Is homework the teacher's or the parents' responsibility?
2025-10-11 19:43:58
Manjola Lloja Bushati
That's what a parent asked at the next meeting at the school where his child attends.
The teacher who told me, an acquaintance of mine, said that it created hilarity in the class, but the problem remains.
In public schools, lessons end quickly, homework is passed on from the school to the family or often to after-school services.
To be honest, I've heard a lot of different opinions about their quality, but that's not my goal. I don't have the expertise or the capacity to evaluate them. What I can say is that parents often end the conversation by saying that "afterschool" is a solution for those who have nowhere to leave them, a kind of "child parking lot."
On the other hand, in the 9-year private education system, children stay longer. In many of them, "homework" is done at school, or some homework is left at home.
Teachers rightly say that children are tired all day and it is impossible to cover everything at school. Parents rightly say that they come home late from work and it is not fair for children to occupy the late afternoon with homework again.
Children, like on a ping-pong table, pass from teachers to parents with assignments, which often turn into a chore for everyone. And so the first reason why these assignments are done is no longer learning, but a formality that bothers one or the other pair of adults. But children are annoyed in any case. Often their entire day is spent under the threat of "do your homework or..."
Now the questions I ask are very simple:
In the lower cycle of nine-year education, when the child, more than just knowing himself, must gain independence, learn responsibility, socialize, and feel part of the group, wouldn't it be better for our education system to adapt to these expectations?
As we have removed graded assessments, or the possibility of failing a class in this cycle, is it time to reconsider our approach to assignments?
Are homework a punishment for children, a chore for parents, a hassle for teachers?
They are homework, they have to be done, that's why they're called that. But I think that rather than teaching children to do homework to "get rid of it," it would be worth educating them with the principle that homework should be done well, but above all, it should be done by yourself.
Should the amount of homework be reduced, should the form of the requirement be changed? Can our schools, following the example of many developed countries, be a form of education with the principle of "learning as play, play as learning"?
So my invitation for reflection is this: let's think a little as parents and teachers, what is best for our children? Which form will benefit them the most? If we start today, our adult children will be more responsible, more independent, and to be honest, I believe even more capable.
