“I hate homework” is commonly heard from every child and parent at some point.  Homework is an established institution in our education process. An established institution that teachers receive little to no training on.  As educators, we want to provide our students with all of the tools they need to be successful.  Homework may be one of these tools but, how can we make it useful and less painful? A serious examination of the process of assignments and the effect they have on students and families is necessary.  Teachers enrolled in this course will be led through a focused and collective study of this institution around the world and their places of work. We will give a discourse on the reasons for: the start of this practice, data collected over the years on the effectiveness of assignments, how other countries respond, family involvement, opinions, socioeconomic differences, anxiety, changes over time (pandemic) to come to an understanding of the best practices for our students. The importance of setting standards for our students that promote the best results academically and emotionally is the goal of this course. 

Students enrolled in this course will

Know

• what are some of the concerns about homework
• what was one of the main initiatives that made homework important in the United States 
• what political climate caused this 
• your district's policies and neighboring districts 
• different approaches in other countries