If there’s one thing that divides teachers and parents alike, it’s the efficacy of homework. It can seem as if some teachers assign it just because they think they’re supposed to, while others really put thought into the assignments.
Either way, it can often feel like an exercise in futility for some – or all – students.
Which is why Texas language arts teacher Courtney White did away with it completely.
She posted a video on TikTok revealing that she doesn’t assign homework, and giving some brief thoughts on the matter.
@teachingwithmrswhite Students do enough work at school, they don’t need more at home! #teachersoftiktok #letmeintroducemyself #fyp #AirheadsDitchChallenge #TimeforTENET
People had a lot of questions, of course, so she also posted a follow-up video and answered quite a few of them.
One of her reasons?
“There’s no proof that homework is going to make them better students in my class. I respect their time outside of class.
They work hard for me all day.
They don’t need to go home and do more homework because if they do it at home, that does not show me mastery.”
The video has amassed over 4 million views, which means a lot of people are interesting in this topic – which of course, we knew.
@teachingwithmrswhite Reply to @tafgarcia Me not assigning homework, doesn’t make me any less of a teacher. My kids show me mastery of content in class. #teachersoftiktok
She also points out that even though many times homework is meant to be practice, it’s “not good practice if they’re doing it wrong,” or “if they’re cheating,” or “if they’re having someone else do it.”
And you know, they’re kids. So some of that is definitely going on.
But also, she knows the older her students, the more they have going on outside class.
“They have jobs. They have FFA. They have sports. They’re in practice. They’re in band. They have other responsibilities outside of school.
Some of them are going home and taking care of their younger siblings because their parents work.”
But you know what? Even if they’re not doing any of that, it’s still their time.
@teachingwithmrswhite Reply to @officer.ahmed worrying about the mental health of my students doesn’t make me lazy.
White sums it up like this…
“Some of them just need to go home and sleep.
Some of them have to go home and worry about how they’re going to eat because there’s no food at their house.
So if I also give them hours of homework when do they have time to be kids?
When do they have time to relax?”