Exhausted parents and students everywhere are rejoicing at this elementary school teacher’s bold stance on homework.
On “Meet the Teacher Night,” Brandy Young, a second-grade teacher at Godley Elementary School in Texas handed out a note that detailed her no-homework policy.
“Research has been unable to prove that homework improves a students performance,” the note read. “Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner together as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early.”
A photo of the note was posted on Facebook by a parent of a second-grader, Samatha Gallagher, with the comment, “Brooke is loving her new teacher already!”
The photo has been shared over 72,000 times and all the comments on the Facebook post are supportive. With parents other parents sharing how stressed out their kids are with the load of homework already being assigned, it’s no wonder parents and students are rejoicing about Young’s policy.
There has been some criticism, however, with commenters noting that homework reinforces what is learned in the classroom and prepares students for larger workloads in college and in the workforce.
homework serves as an extension of the school day to assure a child comprehends what was taught in class – getting soft on education?
— Tom Zeliznak (@TZeliznak) August 24, 2016
@dave1249 @FoxNews and we wonder why we no longer have the best education system in the world!
— Dave (@dave1249) August 24, 2016
Young is 29 and has taught at Godley Elementary for 8 years. She told People, that the school was very supportive of her policy. “It wasn’t anything I had to seek approval on. I shared my idea with them and they gave me their support.”
Young also said that all the parents of her students have been supportive. She also noted that despite the no-homework policy, learning doesn’t end when students leave her classroom, adding that she hoped they learned non-academic skills as well.