![]() ![]() We also know that none of these benefits accrue when homework is mere busywork. Discovering this fact can be both incredibly exciting and deeply empowering for them. ![]() In reality, they are more than capable of learning all sorts of things on their own. ![]() Kids internalize this message and come to believe they need their teacher to gain knowledge. Indeed, when teachers don’t assign homework, it reflects an unconscious conviction that kids can’t learn without adults. ![]() Homework cultivates these mindsets and habits. Homework is a powerful tool to help narrow these inequities, giving children from all backgrounds the opportunity to keep learning when they are not in school.Īt Success Academy, the charter school network I founded and lead, we seek to develop students as lifelong learners who have the confidence and curiosity to pursue and build knowledge in all facets of their lives. Affluent children are far more likely to have the privilege of tutors or other types of supplementary instruction, as well as a family culture of reading, and opportunities to travel, visit museums, and more. Achievement gaps widened between affluent and low-income children not only because low-income students received less in-person or high-quality online instruction during the years of disrupted school, but also because children of college-educated and affluent parents were already less dependent on schools for learning. The pandemic gave us a stark demonstration of this reality. The learning that does or does not take place in the many hours outside of school has a monumental effect on children’s academic success and is a root cause of educational inequity. It is important to remember that kids only spend a fraction of their time in school. The longer I run schools-and it has now been more than sixteen years-the more convinced I am that homework is not only necessary, but a linchpin to effective K–12 education. Any given year, you’ll find people arguing that students, especially those in elementary school, should have far less homework-or none at all. Homework is the perennial bogeyman of K–12 education. ![]()
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