high school journal homework

Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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Why I Think All Schools Should Abolish Homework

H ow long is your child’s workweek? Thirty hours? Forty? Would it surprise you to learn that some elementary school kids have workweeks comparable to adults’ schedules? For most children, mandatory homework assignments push their workweek far beyond the school day and deep into what any other laborers would consider overtime. Even without sports or music or other school-sponsored extracurriculars, the daily homework slog keeps many students on the clock as long as lawyers, teachers, medical residents, truck drivers and other overworked adults. Is it any wonder that,deprived of the labor protections that we provide adults, our kids are suffering an epidemic of disengagement, anxiety and depression ?

With my youngest child just months away from finishing high school, I’m remembering all the needless misery and missed opportunities all three of my kids suffered because of their endless assignments. When my daughters were in middle school, I would urge them into bed before midnight and then find them clandestinely studying under the covers with a flashlight. We cut back on their activities but still found ourselves stuck in a system on overdrive, returning home from hectic days at 6 p.m. only to face hours more of homework. Now, even as a senior with a moderate course load, my son, Zak, has spent many weekends studying, finding little time for the exercise and fresh air essential to his well-being. Week after week, and without any extracurriculars, Zak logs a lot more than the 40 hours adults traditionally work each week — and with no recognition from his “bosses” that it’s too much. I can’t count the number of shared evenings, weekend outings and dinners that our family has missed and will never get back.

How much after-school time should our schools really own?

In the midst of the madness last fall, Zak said to me, “I feel like I’m working towards my death. The constant demands on my time since 5th grade are just going to continue through graduation, into college, and then into my job. It’s like I’m on an endless treadmill with no time for living.”

My spirit crumbled along with his.

Like Zak, many people are now questioning the point of putting so much demand on children and teens that they become thinly stretched and overworked. Studies have long shown that there is no academic benefit to high school homework that consumes more than a modest number of hours each week. In a study of high schoolers conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), researchers concluded that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in homework has a negligible impact on performance.”

In elementary school, where we often assign overtime even to the youngest children, studies have shown there’s no academic benefit to any amount of homework at all.

Our unquestioned acceptance of homework also flies in the face of all we know about human health, brain function and learning. Brain scientists know that rest and exercise are essential to good health and real learning . Even top adult professionals in specialized fields take care to limit their work to concentrated periods of focus. A landmark study of how humans develop expertise found that elite musicians, scientists and athletes do their most productive work only about four hours per day .

Yet we continue to overwork our children, depriving them of the chance to cultivate health and learn deeply, burdening them with an imbalance of sedentary, academic tasks. American high school students , in fact, do more homework each week than their peers in the average country in the OECD, a 2014 report found.

It’s time for an uprising.

Already, small rebellions are starting. High schools in Ridgewood, N.J. , and Fairfax County, Va., among others, have banned homework over school breaks. The entire second grade at Taylor Elementary School in Arlington, Va., abolished homework this academic year. Burton Valley Elementary School in Lafayette, Calif., has eliminated homework in grades K through 4. Henry West Laboratory School , a public K-8 school in Coral Gables, Fla., eliminated mandatory, graded homework for optional assignments. One Lexington, Mass., elementary school is piloting a homework-free year, replacing it with reading for pleasure.

More from TIME

Across the Atlantic, students in Spain launched a national strike against excessive assignments in November. And a second-grade teacher in Texas, made headlines this fall when she quit sending home extra work , instead urging families to “spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside and get your child to bed early.”

It is time that we call loudly for a clear and simple change: a workweek limit for children, counting time on the clock before and after the final bell. Why should schools extend their authority far beyond the boundaries of campus, dictating activities in our homes in the hours that belong to families? An all-out ban on after-school assignments would be optimal. Short of that, we can at least sensibly agree on a cap limiting kids to a 40-hour workweek — and fewer hours for younger children.

Resistance even to this reasonable limit will be rife. Mike Miller, an English teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., found this out firsthand when he spearheaded a homework committee to rethink the usual approach. He had read the education research and found a forgotten policy on the county books limiting homework to two hours a night, total, including all classes. “I thought it would be a slam dunk” to put the two-hour cap firmly in place, Miller said.

But immediately, people started balking. “There was a lot of fear in the community,” Miller said. “It’s like jumping off a high dive with your kids’ future. If we reduce homework to two hours or less, is my kid really going to be okay?” In the end, the committee only agreed to a homework ban over school breaks.

Miller’s response is a great model for us all. He decided to limit assignments in his own class to 20 minutes a night (the most allowed for a student with six classes to hit the two-hour max). His students didn’t suddenly fail. Their test scores remained stable. And they started using their more breathable schedule to do more creative, thoughtful work.

That’s the way we will get to a sane work schedule for kids: by simultaneously pursuing changes big and small. Even as we collaboratively press for policy changes at the district or individual school level, all teachers can act now, as individuals, to ease the strain on overworked kids.

As parents and students, we can also organize to make homework the exception rather than the rule. We can insist that every family, teacher and student be allowed to opt out of assignments without penalty to make room for important activities, and we can seek changes that shift practice exercises and assignments into the actual school day.

We’ll know our work is done only when Zak and every other child can clock out, eat dinner, sleep well and stay healthy — the very things needed to engage and learn deeply. That’s the basic standard the law applies to working adults. Let’s do the same for our kids.

Vicki Abeles is the author of the bestseller Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation, and director and producer of the documentaries “ Race to Nowhere ” and “ Beyond Measure. ”

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When is Homework Worth the Time? Evaluating the Association Between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math

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Even with the history of debate over the merits of homework, there are significant gaps in the research record regarding its benefit to students. The focus of this study is on the association between time spent on homework and academic performance in science and math by assessing survey and transcript data from two nationally representative samples of high school students collected in 1990 and 2002. Using multiple linear regressions and controlling for students' background, motivation, and prior achievement, we investigated how much variance in science and math course grades and achievement test scores could be explained by time spent on homework in those classes. The results indicate that there is no consistent significant relationship between time spent on homework and grades, but a consistently positive significant relationship between homework and performance on standardized exams.

Introduction

Debate over the merits of homework has been a part of educational culture in the U.S. since the mid-1800s (Gill & Schlossman, 2004). Recently, the debate has centered more directly on the amount of time students are devoting to completing homework. Articles in major news sources (e.g., Hu, 2011; Keates, 2007; Mehta, 2009; Wallis, 2006) discuss how many schools have reduced the amount of homework done by students, often by limiting the number of days students can be assigned homework or the length of assignments they are expected to complete. These stories cited statistics that demonstrate a growth in the amount of homework reported by American students since the early 1980s. The authors often mentioned that nations traditionally ranking higher than the U.S. on international tests assign much less homework than teachers here. Conversely, a recent documentary compared teenagers in China, India, and the U.S. and tried to demonstrate how students from India and China spend a much greater proportion of out-of-school time devoted to homework and academic preparation (Heeter & Raney, 2007). In addition, President Obama has repeatedly urged students to complete their homework-even those assignments that are not "completely relevant"- during his 'Back to School' addresses to students (Obama, 2009; 2011). With homework a ubiquitous part of the American educational experience for decades, has it not been established that it is beneficial to student learning?

History of the Debate

Although proponents espouse the numerous benefits of homework...

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Homework – Top 3 Pros and Cons

Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates

From dioramas to book reports, from algebraic word problems to research projects, whether students should be given homework, as well as the type and amount of homework, has been debated for over a century. [ 1 ]

While we are unsure who invented homework, we do know that the word “homework” dates back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger asked his followers to practice their speeches at home. Memorization exercises as homework continued through the Middle Ages and Enlightenment by monks and other scholars. [ 45 ]

In the 19th century, German students of the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given assignments to complete outside of the school day. This concept of homework quickly spread across Europe and was brought to the United States by Horace Mann , who encountered the idea in Prussia. [ 45 ]

In the early 1900s, progressive education theorists, championed by the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal , decried homework’s negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, leading California to ban homework for students under 15 from 1901 until 1917. In the 1930s, homework was portrayed as child labor, which was newly illegal, but the prevailing argument was that kids needed time to do household chores. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Public opinion swayed again in favor of homework in the 1950s due to concerns about keeping up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances during the Cold War . And, in 1986, the US government included homework as an educational quality boosting tool. [ 3 ] [ 45 ]

A 2014 study found kindergarteners to fifth graders averaged 2.9 hours of homework per week, sixth to eighth graders 3.2 hours per teacher, and ninth to twelfth graders 3.5 hours per teacher. A 2014-2019 study found that teens spent about an hour a day on homework. [ 4 ] [ 44 ]

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the very idea of homework as students were schooling remotely and many were doing all school work from home. Washington Post journalist Valerie Strauss asked, “Does homework work when kids are learning all day at home?” While students were mostly back in school buildings in fall 2021, the question remains of how effective homework is as an educational tool. [ 47 ]

Is Homework Beneficial?

Pro 1 Homework improves student achievement. Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicated that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” [ 6 ] Students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework on both standardized tests and grades. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take-home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school. [ 10 ] Read More

Pro 2 Homework helps to reinforce classroom learning, while developing good study habits and life skills. Students typically retain only 50% of the information teachers provide in class, and they need to apply that information in order to truly learn it. Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, co-founders of Teachers Who Tutor NYC, explained, “at-home assignments help students learn the material taught in class. Students require independent practice to internalize new concepts… [And] these assignments can provide valuable data for teachers about how well students understand the curriculum.” [ 11 ] [ 49 ] Elementary school students who were taught “strategies to organize and complete homework,” such as prioritizing homework activities, collecting study materials, note-taking, and following directions, showed increased grades and more positive comments on report cards. [ 17 ] Research by the City University of New York noted that “students who engage in self-regulatory processes while completing homework,” such as goal-setting, time management, and remaining focused, “are generally more motivated and are higher achievers than those who do not use these processes.” [ 18 ] Homework also helps students develop key skills that they’ll use throughout their lives: accountability, autonomy, discipline, time management, self-direction, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving. Freireich and Platzer noted that “homework helps students acquire the skills needed to plan, organize, and complete their work.” [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 49 ] Read More

Pro 3 Homework allows parents to be involved with children’s learning. Thanks to take-home assignments, parents are able to track what their children are learning at school as well as their academic strengths and weaknesses. [ 12 ] Data from a nationwide sample of elementary school students show that parental involvement in homework can improve class performance, especially among economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students. [ 20 ] Research from Johns Hopkins University found that an interactive homework process known as TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) improves student achievement: “Students in the TIPS group earned significantly higher report card grades after 18 weeks (1 TIPS assignment per week) than did non-TIPS students.” [ 21 ] Homework can also help clue parents in to the existence of any learning disabilities their children may have, allowing them to get help and adjust learning strategies as needed. Duke University Professor Harris Cooper noted, “Two parents once told me they refused to believe their child had a learning disability until homework revealed it to them.” [ 12 ] Read More

Con 1 Too much homework can be harmful. A poll of California high school students found that 59% thought they had too much homework. 82% of respondents said that they were “often or always stressed by schoolwork.” High-achieving high school students said too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems such as headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. [ 24 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Alfie Kohn, an education and parenting expert, said, “Kids should have a chance to just be kids… it’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.” [ 27 ] Emmy Kang, a mental health counselor, explained, “More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies.” [ 48 ] Excessive homework can also lead to cheating: 90% of middle school students and 67% of high school students admit to copying someone else’s homework, and 43% of college students engaged in “unauthorized collaboration” on out-of-class assignments. Even parents take shortcuts on homework: 43% of those surveyed admitted to having completed a child’s assignment for them. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Read More

Con 2 Homework exacerbates the digital divide or homework gap. Kiara Taylor, financial expert, defined the digital divide as “the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology and those that don’t. Though the term now encompasses the technical and financial ability to utilize available technology—along with access (or a lack of access) to the Internet—the gap it refers to is constantly shifting with the development of technology.” For students, this is often called the homework gap. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] 30% (about 15 to 16 million) public school students either did not have an adequate internet connection or an appropriate device, or both, for distance learning. Completing homework for these students is more complicated (having to find a safe place with an internet connection, or borrowing a laptop, for example) or impossible. [ 51 ] A Hispanic Heritage Foundation study found that 96.5% of students across the country needed to use the internet for homework, and nearly half reported they were sometimes unable to complete their homework due to lack of access to the internet or a computer, which often resulted in lower grades. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] One study concluded that homework increases social inequality because it “potentially serves as a mechanism to further advantage those students who already experience some privilege in the school system while further disadvantaging those who may already be in a marginalized position.” [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Homework does not help younger students, and may not help high school students. We’ve known for a while that homework does not help elementary students. A 2006 study found that “homework had no association with achievement gains” when measured by standardized tests results or grades. [ 7 ] Fourth grade students who did no homework got roughly the same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam as those who did 30 minutes of homework a night. Students who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually did worse. [ 41 ] Temple University professor Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek said that homework is not the most effective tool for young learners to apply new information: “They’re learning way more important skills when they’re not doing their homework.” [ 42 ] In fact, homework may not be helpful at the high school level either. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, stated, “I interviewed high school teachers who completely stopped giving homework and there was no downside, it was all upside.” He explains, “just because the same kids who get more homework do a little better on tests, doesn’t mean the homework made that happen.” [ 52 ] Read More

Discussion Questions

1. Is homework beneficial? Consider the study data, your personal experience, and other types of information. Explain your answer(s).

2. If homework were banned, what other educational strategies would help students learn classroom material? Explain your answer(s).

3. How has homework been helpful to you personally? How has homework been unhelpful to you personally? Make carefully considered lists for both sides.

Take Action

1. Examine an argument in favor of quality homework assignments from Janine Bempechat.

2. Explore Oxford Learning’s infographic on the effects of homework on students.

3. Consider Joseph Lathan’s argument that homework promotes inequality .

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives .

More School Debate Topics

Should K-12 Students Dissect Animals in Science Classrooms? – Proponents say dissecting real animals is a better learning experience. Opponents say the practice is bad for the environment.

Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms? – Proponents say uniforms may increase student safety. Opponents say uniforms restrict expression.

Should Corporal Punishment Be Used in K-12 Schools? – Proponents say corporal punishment is an appropriate discipline. Opponents say it inflicts long-lasting physical and mental harm on students.

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Natalie Leppard Managing Editor [email protected]

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The Role Of Technology In High School Homework: Tools And Tips

Technology has dramatically changed how high school students approach their homework. With digital tools, accessing information, organizing tasks, and collaborating with peers is more straightforward than ever. This transformation enables more efficient study habits, quicker research, and enhanced learning experiences. Students can find resources and help with their homework quickly, which can boost their academic performance.

Embracing these advancements means students are better prepared for their studies. Understanding and effectively using these tools is key to maximizing their potential and achieving success. Let’s explore the role of technology in high school homework and offer practical tips and tools to enhance your study time.

The Benefits Of Using Technology For Homework

Using technology for your homework has many perks. Reliable sources can be accessed quickly, making research faster and more thorough. Digital tools like interactive videos, quizzes, and educational games enhance learning by making it more engaging and enjoyable. Staying organized is easier with digital planners and calendars, helping you keep track of assignments and deadlines. 

Instant feedback from online quizzes provides valuable insights into areas needing improvement, allowing you to focus your efforts effectively. Additionally, collaboration tools facilitate group projects, making teamwork more efficient. These technological advantages collectively make studying more efficient and effective, ultimately leading to better academic performance and a more enjoyable learning experience.

Essential Tools For Digital Homework

Several digital tools can help you manage your homework better. Note-taking apps let you organize your study notes, making it easier to review them later. For further support, you can get help with homework with study notes from Studocu . Collaborative platforms enable you to work on group projects with classmates, even if you’re not in the same room. This enhances communication and teamwork, which are essential for completing group assignments successfully. 

Cloud storage services ensure your work is saved securely and can be accessed from any device, preventing the loss of important documents. Using these tools can streamline your homework process and boost your productivity.

Maximizing Productivity With Educational Apps

Educational apps are designed to help you get the most out of your study time. Task management apps can help you prioritize assignments and manage your time effectively. Study apps offer features like flashcards, quizzes, and interactive lessons, making learning more engaging and efficient. These apps often include progress tracking, allowing you to see how well you’re doing and where you need to focus more effort.

Apps that minimize distractions can also help you stay focused during study sessions. Incorporating these educational apps into your routine can significantly improve your study habits and academic performance.

Online Resources For Homework Help

Online resources are invaluable when you need help with your homework. Educational websites offer tutorials, practice exercises, and detailed explanations of various subjects. These resources are especially useful for difficult subjects, providing alternative explanations and extra practice.

Online forums and study groups allow you to ask questions and get answers from peers and educators, fostering a collaborative learning environment. Some websites even offer free access to textbooks and academic papers, giving you essential study materials at no extra cost. Using these resources can greatly enhance your understanding of challenging topics.

Effective Study Techniques Using Technology

Incorporating technology into your study techniques can make a big difference in how well you learn. Digital flashcards help with memorization through spaced repetition , improving retention. Mind mapping software lets you organize your thoughts and ideas visually, making it easier to understand and recall information.

Video tutorials and online lectures provide alternative explanations and perspectives, which can be particularly helpful if you’re a visual learner. Using these digital tools makes studying more interactive and enjoyable, leading to better academic results. Developing effective study habits with technology can enhance your learning experience.

Monitoring And Improving Academic Progress With Technology

Keeping track of your academic progress is key to continuous improvement, and technology provides great tools to help with this. Learning management systems let you track your grades and get feedback from your teachers. These platforms often have analytics features that show where you’re excelling and where you need more work. You can use these tools to set academic goals and monitor your progress toward achieving them.

Personalized learning apps offer tailored recommendations based on your performance, helping you focus on areas that need improvement. Regularly reviewing your progress allows you to adjust your study strategies and stay motivated.

Balancing Screen Time And Homework

Balancing screen time and homework is important to stay productive and healthy. Too much screen time can lead to fatigue and make it harder to concentrate. To avoid this, schedule regular breaks during your study sessions to rest your eyes and mind. Create a designated study area free from distractions to help maintain focus.

Mixing digital and traditional study methods, like reading physical textbooks or writing notes by hand, can also be beneficial. Parents and teachers can help by encouraging healthy screen habits and ensuring that your technology use is focused on learning.

The Future Of Technology In Education

The future of technology in education is exciting, with new innovations set to transform how you learn. Virtual and augmented reality technologies are making their way into classrooms, offering immersive learning environments where you can explore complex subjects interactively. Artificial intelligence could provide personalized tutoring, giving you tailored feedback and support based on your individual needs.

These advancements will make education more accessible and customized, addressing your unique learning styles. As technology continues to evolve, its role in education will likely expand, offering new and innovative ways to enhance your learning experience.

Technology plays a vital role in high school homework, offering tools and resources that make learning more efficient and effective. If you choose to use digital tools, educational apps, and online resources, you can improve your study habits, stay organized, and achieve better academic results. Balancing screen time and using technology wisely is crucial to maintaining productivity and well-being. Embracing these advancements will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

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K-State extension agent encourages families to budget for increased expenses that come with the beginning of the school year

Back-to-school time can be both exciting and overwhelming as kids and their parents anticipate the opportunities and uncertainties of the year ahead.

It can also be a time when families feel additional financial pressures with the school fees that include textbook costs and lunch account deposits along with classroom supply requests and the children’s need for clothing and athletic shoes.

So how can parents reduce their stress by maximizing their dollars? Joy Miller, a K-State Research and Extension family and consumer wellness agent in Johnson County, has some ideas to consider.

“A great place to start looking for school supplies is to see what you have in the house that was left over from the last school year and compare that to the school list for the year ahead,” Miller said.

Listen to an interview by Jeff Wichman with Joy Miller on the weekly radio podcast,  Sound Living

She also said that many of those old supplies that aren’t able to be used in school still have value as part of a homework station or refilling office supplies in the home.

When shopping, she encourages families to compare prices on items to maximize sales.

“Look to see what is available in the stores and then comparison shop to see where the best deals are,” Miller said.

If buying all the supplies at once is putting a financial strain on the budget, she encourages families to prioritize items on the list.

“General classroom supplies can be donated over the first few weeks of school so that you are still contributing to the supply, but you are prioritizing the immediate needs of items such as pencils and crayons,” Miller said.

Along with school supplies, many families are also assessing the children’s wardrobe and filling in the gaps, Miller said.

“First, go through the child’s closet to see what they’ve outgrown or won’t wear anymore and then make a list of clothes that need to be purchased at this time,” Miller said.

She added that many of the fall clothing purchases can be postponed until a time when the weather starts to change.

“Secondhand stores or garage sales can also be a way to add unique and good-value pieces to the wardrobe, allowing kids to have a combination of both new and repurposed clothing,” Miller said.

Just as with school supplies, Miller encourages families to make a list of the clothing needs for each child and then set a budget.

“This is a great time to talk with your kids about what is a want versus what is a need and communicating the spending limits to help them understand the thought process of budgeting,” Miller said.

PHOTO: Schoolchildren students standing in line waiting for boarding school bus before starting new educational semester year after summer holidays. (iStock – Inside Creative House)

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High school volleyball: Team effort allowed…

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High school volleyball: team effort allowed lorain county preview to go smoothly amid storms.

Avon Lake has regularly hosted this event, but still without power, the 2024 preview was in jeopardy. With the help of many from the Lorain County Volleyball Coaches Association (LCVCA) and others behind the scenes, Vermilion was promptly picked as this year’s host.

Despite the hiccups, the Sailors were able and willing to do it. Because of that, 14 Lorain County teams were able to get together and get some action in before the regular season begins next week.

“In my mind, there are some things that could’ve been better and more prepared,” Vermilion coach Maddie Nader said. “But with the time that we had and the facilities that we have, I said, ‘Let’s just throw it out there and do our best.’ It was very hectic, but I couldn’t do it without the program we have. I’m very thankful.”

Without time on their side, Avon Lake coach Shana Miocinovic collaborated with her fellow LCVCA coaches to find a suitable replacement host. She got in contact with Nader on the day of the storms to inquire about the Sailors’ ability to run it.

When it was determined the day before on Aug. 8 that Avon Lake High School remained without power, they rolled with the new site.

“It brings a new meaning to ‘It takes a village,'” Miocinovic said. “Everybody was on board with making sure this happened without any more hitches. It took quite a bit of time to adjust and shift this, but everybody was willing to lend that olive branch. It wasn’t ideal, but at the end of the day, we made it work and it’s in the books.”

Due to the volume of teams that participate in the preview, it takes four courts to run it. With the fieldhouse by the football field at its disposal, Vermilion had two courts in there along with the high school gym. The fieldhouse doesn’t have the ideal volleyball set up, but under the circumstances, it couldn’t have been worked out better.

As Nader alluded, her players pitched in beforehand to make sure everything was ready. The Sailors turned one day of official notice into the newest installment of the Lorain County Preview.

“This is a huge privilege (to host),” Nader said. “Obviously, there’s a reason why (Miocinovic) reached out to me. Not only for our facilities, but she trusted me that I could get this done. We were going to make this the best that we possibly can. I will run around and do this for her any day. We just rolled with the punches as they came along, but I think it’s a good representation of our program.”

There was a real chance that the preview wasn’t going to happen this year. With the season rapidly approaching, makeup dates became out of the question. Not only does this event give the area teams a chance to get some touches, but the money from tickets and concession is raised toward the senior scholarships that are awarded at the season’s end.

If this event didn’t matter to Lorain County volleyball, these programs wouldn’t have jumped through this many hoops to make it happen. Through tornadoes, power outages and all, team effort was on full display.

“It goes toward a good cause,” Miocinovic said. “This is the reason that we do this. It showcases talent, it gets the players some playing time, and on top of that, we get to take this work and put it together to give to a senior at the end of the year.”

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PHOTOS: Lorain County volleyball preview, Aug. 9, 2024

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4 Las Vegas teens agree to plead guilty as juveniles in deadly beating of high school student

FILE - A memorial for Jonathan Lewis Jr. is set up in an alleyway near Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2023. Four high school students have agreed to plead guilty in juvenile court to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal beating of Lewis in a plea deal that will keep them from being tried as adults, lawyers said during a hearing Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil, File)

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Four Las Vegas teenagers accused in the fatal beating of their high school classmate have agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deal that will keep them from being tried as adults, lawyers said Thursday.

The teens originally were charged in January as adults with second-degree murder and conspiracy in the November death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. Cellphone video of the fatal beating was shared across social media.

The deal announced during a hearing Thursday before Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones calls for the four to be sent to juvenile court and face an undetermined length of imprisonment in a juvenile detention center. The deal was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Should any of the teens back out of the deal, then all four would again be charged in adult court, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said.

“The offer is contingent on everyone’s acceptance,” Giordani said.

The Associated Press is not naming the students because they were juveniles at the time of the Nov. 1, 2023, attack.

The four were among nine teenagers who were arrested in Lewis’ death. Lewis was attacked on Nov. 1 just off the campus of Rancho High School where all were students. Authorities have said the students agreed to meet in the alley to fight over a vape pen and wireless headphones that had been stolen from Lewis’ friend. Lewis died from his injuries six days later.

Defense lawyer Robert Draskovich, representing one of the four defendants, called the deadly fight a tragedy, but said convicting the four students of murder as adults would have been a second tragedy.

“This negotiation enables my client to graduate high school, move on with his life and become a productive citizen,” Draskovich told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The attorney said he’ll ask at sentencing for his client to be released from custody with credit for time already served. Draskovich acknowledged that his client was among those who kicked Lewis while he was on the ground but said a jury also would have seen video showing at least one of the people in a group with Lewis had a knife.

Mellisa Ready, Lewis’ mother, told KLAS-TV in Las Vegas on Thursday that she was “dumbfounded” by the plea agreement. She said that she had heard from the Clark County district attorney’s office that the teens were going to plead guilty to murder in the adult court system.

Giordani declined to comment after the hearing Thursday but provided a statement to AP from Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson’s office. It acknowledged Lewis’ mother’s comments and “the pain (she) is going through as she mourns the loss of her son.” But it said she had been informed last week about the terms of the negotiations.

Wolfson’s office defended the resolution of the case as a balance of “thoughtful consideration of the egregious facts” and potential legal challenges that prosecutors would have faced at trial.

The statement said juvenile court is “best equipped to punish the defendants for their heinous conduct” while also offering rehabilitation.

In Nevada, a teenager facing a murder charge can be charged as an adult if they were 13 or older when the crime occurred.

A homicide detective who investigated the case told a grand jury last year that cellphone and surveillance video showed Lewis taking off his red sweatshirt and throwing a punch at one of the students, according to court transcripts made public in January. The suspects then pulled Lewis to the ground and began punching, kicking and stomping on him, the detective said.

A student and a resident in the area carried Lewis, who was badly beaten and unconscious, back to campus after the fight, according to the transcripts. School staff called 911 and tried to help him.

Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada

Mr. Walz to VP Walz? Former students react to seeing their teacher on presidential ticket

To Minnesotans, Tim Walz is their governor of six years. To Vice President Kamala Harris , he is her newly official 2024 running mate.

But to Nate Hood, he was Coach and Mr. Walz. 

"I'm much more excited about the race now that he's involved," Hood, 40, said. "The energy that he's bringing right now to the campaign reminds me of the energy that he would bring to football practice."

Formerly Hood’s eleventh grade geography teacher, Walz is now #2 on the Democratic presidential ticket . Harris announced the decision Tuesday.

Walz was one of a handful of candidates said to be in the running for the VP spot. Weeks ago, the governor was relatively unknown outside the Midwest. Today, his name recognition and popularity have rocketed among a crowd of freshly energized Democratic voters .

Live updates: Minnesota governor Tim Walz named Kamala Harris' running mate

Hood said the Walz he knows has always been adored. 

“Tim Walz is a very down to earth human being. When you see him and when you talk to him, he's very relatable,” said Hood, a city planner in St. Paul, Minnesota. “I think that's a huge asset for the Harris team.” 

Walz taught social studies and coached a championship team

Walz, born and raised in Nebraska, began his teaching career in South Dakota at a Native American reservation, then spent a year teaching in China, before returning home to the Cornhusker State. 

He and his wife – and fellow teacher – Gwen moved again to her home state of Minnesota in 1996. 

Walz taught social studies and geography at Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota, where he was also a football coach and helped lead the team to their first state championship. 

“When he wanted to amp up players before a game, he did a great job of it,” Hood, a 2002 graduate of Mankato West and defensive line player at the time, said. “Just like the fiery speeches that you see him give today that might go viral, that's what he was doing. Except he was yelling at a bunch of 16- and 17-year-olds.” 

In his new role, Walz will be expected to help amp up the entire Democratic base and any Midwestern moderates still deciding between Harris and former President Donald Trump in 2024. And he began that work even before Harris called his name, credited with coining the insult “weird,” now popularly used by Democrats against Trump and MAGA conservatives. 

More: Why Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro as her running mate

"These are weird people on the other side," Walz told MSNBC in July. "They wanna take books away, they wanna be in your exam room, that's what it comes down to and don't, you know, get sugar-coating this, these are weird ideas. Listen to them speak, listen to how they talk about things." 

A teacher "universally beloved"

Other students at Mankato West remember Walz bringing that same energy and passion to his classroom. 

“I was a ‘C-ish student in high school,” Noah Hobbs wrote on X ahead of the Harris campaign’s official announcement. “Mr. Walz took the time to make sure that I was successful. Not only in his class but others. He made learning exciting.” 

The now-governor had a reputation for being the fun and favorite teacher, even by those who didn’t have him for history class. 

“Everybody liked Mr. Walz,” said Emily Scott, who did not have Walz for a teacher but remembers him leading their school trip to China when she was 17. 

More: 'Boring' vs 'weird': Trump campaign tries to define Walz after his Vance criticism stuck

Scott said Walz, who was also a lunchroom supervisor, acted as a bridge between the student cliques. 

“There were jocks that did football. There were history nerds like me that wanted to go to China,” Scott said. “Debate and speech nerds, band nerds. And Mr. Walz stood in the middle of all of that and was pretty much universally beloved.” 

When a student at Mankato West wanted to start the school’s first gay-straight alliance club in 1999, Walz agreed to be the group’s faculty adviser. 

"It really needed to be the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married," Walz said of his role in a 2018 Star Tribune article . 

Educator to politician, he's still Mr. Walz

Walz made the shift from educator to politician in 2006. He ran for a seat in the U.S. House, flipping what had been a reliably Republican district in southern Minnesota.  

Six terms later, Walz set his sights on governor. He is currently in the middle of his second term.

More: Tim Walz is Kamala Harris' VP pick: Minnesota governor named running mate

Peter Williams, a 2002 alumnus like Hood and Scott, has watched his former geography teacher go from Mankato to Congress to the governor’s mansion, and now to representing the Democratic presidential ticket out on the campaign trail. 

He described Walz as a local celebrity back home in Mankato. 

"He was already a pretty big figure in town that was always so nice to everyone,” said Williams, a 41-year-old attorney in Minneapolis. “It doesn't matter whether he's running for (vice) president or whatever, he's still the same guy. So, yeah, I think of him as Mr. Walz.” 

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10 Rhode Island high school linebackers to watch in 2024

Andy villamarzo | aug 8, 2024.

Rhode Island high school football  is set to start on the weekend of Aug. 29-31 and the Ocean State has produced some of the top talent coming out of the New England region of the United States.

A defensive position that the state has started to produce talent at regularly is at linebacker, with many top end backers now heading to the smaller collegiate level schools from Rhode Island. Defenses always rely on their heavy hitters in the front seven and it's no different when it comes to the Ocean State.

The following is a list of top returning Rhode Island linebackers heading into the 2024 season.

Know of another? Send a note to  [email protected]  with some details. 

Follow SBLive Rhode Island  throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates , the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Ian Bing, St. Raphael Academy: Bing was one of Rhode Island’s top pass rushers from the linebacker position. The junior backer racked up 92 tackles, 28 for loss, 19 sacks and two forced fumbles. 

Darren Valentin, Tolman:  The junior running back/linebacker remained towards the top of the yardage marks all season long. Valentin made 84 tackles and 10 went for loss and also rushed for 981 yards and scored nine touchdowns on offense.

Paul Zolkos, Scituate:  Zolkos was another tailback that ended the season compiling 981 yards rushing and added 10 touchdowns. The junior also made 37 tackles on defense at inside linebacker for Scituate. 

Drake Dumont, Scituate:  Dumont had a solid season at inside linebacker, tallying 61 tackles and two sacks for the Knights.

Ryan Snodgrass, Cumberland: The Clippers' linebacker had a strong 2023 campaign and was among the top junior tacklers. Snodgrass made 97 tackles, 6.5 went for a loss, 0.5 sack, interception and fumble recovery. The 5-foot-10, 150 pound linebacker is in line for a big fall season.

Nicholas Walkowski, Cumberland: The 5-foot-9 linebacker played side-by-side with Snodgrass to form one of the state's better pairings. Walkowski last season compiled 69 tackles, 7.5 for a loss and one sack.

Chris Ciarniello, North Kingstown:  The middle linebacker tallied 120 tackles through 10 games for the Skippers. 

Adalino Aceto, Cranston West:  The sophomore backer was up there with the best of them in 2023, racking up 68 tackles, five for a loss and two sacks. 

Riley Herbert, Burrillville: Herbert is coming off a solid 2023 seasn for the Broncos and is expected to be the team's top defender this fall. Last season, Herbert totaled 78 tackles and a sack.

Calvin Hill III, Westerly: Hill III is the third freshman from Westerly that contributed in 2023.The middle linebacker tallied 36 tackles and two went for a loss, making an average of about three takedowns a contest. 

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-- Andy Villamarzo |  [email protected]  | @sblivesports

ANDY VILLAMARZO