After school, you go home, throw your backpack on the floor and crawl into bed with the reassurance that you have no homework to worry about. Sounds like a typical student’s dream, right?
It is apparent that recently elected French president François Hollande seems to think so, as he pushes for education reform in France, starting with a ban on homework.
“I think that people who are trying to jump to conclusions should first try to understand where he’s coming from because a lot of people in America have the same views he has on the issue. I’ve heard that the schooling system in France is very intense and proposed reforms aren’t that shocking,” junior Elisha Musih said.
Hollande feels that assigning homework to students gives an unfair advantage to those with parents at home that can help them, leaving those with disadvantaged families behind. “Actually what François Hollande is saying is not very new because the controversy about homework has been going on in France for decades. Homework has been more or less banned in elementary schools for years but most teachers still give some. The plan continues to keep homework especially in the lower grades to a minimum and to make sure that the students are only asked to practice what they have learned,
not to learn anything new by themselves. The government also wants to set up more help for students form disadvantaged backgrounds”, French teacher Joelle Rudney said.
According to The Washington Post, Hollande’s plan for education reform includes banning homework, extending the school week from four days to four and a half, and completely reorganizing the school curriculum with the hopes of improving performance and decreasing student absence.
“I think extending the school week isn’t smart because they need time to relax” said junior Kaitlin Martindale. “But as far as homework, they should keep it because it tests your knowledge and what you’ve learned in class.”
Despite the fact that some may view their school week as shorter than that of others with only four days rather than five, France’s school day is comparatively longer than many other countries with students in school from 8:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon.
One of Hollande’s plans include extending the school week back to four and a half days, which, according to the Huffington Post, was the original school week in France, before the former administration shortened it to only four days. “As for the four day week, I thought that it was always at least 4.5 days, but French schools have been back and forth between having class on Wednesdays mornings or Saturday mornings. The load depends on the levels: 24 hours a week in elementary school to 30-40 hours in High Schools.
The Washington Post quotes Hollande as saying, “Education is priority. An education program is, by definition, a societal program. Work should be done at school, rather than at home.”
“I would have to agree with him because it is not fair to have the parents as a kind of cheat sheet for their work. I think that extending the week will also make up for taking away homework” senior Patricia Banzuelo said.
However, the strategy to implement these reforms are still being heavily debated with many in France asking how the nation will manage to pay for the additional 60,000 teachers, according to ABC news, that will have to be brought into the workforce, as well as how it will affect the students. To make the proposed revisions to the school system, such as extending its week, it has been suggested that summer vacation be shortened; however many feel it is an unlikely action to be taken due to its unpopularity.