Eliminate Homeroom

[FlightlessDuck]

I suggest that secondary schools in the United States should eliminate homeroom. Announcements can be posted online (or posted on a screen in the school, or handouts can be given during 1st period), attendance should be taken per class period (or just taken in the first period, I guess. Some districts take attendance once a day in period 3. Whatever). Kids can go right to 1st period. It adds 12-20 minutes of instruction per day for a total of 36-60 more hours of class time over the course of the year.

 

[soccerdad72]

My son's high school only has homeroom once a week (on Wednesdays). I'm not sure what they discuss in homeroom, but they still do daily announcement and, aside from that day, I believe they do attendance in first period.

 

[msjprincess]

For my kids, homeroom is 5 minutes at the end of 2nd period.

 

[nancipants]

I don't remember having homeroom. I graduated in '99.

 

[Adventureland]

We never did anything in Homeroom, but I guess it's sort of nice to have a home base. Attendance was always done per-class.

 

[leahgoogle]

My kids don't have homeroom. Attendance is taken every class.

 

[PollyannaMom]

My school didn't have daily homeroom, and that way back in the 80s. (I think we had it 4 times a year, for report card distribution.)

 

[design_mom]

I think many schools have already gotten rid of homeroom.

My daughter's high school doesn't do it. Announcements, if any, are at the end of 3rd period.

They do have what they call a "homebase." It's an assigned classroom based on grade and last name. If they're running a "homebase schedule" they add an additional period to the day (and shorten the others). Students go to their assigned room for "homebase." But they only do that a few times per year, not daily.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I'm glad it's going away. I graduated in '94 and had homeroom. I think my kids had homeroom (I'm not positive).

 

[Karin1984]

Non-American here: What is homeroom?

 

[Marrila]

Non-American here: What is homeroom?

A brief class that schools used to use for announcements and sometimes taking attendance.
It's outlived it's usefulness. (As you can see in this thread.)

 

[JimMIA]

In our school system, if they eliminated homeroom (20 minutes per day for high school, I think) they would just shorten the school day. I agree it's outdated, but I sure don't see any time saved being added as academic time!

 

[sam_gordon]

In the late 80s we only had homeroom on the first day of school and 2-3 times during the year. My kids currently have a home room teacher but there's no time for it on the schedule.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I graduated in 1980. We only had homeroom in 7th and 8th grade.

 

[tvguy]

I only had home room in Junior High School...7th and 8th grade, but it was called CORE, not Homeroom. This would have been 1969-1971. Attendance was taken in every class in High School and any announcements or handouts were done right at 8 am at the start of first period.
My kids never had home room at any grade level.

 

[nene0182]

My son never had home room. Announcements were done at the beginning of period 2 but
also posted online. Anything that was handed out was done in everyone’s 5th period class since it was assumed that everyone had 5th period at the school. Many of the upper level students either started school later, only had half days or took classes as the other high school in town. They also took attendance every period.

 

[Karin1984]

Thanks. Don't think that ever existed in my country.

In the school to 12 years old, you spend your entire day with your class in the same room, with the same teacher.
In high school, each class had a class book, where each teacher made notes on attendance and other special things that happened. Trying to remember if the teacher also wrote down the homework in it. The one responsible for it, picked it up at administration in the morning and handed it in end of day.
Announcements were made on the big screen near the main entrance: Change of classrooms, sick teachers, etc. ( This was '95 - '99)

 

[neverlandsky]

Our district eliminated homeroom this year. Homeroom was only the first day of school to receive your schedule. Schedules dropped online so no more homeroom and straight to first period. All periods were the first day of school then rolled into a rotating block schedule which is 4 periods a day. The 2nd period of the day has an added 7 minutes for morning announcements and such.

 

[Southernmiss]

Homeroom has always been incorporated into the first class of the day- announcements then get in with learning English, Algebra, chemistry or whatever subject.

 

[bcla]

Non-American here: What is homeroom?

Others explained it, but it's a classroom where students are assigned at the beginning of the day to show up and have attendance taken. Others noted that they might also be there for any daily announcements. There's no actual instruction and it may only be for a few minutes.

I never went to a school that ever had that. The only thing that we had closest to that was on the first day of school where we would go to find our class assignments. The room numbers for each student was available on a list. I'm not sure that it would be needed these days where everyone has email and electronic communications.