Requiring homework on a consistent basis is not an evidence-based practice and actually introduces worse outcomes for kids whose parents/guardians are less present, which disproportionately affects poor kids and kids of color.

Why do we do it? Because there are some parents (you know the ones) who will pester the school and lobby for dropping their funding if they don’t see consistent tangible output from their students. If the kids aren’t coming home with half a dozen papers each day and a bag of books, how can we verify that the teachers aren’t just sitting around on their phones all day not doing shit and collecting a paycheck WITH OUR TAX DOLLARSSSSS?!!!?!?!

So, homework largely serves as busy work to signal to parents that teachers are doing things. And the system is designed for parents to actively encourage and participate in the development of the skills required to regularly complete homework independently by high school. Kids whose parents have less free time are inherently disadvantaged, often labeled as bad kids or lazy early on, and can have a seat on the prison train before they’ve entered middle school. It also harms kids’ self esteem and sets an unhealthy precedent for expectations around work-life balance.

There isn’t a single thing that homework accomplishes by accident which couldn’t be accomplished better on purpose via other methods. Fuck homework.

  • KobaCumTribute [she/her]
    ·
    1 year ago

    There is no way you can teach them everything they need to know about a concept and have them practice it to a satisfactory level in the few periods a week they get of every subject.

    Without any exaggeration, I remember clearly from high school that classes that were an hour and a half long five days a week would cover less in a month than the classes I took in college would in a single class or at most a week (depending) and those were either 50 minutes long three times a week or two hours twice a week. High school classes move at a glacial pace and have tons of time. If that's not good enough then the answer is surely improved methodology, not just increasing the period of ineffective busy work by another hour per day per class.

    • bigboopballs [he/him]
      ·
      1 year ago

      high school that classes that were an hour and a half long five days a week

      High school classes move at a glacial pace and have tons of time.

      high-school was so torturous because of that. Four loooooong stupid classes that drag on and on until they've taken up the entire morning and afternoon, day in and day out... Breaks people in for their life of wage slavery.