Homework is a task that many of us hated when we were going to school. Teachers would often pile up homework for the evenings and weekends, seriously cutting into our spare time with our friends. And that’s a problem still faced by far too many kids across the United States.

There is just too much homework and not enough time for school-age children to get it done. That’s why May 6th was turned into No Homework Day. It’s a day to give kids a break from their extracurricular school activities and allow them to pursue their own hobbies or spend time with friends and family members.

The History of No Homework Day

Homework is something that can be traced back to ancient civilizations, including ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. It was common to give students extra work outside their classroom studies.

However, this type of homework didn’t resemble the homework that modern children have to contend with nowadays. The homework they did was mainly rote memorization of their studies. Homework as we know it today didn’t really become widespread until the 19th century.

This is when it became commonplace for teachers to regularly assign homework to students. The purpose of homework was to make education more effective and efficient, which fit in well with the broader educational reforms that were happening at the time.

In the United States especially, the concept of homework really skyrocketed as the country moved from an agrarian one to a more industrial one. No Homework Day was created by Thomas and Ruth Roy just a few years ago. Who are the Roys? They’re a couple who run a website known as wellcat.com.

On this site, they take the time to not only sell herbs, potpourri, and essential oils. It’s also a website on which they add their own variety of special holidays that they create. These holidays include such classics as Tick Tock Day, The Slugs Return from Capistrano Day, and Stay Home Because You’re Well Day.

They created No Homework Day to help the millions of kids who are given way too much homework. Of course, it only helps the kids if the teachers actually agree to celebrate this holiday as well; otherwise, school-aged children better make sure that they have their school obligations covered.

Observing No Homework Day

As we said earlier, this holiday really can’t be observed by parents and their children alone. Teachers also have to come on board with the concept of giving the students a day off from homework.

Of course, parents and students can broach the subject with teachers, but there’s no guarantee that they will want to do that. Another way to encourage the celebration of this holiday is by taking to the Internet and using the hashtag #NoHomeworkDay in discussions.