Homework … stop that. It’s silly.

  • Why is homework assigned?
  • Because we’ve “always done it this way”.
  • For the last 100 years, at least

You may have heard the awfully overused, clichéd, and much favoured by political figures’ quote:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”

You may also think Einstein said it over and over. Apparently he didn’t, but it holds water.

“Homework should be banned!!!”

I’ve been saying it ever since I was given homework as a student. Others say it, too. Particularly in Finland, which has the best academic record in the world, and has banned homework, amongst other radical education reforms that have consistently paid off.

Why should homework be banned?

Imagine you’re a parent of a high-school student. Picture this:

  1. Child returns home from school
  2. Parent: “Have you got any homework?”
  3. Child: “GRRRRRR!!! Yes!”
  4. Parent: “ARRRRGHHHH!!! Go and do it now!”
  5. Breakdown in family relationship

What is more important? Family relationships or completed homework?

I’ve listened to senior educators, and many admit that homework is a “visual stimuli for the parent” that proves the child is getting an education, that has “little or no impact on attainment”.

The homework principle hasn’t changed for around 100 years. Insanity?

So, how do we change?

Home “learning” vs. Home “work”

It is widely recognised that sustained parental engagement can have a positive impact on the attainment, behaviour and attendance of schoolchildren. Read about Dr Janet Goodall’s work on the subject. She’s the educator of educators on the subject, and we listen to her intently.

Schoop is getting them young, and this is already showing results, which we intend to be independently verified via a pure research project that will hopefully be led by Dr Janet (Bath University).

Encouraging parents and carers to be involved in their children’s education is what we do. We encourage home learning. If you get encouragement and updates from your child’s teacher via Schoop – telling you about what your child is learning – you have something to talk about. Think about it.

Imagine you have a child in primary education. You collect them after school. What’s the first thing you say?

“How was school today?” or “What did you do in school today?”

Answers are generally:

“Fine” or “Nothing”

OK, so if I gave you a direct line to the classroom that told you about their day, what they did, what they’re learning, would that be useful to you? Would that give you something to talk about? A way of engaging with your child and improving your relationship with them?

Teacher via Schoop: “Today we learned about the Romans, and painted pictures of eagles. Ask your child what they know about the Romans, and why eagles were important to them. They will surprise you!”

Agreed, it’s not for everyone. Some parents think school and parenting are poles apart. They’re hard to reach. But, some that think this way can be persuaded otherwise.

This is also what we do.

Schoop reaches the “hard to reach” and is already making a difference

Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to know more.

Thanks for reading

Paul Smith
Founder & CEO