There have been nationwide complaints from parents regarding the hard holiday homework that schools give away to students. Homework given to children are not as easy as they used to be. Parents need to intervene, such has been the case. Schools claim that the reason for this change has been the new guidelines presented in the form of the National Education Policy, 2020. While parents complain about schools handing out complicated homework to students where they themselves need to intervene, educators are of the opinion that the change has been made to promote collaborative learning which is beneficial for the student.
“Parents’ involvement is essential in a child’s learning process and they need to support their children by guiding and assisting them in the engaging joyful activities to be completed by their child during the summer break,” says Priya John, Principal of DPS Indirapuram. She further adds, “Holiday homework has been prepared according to NEP 2020 which ensures that the children are joyfully involved in various experiential learning activities. It will help them in developing organizational skills, and time management, and promote independent learning. Children learn better through collaborative learning and interaction between the child and the parent is paramount. In this scenario, parents can provide appropriate guidance and support without encroaching or taking over the students’ responsibilities.”
Shikha Banerjee, Principal of Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Kanpur, said, “If parents find themselves needing to step in and complete their children’s holiday homework, it may indicate that the tasks are beyond the child’s current capabilities or that they require excessive parental involvement. This situation can be concerning as it defeats the purpose of assigning homework to students, which is to enhance their learning, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving skills. It is crucial for educators and parents to strike a balance between providing engaging and meaningful holiday assignments and ensuring that they remain suitable for the student’s developmental level.”
Some parents have complained that the research-driven homework has increased the screen time of children. “These days holiday homework increases screen time, as children need to browse online for research work and projects. Kids are now heavily dependent on various search engines,” shares Divyanshi Sharma, whose younger brother spent hours online looking for homework answers. Banerjee claimed, “As a school principal, I acknowledge and address these concerns by promoting responsible screen usage and providing guidelines for balancing online and offline activities. I feel it is crucial for educators to ensure that they hear out parents’ concerns regarding screen time for holiday homework and see that those concerns are valid and deserve attention.”
She further added, “With the advancement of technology, many educational tasks now require online research and digital resources. While these tools can enhance learning experiences, excessive screen time can also have negative consequences on children’s physical and mental well-being. I have seen parents hand over phones to their children just to keep them busy or at mealtime. That kind of screen time should be reduced rather than taking away the time in which the child is learning something.”
