Teacher's Note Giving Extra Homework Is Going Viral For All the Right Reasons

Although we saw some teachers move toward "no homework" policies this year (as well as parents who decided for themselves that their kids are "done" with homework), one head teacher in England sent a note home giving his students extra homework — right before a testing period, no less. Eliza Lawson, whose son Josh is in year six at Marden Bridge Middle School in the UK, posted a photo of the note to Facebook that's going viral for all the right reasons.

"Dear Pupil," starts Mr. Newport's note to his 10- and 11-year-old students. "You have done brilliantly in the build up to the SATs, well done. We have some extra homework for you! Please read below and see how many of these activities you can tick off."

However, rather than give actual homework to his likely stressed students on top of their impending statutory exams, he "assigned" them a list of fun weekend activities to complete in order to help them unwind and decompress before their tests, such as scooter riding and laughing "until your tummy hurts."

The caring teacher signed off his note by reminding his pupils that if they feel they absolutely have to study, he wanted them to revise for no more than an hour total over the course of the weekend. "Remember," he wrote. "Mr. Newport is in charge of worrying — you don't need to. You are amazing and I could not be more proud of you."

The note, which was sent home and posted to social media by Lawson on May 5, is being shared all over Facebook to spread the message that there are teachers out there who go above and beyond for their students. Lawson wrote: "Let's all share this and show Marden Bridge and Mr. Newport how much we value teachers that see our children as growing people, not numbers on a page!"