Even though most high schoolers might not yet have age-related health issues, wrinkles, or loads of adult-life problems, let's admit—being young isn't easy. Teenage years usually mean having quite a bit on your plate and you're expected to somehow find a balance between all of it. Needless to say, with the whole COVID-19 situation, today's teenagers have to deal with even more difficult things.
Texas high school teacher Courtney White clearly understands it. And to help her students deal with stress and all the things life throws at them, Courtney chooses not to assign homework. Recently, this teacher went viral on TikTok after she posted a video explaining her reasons for doing so.
More info: TikTok
High school teacher Courtney White has a TikTok account with over 500k followers
Image credits: teachingwithmrswhite
Courtney White, a teacher at Alvarado High School in Alvarado, Texas, has a TikTok account and it seems like her unorthodox approach to teaching is getting her a lot of attention. To be exact, her account currently has over 500k followers.
Her unorthodox approach to teaching is getting her a lot of attention on the interwebs
Image credits: teachingwithmrswhite
Though not everyone supports her kind of teaching. After receiving some criticism for not assigning her students homework, the teacher decided to make a TikTok in which she explained her philosophy behind the decision to do so.
Recently, Courtney went viral on TikTok for explaining her reasons behind not giving her students homework
“There's no proof that homework is going to make them better students in my class. I respect their time outside of class, they work hard for me all day, they don't need to go home and do more homework,” the teacher explains in her video. “Most of my students are high schoolers. They have jobs, they have FFA, they have sports, they're in practice, they're in band, they have other responsibilities outside of school.”
"There's no proof that homework is going to make them better students in my class"
Image credits: teachingwithmrswhite
"Some of them are going home and taking care of their younger siblings because their parents are at work. Some of them just need to go home and sleep. Some of them have to go home and worry about how they're going to eat because there's no food at their house,” Courtney continues. “So, if I also give them hours of homework, when do they have time to be kids? When do they have time to relax? Because when you get off of work, you want to go home and relax."
"I know homework can be essential for some classes, and you just can't get around not assigning it," Courtney explained to Good Morning America. "So, I totally understand the point of homework. But for me personally, I just like to have a little more leniency and letting them know like, it's okay to be human and go home and sleep."
"I respect their time outside of class, they work hard for me all day, they don't need to go home and do more homework"
Image credits: teachingwithmrswhite
Speaking to Good Morning America about her unorthodox approach to teaching, White explained that her goal is to take "a small portion of the stress away from them by not assigning extra assignments" and "give them the little extra love that they need in class."
"The sillier I am, the more interested they are in the topics. I try to make it fun. My favorite part of teaching is connecting with students. I like to get to know them as a student in my classroom as well as what they do outside of my classroom just to build that personal relationship. So they feel comfortable and cared for while they are in my class," the teacher added.
Here's how people are reacting to the teacher and her unorthodox approach to teaching
