I remember how much of a drag homework used to be when I was in school. I mean, who wants to have to revisit class once you're at home? Well, looks like French President Francois Hollande is going to ban homework and make other changes as he plans on reforming the country's educational system.
Believe it or not, though, French kids are not very happy with his decision!
They have good reason though: according to Newser.com, the president plans on extending their current 4 day school week (most French students get Wednesdays off) to 4 and a half days in order to shorten their long school days, which start at 8 a.m. and can go on as late as 6 p.m. France's educational system is known to have the most vacation days and even longer lunch hours for its students for this reason.
A 4 day schoolweek sounds like a great idea to me! But I can see the necessity for the president to reduce the amount of time children spend in school even if it means sacrificing a free day. I think parents sometimes forget how stressful it can be for a child to deal with the amount of workload given to them by teachers–especially if they're struggling in a specific class. Although France has the shortest school year, it's not hard to see how these long hours can affect a student's performance and quality of work.
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Shockingly, French elementary school students average 847 hours in school compared to the 774 that other students normally spend. Hollande says the reason he is doing this is because he thinks that work belongs at school and not home and that most kids' parents can't help them out with their assignments therefore putting them at a huge disadvantage.
As with most plans there are some flaws since the new law would allow schools to let out at 3:30 p.m. and may require parents to hire baby-sitters or invest in afterschool care. Well, you can't win everything, but this new strategy might just help French children have a more productive and education filled day than being loaded with tons of work for almost 10 hours. They may be fussy about it now, but in the end it can benefit their educational career.
Image via Thinkstock
