Brothers and sisters, what are your children doing after school? Do they help in household chores? Are they resting or playing around? Or are their hours spent on finishing homework, even if, according to Save the Children Philippines, they are at school from five to eight hours every day?
In the past week, two members of Congress presented their respective measures seeking to ban homework. In House Bill 388, teachers are prohibited from giving assignments to their students if they will be done during weekends (Saturday and Sunday). According to the proponent of this measure, homework has negative effects on children in other countries because it takes the time that is supposed to be allotted for their families.
Homework is also prohibited in HB 3611 for the health of the children. According to the proponent, because of homework, children always insist on bringing their books home, which are heavy to carry. Aside from banning homework, it is also stated in the proposal that classrooms must have lockers installed for the children to place their books.
The secretary of the Department of Education supports these proposals, with the belief that there are times when children don’t do their homework. The secretary even added that DepEd even encourages teachers not to give their students homework for the same reasons enumerated in the proposed measures.
However, for the Alliance of Concerned Teachers or ACT, it is impossible for teachers not to give students homework under the K to 12 basic education program. The context and scope of the current curriculum is deliberately comprehensive, and the time spent in school is not enough for the children to learn what they are supposed to learn. For the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, homework should not be seen as a way to torture students. The continuous learning of children outside school is important for them to have discipline and to learn to be responsible.
The two sides have valid points. On one side, there are negative effects of taking home school-related work, especially if it takes time away from the children that need to rest, help in household chores, or rob them of their play time. On the other side, homework helps sharpen the learning process of children. In the end, children’s education—whether inside or outside the school—cannot be measured alone by their ability to finish assignments. Teachers help mold the children, but their basic physical, educational and spiritual formation rest exclusively with their parents.
Much like what Pope Francis said in Amoris Laetitia, teaching children is the most serious duty of parents and their primary right. According to 2 Corinthians 12:14, “Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children,” and this saving up is accompanied by teaching children right. Thus, schools should be helping parents to achieve their duties to their children. Which is why, if the children are home, with or without homework, the parents have to ensure that their children are well-rested, are taught discipline through caring ways, and still learn from anything they are doing outside school.
Brothers and sisters, the issue of the proposed “no homework” policy requires serious study. But in the end, it is important to focus on the parent’s roles in order to truly guide them in raising their children the proper way.
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1 comment
thank you this is very helpful