Primary School Teacher Gets Rid of Homework – and Experts Are Agreeing With Her!

“There will be no formally assigned homework this year…,” said primary school teacher Brandy Young. This appeared in a letter she sent home to her students’ parents in 2016. Two years later, experts say that the positive effects of homework on performance is actually unfounded.

Experts joined in on Teacher Brandy’s crusade with ideas of their own. The no-homework policy started two years ago because of the Texan teacher’s Facebook post.

Second-grade teacher Brandy Young sent this letter to parents in 2016. It went viral on social media.

The said note took the online community by storm. Some reports said the letter resulted in many parents wishing their children are in Teacher Brandy’s class. Samantha Gallagher, a mother who considers herself lucky that her daughter, Brooke, is in Brandy’s class, posted the note.

“We are very familiar with spending exorbitant amounts of time on homework on school nights, and I just knew this would alleviate a lot of weeknight stress,” Samantha had said.

Teacher Brandy, as she poses with Brooke, Samantha Gallagher’s daughter.

Teacher Brandy poses with her student Abbigail Taylor after hitting her first home run.

Now, Teacher Brandy gets support from experts. Experts restated how giving homework to students is not as productive as we believe it to be.

Alfie Kohn, author of “The Homework Myth,” pointed out:

“It is important to realize that no research has ever found any advantage to any kind of homework before kids are in high school — and newer studies are questioning whether it’s necessary even in high school.”

Charlie Kennedy had also tweeted his thoughts about the topic.

In addition, Tom Bennett, director of ResearchEd conference claims students undertake “back breaking” after school tasks with little educational value.

He said:

“I’m not anti homework- it can be a useful tool. Too often it’s an exercise in back covering, or box ticking, with no real thought for the educational outcome.”

“We really don’t have a good reason to do this,” University of Tampa associate professor Patricia O’Grady also shared. “There really is no evidence [of the benefits of homework], and sometimes in schools, we do many, many things for which there is no evidence base.”

Another supporter, Brooklyn College and City University of New York graduate center professor, David Bloomfield, said Teacher Brandy’s policy is sound. “The lasting educational value of homework at that age is not proven,” he said.

How about you, our dear readers? What are your thoughts about this?