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ctvtoronto.ca
A Toronto District School Board committee has voted in favour of a report that limits the amount of homework teachers can assign.
The committee members voted to support the "family-friendly" policy on Wednesday night. The proposal has three recommendations:
* Students shouldn't be penalized for handing in assignments late or incomplete
* Students shouldn't be assigned homework on scheduled holidays or other significant days
* The amount of workload should be broken down by grade: Those in Grades 1 to 6 should only get reading assignments, those in Grades 7 and 8 should get no more than one hour of homework a night and high school students should get no more than two hours.
"This is a moderately balanced approach, but at the end of the day it's a family-friendly motion, a family-friendly policy that will support students and ensure that they will do their homework but at reasonable times and (be given) a reasonable amount," trustee Josh Matlow said after the vote.
Matlow, who brought forward the proposal more than a year ago, says studies indicate homework at an early age is redundant.
When asked about the concerns over not penalizing students for incomplete assignments, Matlow said there is a difference between a penalty and a consequence.
"We need to teach kids time management skills and the importance of meeting deadlines .... however, what we're telling teachers though -- and many teachers already do this but many teachers also don't -- is sit down with the child and understand what's happening," the trustee told CTV Toronto at noon.
"Some children might have family challenges, some might simply be struggling with the workload or understanding what they've been asked to do, and we need to first work with them."
Matlow said teachers can still use their current methods of discipline, such as taking off marks, forbidding a student from attending a school event or keeping the child after school.
The homework policy report comes before a full board meeting in two weeks for a final vote.
If the policies pass, they could be implemented by the start of the fall school year.
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