One year without homework…Principal Jun Asai’s thoughts and changes in the children Yamagata Shinjo City Nisshin Elementary School | NHK

“I lost my homework.”

Nisshin Elementary School in Shinjo City, located in northern Yamagata Prefecture, has declared no homework.

The total number of children in the school is approximately 500. This April, we welcomed 64 new first-year students.

At the entrance ceremony, Principal Jun Asai (59) held up a paper with a large “?” written on it.

Principal Jun Asai, Shinjo City Nisshin Elementary School
“We have eliminated homework at my school. Rather than studying by being forced to do it, we are aiming for ‘learning to think’ by finding lots of ‘questions’ on your own.”

The School Education Law and Curriculum Guidelines, which define the basics of the school system, state that “There is no particular rule that says you have to give homework.

“Consider the establishment of learning habits in children while cooperating with families” (primary schoolIt is up to each school to decide what kind of initiatives they will take.

The motivation was my own experience

Having said that, homework is something that is “normal” in Japanese schools.

The reason for eliminating homework was that Principal Asai, who has been a teacher for nearly 40 years, had doubts about whether one-sided education really led to good learning for children.

I worked at an elementary school until my early 30s.It is said that his education was such that he was forced to listen to everything he said. This was because I wanted to “raise children.”

The children seemed to be listening obediently, but when they graduated and went to junior high school,It stopped growingIt is said that he also had a child.

The same goes for homework, and I started to think about whether forcing children to do it was really benefiting the children.

Principal Jun Asai
“Adults may feel relieved if they do their homework.Doing homework can lead to study habits and keeping commitments, but it tends to turn into “work” whose purpose is to submit it. So, I wondered if it was really benefiting the child, and if it could be said that the child had the ability to learn.”

“Think and learn for yourself”

While participating in training sessions on education overseas and listening to education experts, he realized the importance of respecting children’s independence.

The training session in Spain was particularly memorable. We learned an educational method (“Animation to Reading”) that allows children who are not good at reading to become familiar with books while having fun.

Adults not only read the book aloud, but also ask children quizzes about the content and spot the mistakes, helping children deepen their understanding of the book while incorporating play. A distinctive feature of the book is that it allows children to think about and express their opinions about the content of the book.

As I met and talked with high school students and working adults who had received this education, I felt that there were many young people who had their own ideas and were enthusiastic about the things they were interested in.

Children “think and learn” about what they want to do and what they are interested in. We decided to aim to create such a school.

In addition, the new curriculum guidelines starting in 2020 also call for “independent, interactive, and deep learning.”

Prepare a review printout instead

I lost my homework in April last year. It had been one year since he had been appointed as the principal of this elementary school.

Instead, the school provided handouts for students to review their lessons.

In the hallway in front of each grade’s classroom, there are 5 to 10 types of printouts, such as “kanji” and “addition/subtraction.”

However, it is not compulsory and there is no need to submit it to the school.

Before leaving school, the children looked at the printouts and picked them up.

5th grade children (at the time of interview)
“I’m good at kanji, so I want to practice more.”
“If I don’t study, I won’t get a good score on the test, so I choose things I’m not good at. I think it’s good to be able to decide what I want to do and study.”

The printouts come with answers, so children can check their answers after filling them out at home, or parents can circle them.

In addition to printing, some children use school tablets at home to study and read. We leave it up to the children to decide what they learn at home.

Principal Jun Asai
“We repeatedly tell the children that just because they don’t have homework doesn’t mean they don’t have to study. We’re going to eliminate homework, but we want them to study harder than ever before.” Some children end up bringing 10 items, even though they thought they would be able to get them.Children are much more motivated when they are allowed to choose their own items rather than when they are given them.

A child who was crying while doing his homework…

Some children say that eliminating homework has changed the way they approach studying.

Ginshi, a 5th grade student, said that she used to sometimes do her homework while crying. He says he now studies on his own about twice a week.

Mr. Ginshi
“I was surprised when I was told that there was no homework. I would rather do it without it.”

What we are working on is learning using tablets at school.

The app I use has a system that allows me to earn points each time I study, so I can practice tracing kanji with my finger or study English words.

Her mother, Saori, was worried that her child would stop studying because of the lack of homework, but she said she felt a change in her child when she saw him enjoy studying using a tablet as if it were a game. Masu.

There have also been changes in parent-child interactions.

“Did you do your homework?”

These words have been Saori’s favorite phrase up until now.

We used to get into arguments over homework, which caused stress for both of us, but now we don’t have to do that anymore, and we have more time to listen to what the children have to say.

“I want to learn baseball”

One day, Ginshi told his mother. He was able to use his time after school for something other than homework, and that’s how he discovered baseball.

I found what I wanted to do and set new goals.

Mr. Ginshi
“My dream is to become a major leaguer. I want to study English more and be able to converse with foreigners.”

Mother Saori
“I want them to do what they have to do, but I also want them to make their own choices and make decisions about their own lives. I think that’s the first step.”

At first, some teachers had doubts.

At first, some teachers expressed doubts about eliminating homework, which was commonplace at school.

In particular, teachers in lower grades said that they were having trouble getting into the habit of studying at home and that they were not able to see how much they understood what they learned at school.

Principal Asai has explained the reason for eliminating homework at teacher meetings more than 30 times over the past six months.

Principal Jun Asai
“I want to raise children who can think for themselves and find answers in order to survive in the unpredictable world of the future.”
“Many times I have seen children crying in the morning after being scolded by their teachers because they were unable to submit their homework.To avoid hurting the child’s self-esteem, I want to be close to each child and help them learn the joy of studying. ”

Last February, after explaining this to parents and children, we eliminated homework for a month as a trial.

When teachers asked the children how they were working on their studies, they found that some children were working on their own initiative even without homework, such as going through drills prepared at school on their own or practicing their multiplication tables. That means there were a lot of them.

Then, last April, I decided to do “no homework”.

Parent questionnaire

Twice a year, the school conducts a survey of all children’s parents.

In a survey conducted in July last year, in the response section of the question asking about requests for schools, there were about 10 opinions opposing the idea of ”no homework.”

“I stopped studying at all.”
“The decline in academic ability is severe.”
“Principal’s self-satisfaction”

In response to these comments, the principal wrote a letter to parents explaining the school’s philosophy and the need to encourage children to learn.

For parents who have questions or concerns,We hold briefing sessions and provide opportunities for the principal to speak individually to repeatedly explain the importance of “thinking and learning for oneself.”

In addition, for children who do not know how to approach home study or who do not have the habit of studying, the vice principal or head of academic affairs regularly meets with the child.

By asking questions such as “What do you like?”, we find out what the students are interested in and think about how to approach their studies together.

Principal Jun Asai
“I think it will take a little more time to see results. We would like to carefully listen to the voices of parents and have discussions with them.”

Masatoshi Seno, an education researcher who is familiar with the actual situation in schools, says that support is essential to ensure that there are no gaps in children’s learning opportunities and academic ability.

Educational researcher Masatoshi Seno
“With all kinds of children, I think it’s time to reconsider education that is just given uniformly.However, if homework is removed, some children won’t know how to study at home, so I think consideration needs to be taken to prevent disparities based on family environment from widening, such as specifying to a certain extent whether children will be allowed to attend school, or setting aside days during the long summer vacation when teachers can check on students’ learning progress.

“I want to learn more”

Schools are currently putting a lot of effort into their classes to help children think this way.

On the day I visited for this interview, in a fourth-grade Japanese class, the children were divided into groups of four and were discussing how to make the text the teacher had presented easier to understand.

The teacher asks questions repeatedly.

teacher
“What’s wrong?”
“How do you think I should correct the sentence?”

In contrast, the children expressed their thoughts in words.

children
“If you change the expression at the end of the sentence, it will be easier to understand.”
“It’s easier to understand if you remove this word.”

The aim is to deepen your own thinking by telling your friends what you think and listening to other people’s opinions.

children
“It’s interesting to see so many different opinions.”
“I don’t understand if someone just tells me that it will happen like this.” It’s better to listen to various opinions and reasons so that it can be understood properly.”

Miki Nakajima Teacher
“If the teacher only speaks one-sidedly, the children will not listen.It is about the children speaking for themselves, clarifying what they want to convey to those around them, and arriving at the answer to the task through interaction.” I think these classes are more interesting for me, and I think the children find them more interesting as well.”

Eliminating homework is said to have led to changes in teachers’ lessons and the way they interact with children.

Previously, I used to write and grade homework during recess and after school.of classI can now spend more time preparing and paying attention to my children.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, although the number of schools that have lost homework is not known, some schools are beginning to do so.

Yamagata University Tomoyuki Morita Associate Professor (Education)
“As the number of children and students not attending school continues to increase, the question is how schools can become attractive places. I believe that efforts to enable children to learn in a lively manner at school are essential.”

“I will continue to think about it.”

One year has passed since the “no homework” declaration. Did it affect the children’s grades?

The results of the “Academic Achievement Test” held in January this year show that in some grades, grades went up depending on the subject, while in other grades they went down, which is in line with the previous year’s trend.soThat means it hasn’t changed.

Jun Asai Principal
“I believe that we are no longer in an age of unilaterally cramming knowledge. In order to change the mindset of education and academic ability that had been taken for granted until now, we needed the reform of “no homework.” There are many things we can take for granted at school.I want to continue thinking about what we can do to help children think and act independently.”

Starting this year, the school has set up a time called “Free Talk” in the morning meeting and before school.

This is a place where each student can speak freely in small groups about topics such as “what happened yesterday” or “what was interesting about today’s study.”

“Think for yourself and enjoy learning”

We will continue our efforts to achieve this goal.

(Scheduled to be broadcast on “Good Morning Japan” on April 27th)