No homework days or weekends are times when teachers are not allowed to assign work due on the closest upcoming school day. These are usually because of a holiday that is being celebrated by a group of students or also present when seniors are working on college applications early in the school year. “From my understanding, No Homework Days/Weekends are actually a Wootton thing and not something mandated by MCPS. MCPS only asks that we be mindful of assigning work around holidays/important dates for students, but MCPS doesn’t mandate that we cannot assign work. Wootton’s leadership team are the ones who have mandated these ‘no homework days’,” a teacher who asked to remain anonymous said.
Despite the policies, students have had difficulties with the rules. “To be honest, I never even know when no homework days are,” junior Daksh Badri said. “My teachers don’t really mention it.”
Teachers can try to bend the rule to still be able to assign work. “One thing some of my teachers do is assign a lot of work on Friday and make it due on Tuesday so they are technically following the rule but giving us no option than to start the work over the no homework weekend, which destroys the purpose,” a student who wishes to remain anonymous said.
Even though not all students might be celebrating the holiday that the no homework day is for, students feel that they are a break from academic pressures, allowing them to take time to participate in activities beyond coursework. “I understand that teachers have content to get through but no homework days are a really nice break for students,” the anonymous student said. “I had a teacher once give us homework outright on a no homework day and they said ‘I’m giving homework, don’t tell on me.’”
Additionally, students feel that no homework days are not inclusive of all holidays. “I don’t think that all holidays get no homework days, and I don’t think that’s fair to some people because they’re unfairly bombarded with stress and work at a time that’s supposed to be pleasant and cheerful,” freshman Aashvi Gangakhedkar said. “People deserve breaks, especially on occasions that don’t happen often.”
Teachers may be concerned that no homework days lead to a less understanding of a topic. “Sometimes we have to rearrange the schedule for a class if there is a no homework day or weekend or we have to give limited practice for a topic, which isn’t always in the best interest of the student. We can always give an optional assignment, but then not all students will complete it, and they will lose the instructional benefit,” the anonymous teacher said.
Teachers have suggestions on what they think should be changed about the no-homework system. “Rather than creating more no homework days, there should be a shared calendar that highlights when a holiday is upcoming, which would be much more inclusive for all of our students, and allow teachers to use their best judgment as professionals to determine whether work should be assigned that day with consideration to students who are impacted. This would give us more flexibility with our students and our classes,” the anonymous teacher said.
