SAN DIEGO — McKinley Elementary School in North Park is taking a different approach to homework this year by not giving any.
“I was excited. We’ve got three daughters in school here and for us it’s just nice to have evenings together and kind of focus on that and not have homework battles,” said Mike Anderson.
Anderson is not alone when it comes to those nightly battles, but still, some parents aren’t sure how they feel about no homework just yet.
“I have mixed feelings. I do think for some kids it’s a struggle and I would hate for parents to go through that, but I also like to prepare them for middle school. I kind of liked having 15 to 20 minutes a day but when it got over that I was frustrated,” said Elizabeth Newlin.
However, students are not completely off the hook. Parents are instructed to spend at least 20 minutes reading each night with their kids, complete any work not finished in class and support their child’s learning outside the classroom.
An email from the San Diego Unified School District reads in part:
“While students may not be working on traditional homework packets, this approach still requires effort at home by the student and the parent, and is in line with the district’s homework policy.”
Still, just the words “no homework” has kids pretty excited and parents feeling relieved.
“It’s nice. I’m just glad all I have to do is reading,” said 4th grader Liam McRory.
“I can tell you that my wife and I are both very happy that it was less than it was last year,” said parent Andy McRory.
FOX 5 asked San Diego Unified why the no homework policy came to be but did not receive a response. However, parents say a study showed homework isn’t helpful and is taxing on both the parent and the child.
