School May be In…but is Homework on the Way Out?

North Dakota students are going back to school this week.

And for many, the worst part of school life can be homework.

Even though some teachers are foregoing the time–honored practice…

We found a district that has a new solution to help students with homework.

A recent Facebook post about a Texas school district foregoing homework has been trending…

Some feel that keeping school work in the school allows students to bond better with their families and return to school better rested.

However, one district that I spoke to says homework is a vital part of the learning process.

“I don’t think we ask our kids to do a lot of things outside of school.  We talking probably 20 minutes a class…30 minutes a class…at the most.  And that’s two or three times a week.  Very few classes besides your math classes are going to ask you to do homework every single night,” says Barnesville High School Principal, Bryan Strand.

The Barnesville School District believes that homework is the best way for its students to be ready for life away from school.

“With as much assessment that goes on nowadays, teachers are required to get their kids up to par, and it’s very hard to do that in a 45 minute class period in which we have,” says Strand.

For many students, homework is the worst part of school.  But here in Barnesville, they have a unique solution to help students out.

“Here we have this Schoology, where you can put everything up on there.  Where parents can see it.  Students can see it.  So there’s no excuse,” says sixth grade teacher Aaron Schindler.

“It shows when you have tests, it shows their homework.  I mean we pretty much lay everything out for parents.  It’s way different than it was twenty years ago,” says Strand.

Although the “No Homework” post on Facebook is trending on social media…

Homework itself isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

According to a survey by Education Week, high school students nationwide average about three and a half hours of homework each school day.

School begins in Minnesota on September 6.