Poe files her version of 'no-homework law', cites findings that assignments have 'negligible impact' on performance
By CJ Juntereal
By Vanne Terrazola
Senator Grace Poe is backing proposals to mandate teachers to refrain from giving elementary and high school students homework on weekends.
Senator Grace Poe (Senator Grace Poe's Official Facebook Page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Poe, on Tuesday, August 27, filed Senate Bill No. 966 which seeks to establish a "no-homework policy" for all primary and secondary schools in the country on weekends.
The measure, released to media on Wednesday, came in the wake of clashing opinions from the education sector about the bills filed at the House of Representatives banning take-home assignments for students on weekends.
In filing her version of the proposed "No-Homework Law", Poe cited a study finding that additional time spent by students on homework has a "negligible impact" on their performance.
Aside from this, she said that such task "also gives additional stress to students, teachers and parents."
"More homework gives additional workload to our already overworked teachers and takes away valuable time that could have been spent with family and other activities," she added.
She said this also highlights the gap between the rich and the poor, noting that assignments vary by socio-economic status, and that poor students have "limited access to resources necessary to complete their homework."
Under SB No. 966, all public and private elementary and high schools shall not allow teachers to give any assignments to students from Kinder to Grade 12 on weekends.
Homework should only be given on weekdays, but such assignments should "be minimal and will not require more than four hours to be completed."
Poe said the bill would institutionalize and expand the Department of Education's Memorandum Circular No. 392 issued in 2010 ordering teachers to limit assigning homework to public elementary school pupils, and refrain from giving homework on weekends.
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, in a radio interview on Tuesday, said she supports the bills proposing the "no-homework" policy because these would allow children to have more time with their families and friends.
School tasks, she said, should remain within schools.
But teachers and private school administrators were opposed to the proposition, saying homework teach children discipline and responsibility especially in the time of technology and social media.
At the Lower House, Sorsogon representative Deputy Speaker Evelina Escudero and Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas earlier filed their respective versions of the "no-homework" policy.
Senator Grace Poe (Senator Grace Poe's Official Facebook Page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Poe, on Tuesday, August 27, filed Senate Bill No. 966 which seeks to establish a "no-homework policy" for all primary and secondary schools in the country on weekends.
The measure, released to media on Wednesday, came in the wake of clashing opinions from the education sector about the bills filed at the House of Representatives banning take-home assignments for students on weekends.
In filing her version of the proposed "No-Homework Law", Poe cited a study finding that additional time spent by students on homework has a "negligible impact" on their performance.
Aside from this, she said that such task "also gives additional stress to students, teachers and parents."
"More homework gives additional workload to our already overworked teachers and takes away valuable time that could have been spent with family and other activities," she added.
She said this also highlights the gap between the rich and the poor, noting that assignments vary by socio-economic status, and that poor students have "limited access to resources necessary to complete their homework."
Under SB No. 966, all public and private elementary and high schools shall not allow teachers to give any assignments to students from Kinder to Grade 12 on weekends.
Homework should only be given on weekdays, but such assignments should "be minimal and will not require more than four hours to be completed."
Poe said the bill would institutionalize and expand the Department of Education's Memorandum Circular No. 392 issued in 2010 ordering teachers to limit assigning homework to public elementary school pupils, and refrain from giving homework on weekends.
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, in a radio interview on Tuesday, said she supports the bills proposing the "no-homework" policy because these would allow children to have more time with their families and friends.
School tasks, she said, should remain within schools.
But teachers and private school administrators were opposed to the proposition, saying homework teach children discipline and responsibility especially in the time of technology and social media.
At the Lower House, Sorsogon representative Deputy Speaker Evelina Escudero and Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas earlier filed their respective versions of the "no-homework" policy.