j.j I teach lower elementary so it hasn't felt super necessary but I'm worried they might complain. I think I'll give out some fun reinforcement activities for class points and not for grade credit. Esp. since a lot of my kids don't have much support at home so it doesn't seem fair.
Plus they're in class for 7 hours a day! Let them have a break and a chance to be kids.
What is the socialist approach to homework? Because it's more or less necessary in high school and definitely required in college, but how do you prepare for that without causing undue stress?
Graded homework is a great way to reinforce and expand classroom learning when the material conditions at home allow for academic success.
If a child doesn’t have a learning environment at home then homework is just going to be a burden. OP is doing a great thing by giving their students nongraded homework. It’s good practice for the students to find a place/time at home to do a fun, low stakes activity at home.
Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest
Eight hours for what we will;
Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest
Eight hours for what we will.
The beasts that graze the hillside,
And the birds that wander free,
In the life that God has meted,
Have a better life than we.
Oh, hands and hearts are weary,
And homes are heavy with dole;
If our life's to be filled with drudg'ry,
What need of a human soul?
Shout, shout the lusty rally,
From shipyard, shop, and mill.
Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest
Eight hours for what we will;
Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest
Eight hours for what we will.
If sixteen years of in-class education isn't enough for people to learn everything they need to know, just keep adding years.
(I don't think that is likely to actually be needed, kids can learn way faster than they are now by making sure they have better home lives, reducing classroom sizes, and improving teachers' conditions.)