Green Planet was created as an avenue for teachers to create share, find and share environmentally friendly classroom resources. Homework for success has overtaken that initial role and is now the major focus for this website.

Green Planet is now a kid-focused homework centre with tasks designed by the kids that do them. Homework for success is a revolutionary new approach to the homework problem that has plagued schools for generations. How to make the homework playing field a level field?

Firstly; lets sort out this issue of kids/students/children.

Students attend universities and polytechs and Kids attend primary and high schools and just because they do doesnt mean we have to rename them. They are still our kids when they are at school too.

Kids choose (with the help of their parents if necessary) which homework tasks that they do, if any, and when they do them and how much effort they put into doing them. Tasks are designed by kids and put on the website by the webmaster.

New tasks are continually being submitted by kids from across New Zealand and these are put on the website as time allows.

The beauty of this system is that those parents that really want their kids to do oodles of homework have plenty of ammunition to use and those parents that dont want their kids to do homework, or dont care whether they do or not, have that choice rather than a teacher on their case because little Johnny hasnt handed in his homework, again!

Teachers are freed from creating the endless screeds of homework sheets and tasks and also from the ceaseless weekends of marking homework that was handed in on Friday and expected back on Monday morning. All that is expected of them now, is that they continue to organise their own literacy and numeracy homework tasks if any, and that they recieve the completed homework and pay recognition to the kids that submit it in the final assembly of each term. Recognition is expected to be in the form of whatever "prizes" the school can muster, but more importantly, kids should be "recognised" in front of their peers with "special" certificates proclaiming "special" categories such as merit and excellence.

If you are considering adopting or trialling Homework for Success, in your class or home, remember that it only takes one or two kids to do it and be seen as successful and other kids will catch on to it. Focus on the parents of those kids that usually willingly do homework and encourage them to direct their kids to these tasks. The idea is that as more students experience success using this system, the more they will promote it and the more chance that other kids will give it a go.

Why not use traditional homework?

Because there is absolutely no reliable or universally accepted evidence to support the idea that traditional homework improves academic outcomes for kids. All the evidence points to is that homework is another task for overworked teachers to manage and at least half of the kids at the studied school either did not regularly do homework or did not do it fully, and a large percentage of parents did not support homework programmes.

Using this system, all of that becomes irrelevant. If you want your kid to do homework; here it is.

If you dont, that is actually fine.

So, what will kids learn if they do participate in Homework for success?

They will learn to manage their own time. they will learn independence and they will learn about satisfaction from a job well done, by themselves. They may also learn to do learning tasks with their parents or siblings and they will certainly learn a few new skills to do with technology, as all tasks request that technology is used in the reporting process.

Studenst will increase self esteem, confidence and ability in all areas that they participate and they will learn about and langaking ownership of their own learning.

What do you want your kids to learn?