as it affects their productivity, performance, and overall well-being. To get great grades, students do their best to complete tasks on a good level, but they have to spend many days to complete their workload, so they can’t keep a balance.

3. Improve Mental Health

When students have to work on difficult assignments, they may get stress, headaches, and exhaustion. When kids have too much homework, it can result in lack of sleep and healthy relationships with peers and family. No matter how much they love various subjects, homework can negatively affect mental health which can lead to serious problems. The ‘no-homework’ movement helps to protect children from getting too much homework which also helps to improve mental health over the long haul.

Having too much homework is bad, but having no homework at all – is it good? Although more and more people want to implement the no-homework policy and discuss whether should homework be banned, working on assignments after classes is still a great way to obtain knowledge and improve skills. Let’s find out the cons of banning homework.

1. Have Poor Time Management Skills

Students get too much homework. At first blush, it seems to be a problem. However, it has a positive effect on their time management skills. With a desire to get great grades for their assignments without sacrificing personal life, most students find a homework routine that works best for them. In other words, this means they learn how to prioritize tasks, stay focused on their duties, and therefore improve time management skills which can help them in every aspect of life.

2. Increase Screen Time

The popularity of technologies has both advantages and disadvantages. While adults can make the most out of gadgets, younger people may have some problems using their smartphones/tablets. As specified in Common Sense Report , 59% of parents believe that their children are addicted to their devices. Since kids love gadgets so much, they always choose to get through the days playing video games or browsing social media networks unless they start working on homework assignments.

Gadgets have become a common problem most children face, so parents seek out alternative ways to occupy their kids . Believe it or not, homework reduces the amount of time the youth spends scrolling Facebook feeds or texting with peers. There’s a correlation between the amount of time people spend on education and screen time. The sum up? More education means less screen time:

Simply put, if you choose to ban homework, it may lead to serious problems caused by phone addiction. Thus, it’s a negative aspect of a homework ban that can become a global problem in the short term.

3. Damage Children-Parents Relationships

When it comes to homework, every student has asked their parents for help at least once in a lifetime. Since students seek out assignment help, it’s no wonder they turn to their parents. In most cases, parents do their best to help children get their questions answered. It’s psychologically proven that working together with parents on difficult tasks leads to better relationships, but when there’s no homework, students (especially teenagers) are less likely to contact their parents. In other words, this means a lack of communication between children and parents, which negatively affects their overall relationships.

Homework has both pros and cons, so it’s hard to say whether it should be banned or not. However, it’s obvious that teachers should take into account the amount of homework students get weekly and how many days they work on these tasks. Once teachers assign fewer tasks and students stop procrastinating on their homework, working on assignments at home will be more beneficial for everyone in the educational process.

Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north, poll suggests

The u.s. house of representatives recently passed bill requiring sale of tiktok to u.s. entity.

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A new poll suggests 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.

Canada has ordered its own national security review of TikTok, something the Liberal government revealed following passage of the U.S. bill earlier this month.

Just under a third of respondents, 28 per cent, said they would oppose a ban, according to the Leger poll of 1,605 Canadians conducted March 23 to 25. The poll does not have a margin of error because online polls aren't considered truly random samples.

Younger Canadians, who are also more likely to use TikTok, are less supportive of a ban than their older counterparts. Nearly half of those between 18 and 34 reported being on TikTok, compared to 12 per cent of poll respondents over 55.

"In terms of those who support the ban and those who have specific concerns regarding TikTok, it's mostly among older Canadians who don't use TikTok," said Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of Leger.

Among younger Canadians, 42 per cent are in favour of a ban, compared to 59 per cent of those 55 and older.

Is the U.S. about to ban TikTok? | About That

Bourque said messaging from the United States by politicians who are pushing the legislation to ban the app could be influencing opinions north of the border.

He said "the ownership of TikTok being outside the United States, and specifically in China, is what fuels a lot of the concerns south of the border."

"It seems anyways that it's trickling into Canada."

• TikTok, Snapchat respond as Ontario school boards sue social media giants
• Analysis TikTok crackdown passes U.S. House: What to know about today's vote

TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd. The concern behind the U.S. bill is that the Chinese government could demand access to the data of TikTok's American consumers because of national security laws that compel organizations in China to assist with intelligence gathering.

The bill, which still has to pass the U.S. Senate, would ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells its stake in the business.

The Canadian national security review is not related to the U.S. bill and was launched without public disclosure in September. The government has indicated TikTok would be subject to "enhanced scrutiny" through a new policy on foreign investments in the interactive digital media sector.

Some people decreasing usage

In the Leger poll, 56 per cent of Canadian respondents said they have heard about national security concerns involving TikTok from different countries.

Nearly three-quarters of those who were aware of those reports said they are concerned, but most, 56 per cent, haven't changed how they use TikTok.

While 21 per cent have decreased the amount of time they spend on the app, only seven per cent have dropped TikTok entirely. Bourque pointed out that amounts to fewer than one per cent of Canadians.

• Federal government reveals it ordered national security review of TikTok
• Trump claims concern over possible TikTok ban, years after he tried to ban it himself

In total, 26 per cent of respondents said they are on TikTok, while 33 per cent of those with children said they allow their kids to use the app.

In Canada, the app appears to be significantly less popular than social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which are used by 83 and 58 per cent of those polled, respectively.

But when it comes to protection of their personal data, social media users are also more skeptical of those more popular apps. More than three-quarters of Facebook users and 70 per cent of those on Instagram said they are concerned about data protection. That's compared to 66 per cent of those on TikTok.

"It seems that Canadians by and large have concerns about social media altogether," Bourque said. "It seems to be something that's beyond maybe what they've seen or heard specific to TikTok."