District Policy
4230 - Workbooks and Homework
Instructional Material Washington County School District - Adopted 8-79
1. Purpose:
1.1. There are many positive things to be said about workbooks. They can provide a valuable aid to instruction, they can reinforce the lesson after it is presented, they can provide practice material after a concept is taught. They may be used to help the student who has fallen behind in his work. They are often designed to help correct a particular difficulty a student may have. They can serve as enrichment material in the instructional program. However, workbooks can present concerns when students are exposed to them too often and when they are misused. Use of workbooks without plan or purpose is contrary to their design and may be disadvantageous to the learning process. Seldom, if ever, can sets of workbooks be selected which should be followed by all children. There is concern when students go through day by day completing page after page in workbooks, which are then corrected, but without any stimulation to the students. Opportunity for writing skills is often lacking. Instruction and learning often become routine and dull to both the teacher and the students.
1.2. Homework is encouraged at both the elementary and secondary levels, however, the assigning of homework will be left up to the discretion of the individual teacher.
2. Policy:
2.1. Workbooks, like other teaching materials, are good instructional aids when they are properly used and not over-used. When they become busy work, it is possible that they are a waste of the pupils' time and the money spent for them. As we look ahead to next year, we should plan wisely for the proper balance in the use of learning resources.
2.2. Inasmuch as practical, it shall be the teacher's responsibility to consult with fellow teachers (where students have more than one teacher) to make sure students are not overloaded on any one particular day with homework in several subjects.
2.3. Homework should not be so difficult that the student cannot do it without close supervision.
2.4. Homework should not be used as a punishment.
2.5. Teachers should recognize homework that is done and encourage students to take initiative on their own to supplement the regular school program.