French President Promises to Ban Homework

October 16, 2012 at 8:22 am , by Holly Lebowitz Rossi

French President François Hollande has made a promise that kids are likely to love–as part of a sweeping package of changes to the country’s education system, Hollande proposed a ban on homework. “Work should be done at school, rather than at home,” Hollande said. Time.com has more:

He also proposes reducing the average amount of time a student spends in class in each day, while stretching the school week from four days to four and a half. It’s a bid to bring the country more in line with international standards and to acknowledge some of the current system’s shortcomings. Even the homework isn’t just an empty populist gesture — it’s meant to reflect the fact that many of the lowest-performing students lack a positive support environment at home.

Earlier this year, an Australian study found that too much homework actually decreases student performance on standardized tests, and that students’ after-school time is better spent cultivating an interest like music or sports.

Image: Kid doing homework, via Shutterstock

Categories: Education, Must Read | Tags: Education, education reform, France, Francois Hollande, homework, school, standardized tests

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