I’m a teacher who frequents this subreddit, and I just had a presentation from a small group of 6th grade students arguing the case for no homework. Growing up, homework was such a normalized thing for me, that I never really questioned giving it to my students.
Even now, I think back on my high school years and can feel the echoes of the stress of staying up until 4 in the morning trying to complete assignments. I learned how to take naps after school so I could pull all-nighters the day before essays were due.
The more I read of the horror stories on this sub, the more I feel it resonate within myself. I’m sick (quite literally) and tired of the constant pressure I feel to work outside of my contracted hours. So why in the world am I doing the same things to my students?
As of today, I unofficially agreed to stop giving homework. I’m updating my policy officially on Monday. The only reservations I have is the fear that I won’t be able to teach the entire 6th grade math curriculum successfully without homework. Yet at the same time, I know that the curriculum I’m teaching is too ambitious for 180 days, and pieces of it aren’t even developmentally appropriate for kids their ages. The whole education system is messed up. Spend ten minutes of the Teachers subreddit and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The youth are always our greatest force for change, and if I can impart anything on my students, I want it to be the lesson I talked them today. Stand up and fight for what you believe in because change is possible.