The End of Homework

I emancipated my students from the shackles of homework nearly two years ago. I began to realize that the burden of homework fell heavy on students and teachers. I had been reading and listening to abolitionists such as Alfie Kohn, Joe Bower, and Mark Barnes for a few years. I began to realize that students had lives outside of school, they learned outside of school, and homework was alienating them from an education they already saw as obsolete and meaningless.  

Homework is not worth it.  Its not worth enforcement measures, disciplining noncompliance, increasing hatred of "learning" and school, or the TIME.   Students come to school for 8 hours.  How can we realistically expect them to do 2-3 hours of homework after 8 hours of school work.  Sports?  Job?  What about family time or hobbies?  In our culture?  Sure, we can fight it, but where does it get us?  On the other side of the coin, how many students succeed BECAUSE of homework?  How many would not learn without homework?  It can be argued that repetition assists memorization.  While that is sometimes true, I have very little interest in memorization.  Besides, this type of learning is temporary.


I haven't regretted my decision for one second. Students do my work in class. If they waste their class time, they may have to make it up at home. My students are learning at least as much, probably more, as they ever have. I don't believe that assigning students additional work away from the person that can facilitate the learning behind that work is a good way to increase learning. Thanks to Joe Bower, I have a great new saying, "homework should be inspired, not assigned". Many of my students now voluntarily work on their project at home. Others look up related information and we discuss it in class.