A public elementary school is abolishing traditional homework assignments and telling kids to play instead — outraging parents who say they may pull their kids out of the school.
Teachers at P.S. 116 on East 33rd Street have stopped assigning take-home math worksheets and essays, and are instead encouraging students to read books and spend time with their family, according to a letter the school’s principal, Jane Hsu, sent to parents last month.
“The topic of homework has received a lot of attention lately, and the negative effects of homework have been well established,” Hsu wrote in her letter, which was sent home with students.
“They include: children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and family time and, sadly for many, loss of interest in learning.”
Hsu explained that the school spent more than a year "analyzing studies focused on the effects of traditional homework" and decided that it was more important for the Pre-K through fifth grade students to do activities that “have been proven to have a positive impact on student academic performance and social/emotional development” such as reading at their own pace and playing.
"In fact, you may be surprised to learn that there have been a variety of studies conducted on the effects of homework in the elementary grades and not one of them could provide any evidence that directly links traditional homework practices with current, or even future, academic success."
How can it be so hard for people to understand this?
If you push children too hard, too early, they will simply end up dropping out of school before they can graduate from high school. Which is what we are seeing now.
Remember this?
Mr. Rogers understood children on a fundamental level, and HE understood that you want to raise fully realized and well developed adults you let them learn through play as children.
If you want to create mindless, uninspired cogs in a machine, you force them to sit in desks and teach to the test.
My hope is that other schools will see the success of this New York school and follow their example.
