Why don't schools simulate a typical 9 to 5 work week for students and remove homework entirely?
Why don't schools simulate a typical 9 to 5 work week for students and remove homework entirely?
I know this is typical for the US so this is more for US people to respond to. I wouldn't say that it is the best system for work, just wondering about the disconnect.
Because even I don't want to work 9-5.
(Also, when are teachers supposed to do things like grade work, or kids to have extracurricular activities, 9-5 is draining, add in music or sports and there's nothing left)
This was my first thought. Teachers definitely need time to assess outside of class time. I would think that assessment or grading would happen while they aren't teaching. There should be a system where teachers grade outside of teaching time or during "homework/study hall" time. You would teach math for 6 hours and grade math for 2 or some breakdown that makes sense. I don't want to make teachers work anymore than they already do. The current system doesn't seem to respect them either way.
Also, why do teacher need to do all the grading?
It isn't even just grading work. In my high school classroom I have students ranging from a second grade reading level to post grad. Every reading, worksheet, science lab, project needs to have accommodations and modifications written in to encompass that. That takes time.
Or creating a new lesson. Making a new lesson for a 50 minute period takes at least an hour.
Clearly you and I participated in very different school experiences. In highschool, I got on my bus each day at 7:30 and got back off the bus at 16:00. If you subtract the 30 minute lunch period, that adds up to almost exactly 8 hours each day.
Factoring in the 2 hours of homework that was regularly assigned, I actually have substantially more free-time as a working 9-5 adult (my school did not have "study hall" time). A young me would have done unspeakable things for a chance at abolishing homework!
Just because students are at school does not mean they are in a typical class. Our school has athletics right after classes. We got out about 5. Just make other options, perhaps skills, clubs, study hall, etc.
Some of it can be done during study hall, while kids are doing their work.