CVUSD considers new homework policy

The Castro Valley Unified School District board may soon require teachers who teach grades 6-12 to post their homework assignments to an online platform.

Following a meeting held by the CVUSD board as well as a meeting held by the Strategic Planning Committee, the district-wide homework policy may soon require teachers to post their homework assignments on an online platform, which is a change that was made in consideration of how common these platforms have become in recent years in doing this.

The committee “is to give recommendations to the school board about the homework policy that the district has,” said social studies teacher Elza Andres.

Andres, as well as math teacher Tommy Maloney, both attended the committee meeting as representatives of CVHS, and offered suggestions regarding changes to the homework policy. The logistics of this change will continue to be considered through district-wide meetings as well as meetings held by the Strategic Planning Committee at CVHS.

The policy calls for high school students to receive four to 12 hours of homework per week.

When asked for their opinions on the change in the homework policy, many students were free of objections; it was a general consensus that the change would greatly benefit most students at both CVHS and other schools in the CVUSD. However, this opinion differed for some staff who felt that the change should not have been a priority for the district to consider.

“Of course it would help. Almost everything is done on the internet today, and everyone would have access to it…a lot of teachers don’t update their pages, and students have to rely on each other for it,” said senior Patrick Chen when asked whether or not the posting of homework onto electronic platforms by teachers would positively impact students.

However, senior Katherine Jin feels that while it is a change that will be helpful to students, it will also be one that would be both difficult to execute, as well as one that would not greatly affect students, as most teachers already make an effort to post their assignments online. “Many teachers already post their homework online, so I don’t think this would be a very drastic change. However, overall, I do agree that it is very helpful,” Jin said.

In the past, homework was not required to be posted on online platforms, as these platforms were not as common or accessible as they are today. However, now that the convenience of having homework assignments posted online has become prominent, it seems to be the most logical method of informing students about their assignments.

This change will likely affect both students and teachers alike, as students will be better informed about their assignments and when they are due, and teachers will receive training in how to post assignments online, which platforms to use, and more regarding the change.

“Though the few teachers who dislike technology may not like this requirement, I think that in the long run, this simple chore would be really beneficial to students,” Jin said.