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Inside the Drama Behind “Home Work,” Which Magnolia Network Pulled—and Then Reinstated

Following a flurry of social media drama last week, the show was pulled—now it's back on.

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Home renovation shows are feel-good television, chronicling inspirational transformations many homeowners can only dream of. But are some of them too good to be true? Over the past week, several families featured on the new show Home Work— hosted by fixer-uppers Andy and Candis Meredith,as part of the starting lineup at Chip and Joanna Gaines 's new Magnolia Network —have stepped forward with deeply concerning allegations leveled at the show's producers. They report fraudulent promises, financial disarray, and unsafe (even illegal) labor conditions at their own home renovations, which were all filmed for the show.

On Thursday January 6, in response, Magnolia Network officially pulled Home Work from all its platforms.

So What Happened?

Three homeowners—Aubry Bennion, Teisha Hawley, and Vienna Goates—spoke out in a series of damning Instagram posts , condemning Andy and Candis for over-promising and under-delivering. The allegations range from the couple blowing budgets by tens of thousands of dollars (and then demanding additional funds to finish the work), to inexcusible lapses in work and communication, to hiring unlicensed contractors who created unsafe conditions.

"After our meeting and finding out about the blown budget we had multiple conversations via phone, text, and email," wrote Hawley. "We were told that we had to wire $10,000 immediately to have anything done."

For their part, the Merediths owned up to some shortcomings on the projects, including sometimes being “left with outstanding balances,” per their own Instagram post addressing the allegations on Saturday, “but we always pay, even if it takes some time for us to make arrangements.” In an exclusive interview with House Beautiful , Candis also confirmed that some of the timelines on the renovations in question were extended. “I'm only relaying what I'm being told by contractors about timeline. Unfortunately, I can't control that when I'm not the one swinging the hammer and running the wires, as much as I'd love to,” she says. “And I would love to budget more time for client projects in the future. If I ever do client projects again, that's absolutely something that I've learned.”

Another homeowner featured on the show, Jeana Quigley, voiced her support for the Merediths after the show was canceled, acknowledging that while her renovation did take longer than expected, she felt that “Candis truly wanted me to love that space,” per an Instagram story posted on Friday. “I’ve done other remodels in the past and have never had one go absolutely perfectly. Every project has issues,” she wrote.

What Went Wrong?

This is not the first time a home renovation show has presented a perfectly polished product only to have the veneer crack. In 2005, the Higgins family featured on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition sued the network for “fraud, breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress,” per the Los Angeles Times , though a judge ultimately dismissed the case. Then in 2017, after starring on HGTV’s Love It or List It, Deena Murphy and Tim Sullivan sued the show’s network, the production company, and general contractor for “breach of contract, faulty workmanship, and unauthorized retention of funds,” per the Triad Business Journal . They settled out of court.

TV aside, no renovation goes off without a hitch. Home renovations often go over budget—a 2020 Houzz survey of nearly 90,000 homeowners reports that 31 percent of respondents went over budget during renovations in 2019. And timelines are often extended : “It is not only common but also a guarantee that issues will arise on major renovations,” says Kentucky-based interior designer Isabel Ladd . “Instead of thinking, 'I wonder what issues will arise on this project,' I shift my thinking to, 'I wonder what solutions I'll conjure up during this project.' You simply don't know what will happen when walls start coming down.”

Additionally, Andy and Candis assert that some of the claims made by their clients are unfounded. In their own Instagram statement, they wrote, “We adamantly deny that we have ever stolen money from these clients, we haven't defrauded ‘so many families’. We worked with licensed general contractors.” While Candis wouldn’t elaborate on specifics, she did tell House Beautiful, “I look forward to sharing more details if and when I can.”

One of the bigger issues plaguing the production of Home Work is that the Merediths seem to have taken on far more roles than is typical for reno show hosts (and even real-world designers). “[Candis] was truly operating as a one-man band,” Bennion tells House Beautiful . “She oversaw the design. She oversaw the construction. She was on-air talent. She was the project manager.” Both Andy and Candis served as executive producers on the show, while Candis also served as director and design producer—all while managing eight or nine client renovations during Home Work ’s several-month production period.

“The reason for that is I'm so passionate about creating a different kind of show,” says Candis. “I was asked to make the full show that I wanted to make, and I was really excited to do that. So that meant that I took on quite a bit of the roles because it truly was my show, was my vision.”

But she also says that she felt less burdened by managing the production of the show than she did by managing the actual renovations. Prior to Home Work , she and her husband didn’t focus on client-driven work—their previous show, 2015’s Old Home Love on HGTV, saw the couple restore old houses with no clients involved. That lack of experience could explain, in part, why the Merediths’s expectations for the renovations didn’t square with reality.

“Oh my, do I feel for the Merediths. Reading about their situation has evoked so much empathy from me because I absolutely understand how things can go so wrong, especially when an extensive renovation is underway, supply chain issues are abundant, and surprises are beyond our control,” says Ladd.

Who's to Blame?

While it seems as if the Merediths did bite off more than they could chew, Bennion also questioned the role of the show’s production company in the mismanagement.

In unscripted television, networks typically outsource the day-to-day production of shows to third-party companies. For Home Work, Magnolia Network, which is owned by media giant Discovery, Inc., appears to have contracted a company called Linguine Pictures to produce the show, per the credits. Bennion confirmed that she was aware of Linguine and its owners and executive producers, Anne and Dan Fox, having met with Anne twice early on in the process. But as the renovation went on, she says, the Foxes were absent and the Merediths were the only point people.

Neither Magnolia Network nor Linguine Pictures has responded to a request for comment about the production of the show, though Magnolia previously issued House Beautiful the following statement by its president Allison Page regarding pulling Home Work from its programming: "Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith. Within the last few days, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove ‘Home Work’ from the Magnolia Network line up pending a review of the claims that have been made."

Magnolia Network launched its streaming services on July 15, 2021, and debuted on cable on January 5, 2022. As a relative newcomer, the network is clearly experiencing some hiccups as it figures out its workflow, perhaps especially because it has taken a unique approach to finding hosts.

In an interview with Variety last week, Joanna Gaines explained Magnolia Network’s atypical casting process. “It’s...talent that we’re just completely enamored with as far as what they do, what they’re passionate about,” she said, noting that they don’t ask for people to send in casting tapes, which is a more standard industry practice. “It’s been a little harder, honestly, because it takes a lot of time on the phone and hours of talking them into even wanting to do television.”

It’s an innovative method that’s particularly on-brand for the Gaineses. According to an interview with HGTV , the Gaineses—who before going on TV ran Magnolia Homes, a home renovation company—were originally approached for a show when a production company noticed one of their renovations on a "high profile blog," though at some point they did film a casting tape, which was released last week with the cable launch of Magnolia Network. That ultimately led to the extremely popular five-season original run of Fixer Upper on HGTV.

Andy and Candis, notably, followed a similar path, having gotten their start in the design industry by renovating their own home before they were approached to take their skills to TV. But there are two key differences between Fixer Upper and Home Work : The Gaineses had years of client-focused experience under their tool belts before getting a TV show, and they did not serve as executive producers on their show, meaning they likely had more capacity to focus on the renovations rather than the logistics of television production.

“All we wanted to do was do something beautiful together and put it on a beautiful television show that people could enjoy it," Candis tells House Beautiful. " And I'm so sorry for any of the experiences that have been less than ideal for these clients. My heart hurts for them. It really does.”

Being overburdened during a renovation is not an excuse for a designer to lie or dodge the client. All parties involved in shows like these, from producers to hosts, hold responsibility for the actual work being performed on real clients' homes. Hopefully Magnolia Network's investigation into the claims surrounding Home Work will shed more light soon on what went wrong.

From Bennion’s perspective, Magnolia Network has already done right by pulling the show—but she is concerned that their official statement is a little too open-ended. “I want them to be accountable for what they've done, and I also want them to stop doing this to other people,” she says.

The Merediths, meanwhile, are hoping for a second chance. “We will always stand by that this has been difficult for these clients, and I don't want to take away from anything that anyone has said,” says Mrs. Meredith. “We all make mistakes. That doesn't make it okay, but we have to be given the chance to learn from our mistakes and do better.”

Hopefully, this will become a lesson for future renovation TV endeavors, under the Magnolia umbrella and beyond. In fact, that sentiment is part of Magnolia’s DNA; per the company’s manifesto , “We believe that failure needn’t be a negative thing; rather, we learn from our mistakes and fail smarter next time.”

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Magnolia Network’s ‘Home Work’: Everything to Know About the Show Amid Controversy

In need of renovations. Chip and Joanna Gaines had high hopes when they launched Magnolia Network, but they were not expecting the controversy that stemmed from Andy and Candis Meredith ’s show Home Work .

The Fixer Upper alums left HGTV in 2018 after becoming some of the network’s biggest stars . The couple branched out on their own with Magnolia Network , which debuted on Discovery+ in January 2021. DIY Network eventually rebranded as Magnolia Network in January 2022.

Home Work originally premiered on the Discovery+ iteration of Magnolia Network in July 2021 before shifting to TV in January 2022. The show follows the Merediths as they transform a 20,000-square-foot school into their home while also doing projects for clients, overseeing rental properties and juggling their family of nine.

Two days after the series first appeared on airwaves, the network pulled Home Work amid allegations of shoddy work, expanding budgets and timelines, a lack of communication from Andy and Candis and unsafe conditions.

“I want Magnolia to be accountable,” Aubry Bennion, a Utah homeowner who was one of the Merediths’ former clients, shared via Instagram in January 2022. “It’s mind-blowing to me that they would put Magnolia’s name and reputation on the line or that they would allow these people to represent them without any sort of oversight or mentoring.”

Teisha Satterfield Hawley, another homeowner who worked with Andy and Candis, came forward with similar claims. “Hopeless is the word that comes to mind when I think of that day,” she wrote via Instagram in January 2022. “We had been living in our basement for months at this point, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays. We were exhausted, we had just been told all of our funds were used and our home was torn apart with bubbling floors laid.”

Amid the controversy, the Merediths denied scamming or lying to their clients but admitted to setting unachievable goals.

“I fully acknowledge how hard any renovation is, especially when it’s a renovation for television. The timelines that were set were too crazy, and I am an optimistic person,” Candis said in a January 2022 Instagram video. “I know better now that I should never have said these short timelines and set these expectations. That is on me, and I take full responsibility.”

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Chip and Joanna, for their part, have yet to react to the ordeal , but prior to the headlines about Home Work , they detailed how they curated the shows on Magnolia Network.

“We don’t do it the typical way. We’re not the network that says, ‘Send in your casting tapes,’” Joanna explained to Variety in January 2022. “For us, it’s been this really authentic way of finding talent. It’s either talent that we’re just completely enamored with as far as what they do, what they’re passionate about. It’s been a little harder, honestly, because it takes a lot of time on the phone and hours of talking them into even wanting to do television. I’d say most of our talent didn’t come to us and say, ‘I want to do a show.’ We came to them and said, ‘Can we highlight what you’re doing? It’s so amazing and inspiring.’”

Scroll through the gallery below for more information about Home Work :

Credit: Lindsay Salazar/Discovery+

In need of renovations. Chip and Joanna Gaines had high hopes when they launched Magnolia Network, but they were not expecting the controversy that stemmed from Andy and Candis Meredith ’s show Home Work . The Fixer Upper alums left HGTV in 2018 after becoming some of the network’s biggest stars . The couple branched out on their own with Magnolia Network , which debuted on Discovery+ in January 2021. DIY Network eventually rebranded as Magnolia Network in January 2022. Home Work originally premiered on the Discovery+ iteration of Magnolia Network in July 2021 before shifting to TV in January 2022. The show follows the Merediths as they transform a 20,000-square-foot school into their home while also doing projects for clients, overseeing rental properties and juggling their family of nine. Two days after the series first appeared on airwaves, the network pulled Home Work amid allegations of shoddy work, expanding budgets and timelines, a lack of communication from Andy and Candis and unsafe conditions. “I want Magnolia to be accountable,” Aubry Bennion, a Utah homeowner who was one of the Merediths’ former clients, shared via Instagram in January 2022. “It’s mind-blowing to me that they would put Magnolia’s name and reputation on the line or that they would allow these people to represent them without any sort of oversight or mentoring.” [sendtonews type="float" key="Zd2FQr5xo1-3115706-14453"] Teisha Satterfield Hawley, another homeowner who worked with Andy and Candis, came forward with similar claims. “Hopeless is the word that comes to mind when I think of that day,” she wrote via Instagram in January 2022. “We had been living in our basement for months at this point, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays. We were exhausted, we had just been told all of our funds were used and our home was torn apart with bubbling floors laid.” Amid the controversy, the Merediths denied scamming or lying to their clients but admitted to setting unachievable goals. “I fully acknowledge how hard any renovation is, especially when it’s a renovation for television. The timelines that were set were too crazy, and I am an optimistic person,” Candis said in a January 2022 Instagram video. “I know better now that I should never have said these short timelines and set these expectations. That is on me, and I take full responsibility.” Chip and Joanna, for their part, have yet to react to the ordeal , but prior to the headlines about Home Work , they detailed how they curated the shows on Magnolia Network. “We don’t do it the typical way. We’re not the network that says, ‘Send in your casting tapes,’” Joanna explained to Variety in January 2022. “For us, it’s been this really authentic way of finding talent. It’s either talent that we’re just completely enamored with as far as what they do, what they’re passionate about. It’s been a little harder, honestly, because it takes a lot of time on the phone and hours of talking them into even wanting to do television. I’d say most of our talent didn’t come to us and say, ‘I want to do a show.’ We came to them and said, ‘Can we highlight what you’re doing? It’s so amazing and inspiring.’” Scroll through the gallery below for more information about Home Work : [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Andy and Candis Meredith/Instagram

Who Are Andy and Candis?

The couple tied the knot in 2013 and live in Utah with their seven children. (The Merediths share one daughter, while they each have three sons from previous relationships.) They have been flipping homes together since 2013. Before starring on Home Work , they appeared on a limited series called Old Home Love , which aired on HGTV and DIY Network in 2015, and produced their own Facebook Watch show titled Old Sweet Home . They also released their first book, Old Home Love , in 2017 and launched a YouTube series called Traveling Home in 2018.

What Are the Allegations?

Bennion claimed via Instagram that the Merediths began renovating her kitchen in 2019, informing her that the project would take three weeks and cost $20,000. The price allegedly rose to $25,000 while taping Home Work . It eventually cost more than $39,000 — with much of the sum allegedly going toward fixing the issues created by the project — and took five months to complete. Bennion also claimed that the Merediths created a drainage issue by building a deck over a sprinkler system, which cost $18,000 to repair. 

Hawley, meanwhile, alleged that she gave Andy and Candis $45,000 to renovate her home, but after 10 weeks (the project was only slated for four), little work had been completed. The Merediths then allegedly said they needed another $40,000. Hawley claimed that she told the duo not to come back after they asked for more money.  

Others who worked with the reality stars, including a local real estate agent, came forward with similar allegations via social media. 

How Did Magnolia Network Respond?

The network pulled Home Work from the air in January 2022 amid the controversy. “Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith,” Allison Page , the president of Magnolia, said in a statement at the time. “Within the last few days, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove Home Work from the Magnolia Network lineup pending a review of the claims that have been made.”  

Later that month, the show returned to the network. “After speaking with homeowners as well as Candis and Andy Meredith regarding renovation projects for Home Work , and hearing a mix of both positive and negative experiences, we do not believe there was ill or malicious intent,” Page said. “Our commitment now is to provide appropriate resolutions for those whose experience with Home Work fell short of our network’s standards. While Home Work will return to Magnolia Network, we recognize the responsibility we have to act on how we can better support not only our talent but those who put their trust in them and this brand.”

What Was the Merediths’ Response?

Andy and Candis shared a lengthy statement via Instagram amid the allegations. “We have always tried to give everything we have to make anyone we work with happy,” they wrote. “We will never take away their truth and how they are feeling. We can only say that there are two sides to every story and while we chose not to go public with our truth, because we know how hurtful this feels, we understand that only hearing one side can paint a negative picture. We have always kept lines of communication open, there have always been ways for people to recover any damages, there have been purchase contracts in place, legal avenues etc, but taking this public seems to be the easiest way to harm us personally.”  

They claimed that while it was “true that we are sometimes left with outstanding balances” on their projects, they “have paid every amount of money we could to [make] things right and have continued making payments when necessary.”

What Happened to Andy and Candis From ‘Home Work?’

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They thought they were getting a home makeover. It turned into a fiasco

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Four years ago, Aubry Bennion bought a 1950s house on half an acre just north of Salt Lake City. It was small, but she was smitten with the red brick facade with its scalloped trim.

“It’s, like, my little baby. I love it so much,” said Bennion, who shares pictures of home DIY projects on her relentlessly cheerful Instagram account , alongside pictures of popsicle-color manicures and vibrant bouquets. She even gave the house a hashtag, #thewallsthatballsbuilt, a nod to the felt ball business she runs in addition to her day job in public relations.

Bennion, 40, hoped to fix up the generic kitchen, with its laminate countertops and vinyl floors, but figured she’d need to save at least $40,000 to do the job right.

Then, in August 2019 came an exciting opportunity: Andy and Candis Meredith, a local couple known for renovating and flipping older homes, were looking for clients for a new TV show they were making for Magnolia Network , the cable venture being launched by Chip and Joanna Gaines . The show, called “Home Work,” would document the couple as they juggled work for clients with the renovation of a 20,000-square foot, century-old school building into a family home for their seven children.

Did she want to be a part of it?

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The Merediths promised they could complete the job in three weeks on a budget of just $20,000. Bennion thought this figure seemed unrealistically low, but she had been instantly charmed when she’d met the couple a few years earlier at an event for their one-season HGTV series, “Old Home Love.” “I remember joking with people like, ‘They’re my best friends. They’re not your best friends,’” she said. “That’s still haunting.”

Even more compelling to Bennion was the imprimatur of the Gaineses, the telegenic couple that had leveraged their popular HGTV show “Fixer Upper” into a lifestyle empire, including a lucrative home goods line at Target and a series of bestselling books. In the process, they transformed Waco, Texas , once synonymous with the fiery demise of a messianic cult leader, into a theme park of farmhouse chic. In April 2019, Discovery Networks formally announced that the Gaineses would undertake their biggest renovation to date by overhauling HGTV’s neglected sister network, DIY, and relaunching it as Magnolia .

Bennion implicitly trusted Magnolia; she had a relationship with the brand dating back several years. She had been invited to events at Waco’s the Silos, the cotton mill-turned-shopping complex owned by the Gaineses, and had started selling her felt balls at their store there, Magnolia Market.

“For a lot of reasons, I felt like I was part of the Magnolia family,” she said recently by phone. “Probably not anymore.”

Days before Magnolia Network officially launched in January, Bennion set off a frenzy when, in a lengthy series of Instagram posts, she shared the fiasco she’d experienced behind the scenes on “Home Work.” That “three-week” job ultimately took five months, during which she cooked on a hot plate in her guest room. Weeks went by with no contact from the Merediths, except when they asked her to wire money while they were on vacation in Europe.

The Merediths eventually completed enough work to make the kitchen camera-ready, and Bennion feigned excitement as they filmed a reveal for the TV show. (She ultimately paid the Merediths $13,000, and her renovation was not featured in “Home Work.”) Within days, paint on the laminate cabinets had begun to chip. Bennion said she later discovered that a deck the Merediths had persuaded her to add had been improperly installed over sprinklers, leading to drainage issues she says she has spent $18,000 to repair.

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Bennion coordinated her posts with those of two other women whose renovations were intended to appear on “Home Work,” Teisha Hawley and Vienna Goates, who came forward on Instagram shortly after Bennion did and whose ordeals followed a similar pattern. (Neither Hawley’s nor Goates’ renovations aired, either.)

Hawley said the Merediths promised to renovate her family’s kitchen and living area for $45,000. She didn’t mind the inconvenience of living in the basement with her husband and kids, “because we were told we had been hand-picked by Joanna Gaines,” she said on Instagram.

The job was marked by long delays and mishaps, including a worker who fell through a hole in the floor and flooring that visibly bubbled when anyone stepped on it. To complete the job properly, the Merediths said they would need an additional $35,000 to $40,000. The Hawleys walked away from the show and finished the renovation on their own.

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Goates, a mom of five, had the most harrowing tale of all. She and her husband paid the Merediths a $50,000 deposit — half their $100,000 budget — to build a much-needed addition to their small home, but work never started. When Goates’ husband lost his job in May 2020, they tried to back out of the show and get their money back so they could repay a loan. They say they are still waiting.

A few days later, the Merediths tearfully responded to the women’s horror stories on their shared Instagram account. They claimed that an unwarranted internet pile-on had led to death threats and bullying. They admitted making mistakes but denied being consciously deceitful or using their clients’ money to foot a lavish lifestyle. They also shared a supposedly exculpatory video of Bennion squealing in delight at the sight of her finished kitchen.

The back-and-forth quickly consumed a certain corner of the internet, like “Bad Art Friend” recast with Utah influencers.

Were the Merediths simply working parents who took on too much by trying to make a reality show while raising seven kids and renovating a dozen or so properties during a pandemic? Or were they running “the equivalent of a construction Ponzi scheme,” as Kyle Adams, a lawyer for Bennion and the Hawley family, said in an interview with The Times? (The Merediths did not respond to multiple interview requests.)

The debacle went viral at the worst possible time for Magnolia, the launch of which had already been delayed by more than a year because of the pandemic. The network initially pulled “Home Work” from its lineup, pending a review, then announced a week later that it would return to air.

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“We do not believe there was ill or malicious intent,” network President Allison Page said in a statement. “Our commitment now is to provide appropriate resolutions for those whose experience with ‘Home Work’ fell short of our network’s standards.”

The Gaineses have remained silent throughout the matter, despite a slew of negative comments on their personal Instagram accounts. The couple weathered an earlier controversy over their affiliation with a church whose pastor opposes same-sex marriage and espouses conversion therapy for LGBTQ people .

When asked whether the “appropriate resolutions” included compensation for the aggrieved parties, or if there were plans to make future episodes of “Home Work,” a spokesperson for Magnolia declined to comment. The network also did not respond to questions about when it became aware of the issues on “Home Work.”

Adams, the attorney, says he sent a letter on behalf of the Hawleys to the Merediths’ lawyer, copying Magnolia Network, in June 2020. In her Instagram posts, Goates said she heard from a lawyer representing Discovery after she submitted a complaint online in a desperate attempt for help. Bennion also says she was in contact with Magnolia’s in-house counsel in November 2021 to discuss the terms of her nondisclosure agreement with Magnolia Market.

Bennion says that she, Hawley and Goates heard about one another’s troubles through the grapevine and started to hatch a plan last year over dinner at a Salt Lake City sushi bar. They decided to take their complaints to social media only after exhausting other channels, including opening a claim with the Utah Department of Commerce.

“I wanted the Merediths to be held accountable for what they did to people,” Bennion said. “And I don’t want them to be given more rope by which to hang, not themselves, but other people.” In October, she drove to Waco and cleaned out her storage unit there, figuring her relationship with Magnolia was done. With help from her dad, she sanded and repainted her cabinets, from a womb-like pink to “the sweetest, creamiest white,” she said. “I had to, for my well-being, not be in Candis’ kitchen.”

It is easy to see why Bennion and others felt duped, especially if they caught any of “Home Work,” which followed the Merediths as they renovated a cavernous schoolhouse in rural Utah using a studiously high-low approach.

The Merediths applied inventive strategies to realize their luxurious old-world style on a budget — for instance, creating a Renaissance-style wall tapestry out of an inexpensive photo blanket.

But they also splurged on lavish antiques, hand-painted wallpaper and Dutch Masters-style oil portraits of their entire family dressed in period costume. The couple traveled to Europe for design inspiration, ultimately painting their family room in a dusty pink inspired by Queen Victoria’s ballroom at Kensington Palace in London. (“Victoria’s our homegirl,” says Candis.) Budgets and timelines are kept vague. The only time we hear the specific cost of an item is to celebrate when Candis has found a bargain.

Each episode focuses on a different room in the schoolhouse and begins with an earnest voice-over, in which Candis and Andy riff on themes of family and community to a jangly acoustic soundtrack. Their reflections always tie into the room they’re working on: In the episode about their master bedroom, Andy likens their blended family to a home improvement project.

“Our life together is something beautiful that we’ve renovated and built and put together,” he says. “We took the antiques of our past that were good and added new family members, new skills, new relationships and just built something really beautiful.”

This blurring of the personal and professional is also a hallmark of “Fixer Upper,” which often shows the Gaines family at home, as well as its many copycats — a reality subgenre so prolific it has spawned a “South Park” spoof called “White People Renovating Houses.” (Shows including “Property Brothers” and “Windy City Rehab,” both on HGTV, have been slapped with lawsuits from unhappy homeowners.)

The Merediths’ relationship has always been integral to their wholesome yet hip brand. They each had three boys from a previous marriage, then married in 2013 and had a girl together, bringing the total number of kids in their blended family to seven. The couple started flipping houses together and, by 2015, the year “Old Home Love” launched, owned 16 properties .

HGTV had found the couple — where else? — on Instagram.

“The fact that we have a big family with seven kids was appealing,” Andy said in an interview at the time . “People want to see couples doing this that really do it — so reality TV that’s more real.”

For the Merediths, the possibility of becoming the next Chip and Joanna may have been dangerously seductive, said Adams: “I think they probably had bigger eyes than brains. They saw a shot at fame and publicity, and took way too much on.”

Watch L.A. Times Today at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News 1 on Channel 1 or live stream on the Spectrum News App. Palos Verdes Peninsula and Orange County viewers can watch on Cox Systems on channel 99.

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Meredith Blake is an entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Times based out of New York City, where she primarily covers television. A native of Bethlehem, Pa., she graduated from Georgetown University and holds a master’s degree from New York University.

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Candis And Andy Meredith Dish On Their New Show Home Work - Exclusive Interview

If you're a romantic at heart, you've probably admired a gorgeous but timeworn vintage building and daydreamed about restoring it to its former glory. But if you seriously investigated making that dream a reality, you learned the hard truth: Renovating a historic structure is a daunting and expensive proposition, not to mention wildly unpredictable — old buildings come with decades or more of hidden surprises, not all of them good.

None of this stopped Candis and Andy Meredith when they spotted and fell in love with their future dream home, an abandoned century-old schoolhouse. In their new Magnolia Network show "Home Work," they share in detail how they painstakingly converted the schoolhouse into the home of their dreams — from undoing an earlier renovation of the second floor, which had been converted into office space, to choosing unique vintage decorative touches to honor the building's history and their family's personal style. And for the Merediths, the project is truly a family affair — the couple shares seven school-age children who are getting a crash course in the joys and challenges of building a dream home.

In an exclusive interview, Candis and Andy opened up about "Home Work" and their family life.

Their Brady Bunch-sized family inspired the show

How did the show come about? How did you guys come to do this?

Candis: Oh, man, I think it started with us accidentally having seven kids. So he had three boys, and I had three boys. So we had this giant Brady Bunch of six boys. Then we had a baby girl together, and we were living in the most adorable little cottage, more or less. And we knew we needed someplace bigger.

Andy: Yeah. And years ago, when we were first married, we actually did a short series on HGTV. So we had done a renovation on TV before. After that, we left that world and we started our own production company and our own digital company, where we were producing home renovation series on our own. And we did that for several years.

Candis: And then we found the school, and it was like, you know when things kind of just all come together, and there's this big building that needs love. And we have this big family, and we were doing content. We're like, "Oh, wouldn't this be the best show?"

And I swear, the second we kind of put that out there, Joanna Gaines called us and said, "You guys want to do this show?"

Andy: "You want to come back to TV?"

Candis: So that's kind of how it all just fell into place like that. I mean, a lot of hard work and a lot of getting to that point, but that's kind of the overall story.

Candis and Andy share the biggest challenges — and joys — of renovating the schoolhouse

And that leads to my next question. What has been the most difficult part of renovating the schoolhouse? What was the coolest part of it?

Candis: Well, money's always the worst part. It's always like, "Oh, I wish they had just a little more ..." The school itself was not really very expensive, but everything that went into it really started to add up, and we had structural issues.

Andy: Yeah. I think it was just the scale and the scope. We renovated a lot of old homes, but we've never done anything this big. And on a project like this, when you run into a structural issue, it's not like, "Oh, we need to add a beam." It's like, "Oh, we need to add another house inside of this house."

Candis: Yeah. That was rough. And then we had a big flood too that almost wiped us out, literally and figuratively. And that was a lot to handle.

Andy: Basically, when you have problems on a job that size, you have big problems. And the good side, I think, just watching our kids as we go finishing room by room and seeing how much they love it and just the family feeling we have down there.

Candis:  We work a lot, and we don't hide that at all. This job takes time, and it takes a lot of our time. But I think for them, seeing something go from nothing to something, I think it's very fascinating to them. I think they're very proud of us. And even like guestrooms, they were excited to see those get finished. So it's been a fun journey for them.

Restoring the schoolhouse is a hand-on family project

What do your kids feel about being on the show? Do they like it?

Andy : Yeah. I mean, we're pretty open with them. You'll notice in some of the scenes, we're missing a kid or two. They always have the option, if they're doing something else or they don't want to come down to the school. But they're such hams. Most of the time, they're like, "Can we be in the reveal? Can we come see this room?" And so, we just let them be involved as much as they want. And they honestly —

Candis : They love it.

Andy : If there's a chance for them to get their hands dirty and help us, they love jumping on board.

Candis : Our boys put together our kitchen, for real. Our big kitchen in the school, our boys put together every single cabinet. We're so proud of them. They'll kill me for saying this, but like three of them went through puberty while we were filming the show. So like on a cut, you'll see one of our sons with his little kid voice. And then the next scene, he's got his big kid voice. And it's like, "Oh, we're really watching them grow up right in front of us." And the show did take too long. COVID, everything made it take too long. But the positive of that was really seeing our kids grow up. In a space of an hour, you see them grow up. It's pretty special for us. It's a good time capsule for us.

For Candis and Andy, working together has its pros and cons

I know this isn't your first round in TV, but what have you been your favorite and least favorite parts of filming where this show is concerned?

Candis: We work together. So we love each other very much. But when your wife is your director and producer, there are times when I'm like —

Andy: "Just do it."

Candis: "Can you just give it to me? Can you just give me what I need?"

Andy: And unlike the first time we did a TV series, this time we own the production company. So Candis is the director. We're executive producers. She's involved in every edit in every scene. She picks the music for the show. All the sound, the shots, the transitions, that's all her.

And so, it's kind of funny, because the good part is we really got to create the kind of show we always thought could be made in this genre, more of a docu-follow kind of picture of a family. But the hard part is we actually had to make the show.

So it's me and Candis, working long weekends in edits, and it is just been a lot of work being involved in every aspect.

Candis: Yeah. We have no boundaries and no balance, but it's also kind of beautiful, because what we're sharing is authentic and it really is ours, our true life. And so, I think it's a good trade off.

Andy: Yeah. There's nobody standing on the other side of the camera telling us, "Hey, why don't you tell us about this? What are you feeling? What are you doing?" It's literally us talking to our camera guys. It's real.

They're not done with the schoolhouse yet

So, you are dropping hints for my next question. What can viewers expect to see when they see your show?

Candis: Well, we do edit out all the swear words. So there will be no swear words on our show.

Andy: It's a very family-friendly show.

Candis: But I think you see a lot of realness with us. Obviously, we want to put out there an hour for people to just relax and take a journey with us and see something transform. We also don't want to hide anything, really. But I would still say that you should expect to see beautiful reveals. I want to see before and after. Give me all the before and afters, every satisfying shot. Those are the shots I crave. And so, we've put a lot of that in there. You see a lot of our family.

Andy: One of the biggest things I enjoy about our show is the takeaways. Candis has this mind where she can walk into a room and see not only what it's going to look like finished, but what she needs to do herself to make that happen.

And so, she walks the viewers through that. If you look at this, we've got these giant art pieces. And how do you do that? And the show explains, and it shows her thought process, and it shows us walking through the steps.

So I think in addition to those reveals, which are only a few minutes, if you think about it, those before and afters, the rest of the time, you're going to actually see what it took to get there. And it's not an army of employees. It's not people we're tasking with these things. You get to see us and how we manage to juggle all of this.

And finally, what is next for you after this?

Andy: Even with the school itself, I mean, it's such a big space —

Candis: There's always more to do.

Andy: Thirteen episodes weren't even enough. We have an underground tunnel that goes out to a secret bunker underneath one of the other buildings.

Andy: We have bathrooms and hallways and things we never got to show. And there's just always more for us to do in our school as well as other projects.

Watch all episodes of Magnolia Network's original series "Home Work" now streaming exclusively on discovery+ and the Magnolia app.

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‘Home Work’ is coming back to the Magnolia Network

The new magnolia network had pulled the utah-based home renovation show.

By Herb Scribner

Utah-based home renovation show “Home Work” is coming back.

The news: Magnolia Network said Wednesday that it will bring “Home Work” back to its lineup after conducting an investigation that found “ill or malicious intent” in the complaints, according to Variety.

• “Magnolia Network is dedicated to sharing hopeful and genuine stories,” Allison Page, president of Magnolia Network, said in a statement Thursday, according to Variety.
• “In doing that, we strive to meet people with compassion, and to cautiously approach difficult moments with honest understanding.
• “After speaking with homeowners as well as Candis and Andy Meredith regarding renovation projects for ‘Home Work,’ and hearing a mix of both positive and negative experiences, we do not believe there was ill or malicious intent.
• “While ‘Home Work’ will return to Magnolia Network, we recognize the responsibility we have to act on how we can better support not only our talent, but those who put their trust in them and this brand.”

Flashback: “Home Work” was originally removed from the new Magnolia Network’s opening lineup because a number of Utah residents spoke out against Candis and Andy Meredith.

• The residents said the couple created renovation issues like growing budget, workmanship issues and multiple difficulties.

Page said: “Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith.

• “Within the last day, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove ‘Home Work’ from the Magnolia Network lineup pending a review of the claims that have been made.”

The reaction: The “Home Work” hosts said Wednesday that they did not approve of their show's removal.

• “We do not believe in bullying online, we feel like this attack was particularly calculated for the day before the network launch and we are hopeful that this can allow the narrative to continue on a more equal playing field without malicious intent,” Candis Meredith told Today.com .

The Merediths released an Instagram series of post that explained their side of the story, saying that the affected families orchestrated to hurt the Merediths because they did not support beliefs of the Magnolia Network, which was created by Chip and Joanna Gaines.

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'Home Work’ hosts say they are 'not OK' after show was pulled from Magnolia Network

"Home Work" hosts Candis and Andy Meredith released a series of responses Wednesday after several Utah homeowners shared stories of "nightmare" renovations by the couple for their show. The show was on Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network until it was pulled last week.

On Thursday, Jan. 6, homeowners Aubry Bennion and Teisha and Jeff Hawley wrote lengthy Instagram posts about their experiences working with the Merediths , alleging renovation issues like ballooning budgets, workmanship that needed to be repaired by outside contractors and other difficulties. Vienna and Robert Goates, another couple who was set to have their home renovated by the Merediths, told TODAY that they lost tens of thousands of dollars to the hosts , who are in the process of paying them back.

In an interview with TODAY last week, the Merediths said they outsourced the bulk of the renovation work to a general contractor and were only consulting on the projects. At the time, they said they would not be making further statements, but said that they did have records to disprove the claims made by Bennion and the Hawleys. (The Merediths confirmed that they do in fact owe money to the Goates family.)

However, on Wednesday afternoon, the couple shared a series of posts on Instagram where they responded to the allegations from the Goates, the Hawleys and Bennion.

"We are responding in the only way we know how to protect our family and we haven’t had a lot of time to prepare … but we hope that this can add context to the public opinion that is being made," Candis told TODAY in a text message before sharing her Instagram posts.

"We do not believe in bullying online, we feel like this attack was particularly calculated for the day before the network launch and we are hopeful that this can allow the narrative to continue on a more equal playing field without malicious intent." 

The Merediths began their Instagram series Wednesday by emphasizing that they believed the claims from the affected families were "calculated" to "hurt (them) the most" because the publication of the claims aligned with the launch of Magnolia Network, where "Home Work" would have aired. Shortly after the claims were shared on social media, "Home Work" was pulled from the network.

"If you have invested in every detail of the other stories of those involved, we hope you will watch this in its entirely," wrote the Merediths in one of eight posts, along with a 25-minute video.

The couple repeated claims that they had already told TODAY, such as that they serve as a go-between for licensed general contractors and are "held as the only responsible party" when things go awry. The couple continues to "adamantly deny" allegations of scamming, theft or lies.

“(Aubry Bennion) has made false claims and is purposely trying to take anything she can from us. This is apparent in the way she has launched this attack two years later instead of mediation/suit,” the Merediths wrote in one Instagram post. “(Jeff and Teisha Hawley) have also not contacted us in over a year and a half and have decided to go public along with Aubry.”

While several families have spoken out about their negative experiences, one woman whose home was featured on “Home Work” shared her positive renovation with the Merediths on Instagram last week.

“Many of you know that I had to wait longer than I would have liked for my reading cottage to get finished, but ultimately I love what they did and would have done it all over again,” wrote  @hotcocoareads, identified on Instagram as Jeana . “I don’t think their intentions were to hurt or steal from anyone, but they simply couldn’t take on all the projects they were trying to.”

Response to Aubry Bennion

Homeowner Aubry Bennion, a project manager in Bountiful, Utah, told TODAY on Jan. 6 that in 2019, she and the Merediths agreed to an initial budget of $25,000 to renovate her kitchen and a completion time of three weeks. She said she became concerned when she could not get detailed expense estimates from the Merediths. Work on the project was also slow, she said, with contractors frequently missing appointments, and she alleged that she was often not able to contact Candis. Bennion also said she noticed escalating issues in her home, especially as new entrances were suggested, a deck was installed and her backyard was leveled.

Bennion told TODAY that late in the process, she was told that her renovation now cost $40,000. Bennion told TODAY that she said she made it clear to Candis that she couldn’t pay for any more work.

“I said, ‘Tear it out. Tear it out and take it back,’” Bennion recalled. “This is not the appropriate time to tell me that’s what you’ve already (spent.) You’ve had times to tell me, I’ve been begging you to talk to me and you haven’t.”

Bennion said that the renovation continued, and Candis confirmed in one of their Instagram posts Wednesday that the couple put $32,000 of their own money into Bennion’s kitchen renovation. Candis told TODAY that she "wanted to do a good job for" Bennion.

“We have paid our own personal funds on every client project for our show and did not charge anything for the hundreds of hours we put into the projects,” the Merediths wrote in one post.

“We figured because (Bennion) knew that we paid $32,000 for her to have a finished kitchen, any differences we may have had during the process were chalked up to very expensive lessons learned by us,” the Merediths said in another.

The Merediths wrote that they had been in contact with Bennion until after the reveal had been filmed, noting that they spoke with her on March 12, 2019, to discuss anything she still wanted done in the space.

The Merediths also shared a video of Bennion seeing her kitchen revealed on Feb. 20, 2019. The Merediths said that they believed Bennion was satisfied with the work, due to her reaction. Bennion wrote on Instagram that during the reveal, she "feigned excitement while I dreamed the moment they’d leave my house and never come back."

"We know there were misunderstandings and hard discussions along the way but we were absolutely given the impression that, final payment of any kind from Aubry withstanding, we had resolved those issues," the Merediths wrote. "We did ask to sit down and go through all final spend, fully planning on not recovering the full $32,000 we had spent, but at least making a compromise together to cover any of those miscommunications. When we asked on this day, she told us her dad would reach out. We never heard from him whatsoever."

The Merediths did not respond to Bennion's claims about the workmanship on the renovation, such as her allegations about the backyard being leveled incorrectly and her floors being improperly sealed after installation. Bennion told TODAY that she had to pay about $18,000 to have the backyard repaired after the show.

Bennion did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TODAY Wednesday.

Response to Teisha and Jeff Hawley

When the Hawleys began working with the Merediths in 2019, they set a budget of $45,000, which included some things they would purchase themselves. The Merediths wrote that the “scope changed mutually,” though on Jan. 6, Teisha told TODAY that Candis had suggested a more expanded renovation and reassured them that it would remain within budget.

“It sounded so wonderful. But I also was like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t think we can afford it.’ I was like ‘Can you really do that?’ on tape,” Teisha said. “And (Candis) was like, ‘I know all the secrets ... I’ve never gone over-budget on anything.’”

Throughout the process, the Hawleys said they were unable to get a fixed budget or breakdown of costs, despite multiple requests.

On Instagram Wednesday, the Merediths wrote that they “could have done a better job explaining that finishes would be of a different caliber if the space tripled in size.” The couple wrote that issues with the Hawleys began during the demolition phase, when they expressed concern with the renovation so far.

Like Bennion, the Hawleys say they were promised a finished project in a matter of weeks, and the family decided to stay in their home with their three children during the renovation process. Teisha told TODAY that living there during a demolition process that stretched on for weeks longer than intended had a negative impact on herself and her children.

The Hawleys and the Merediths both confirmed that the two parties had a meeting in Jan. 2020, where the Hawleys allege they were told that they needed to double their budget to complete the renovation. The Merediths wrote that at that meeting, the Hawleys were presented with a budget spreadsheet that showed different price points for the renovation. Candis told TODAY that she spent "$10,000" on the Hawley renovation.

“It had a column that was within budget (we would cover $5,000), one with more of the items they mentioned for $57,000 they wanted and a third column with “hopes and dreams” for $79,000 After that difficult conversation, Teisha herself adjusted the budget to reflect $64,698,” wrote the Merediths.

The Hawleys told TODAY that they “considered” raising their budget by $20,000, which would have led to the number that the Merediths shared in their Instagram post, but decided it was too risky. Instead, they quit the show and had the work finished by a family friend.

“In my head, it was like, ‘We’re already stretched. If we stretch that far, we’re going to be stretched beyond what I felt we could repair,’” Jeff recalled. “For us to stretch that much further, we would have just been beyond a point where we could actually return and fix this and not be just hostages in our house.”

The Merediths confirmed in a post that Jeff "took the project over," although they said it happened after the designers declined to sign an agreement that required countertops to be installed by Friday, something that the Merediths said was out of their control since the installer had "repeatedly cancelled" appointments. The Merediths did not respond to the Hawley claims of shoddy worksmanship, including poorly placed floors.

The Hawleys told TODAY that a family friend completed their renovation for $25,000, noting that the cost was “deeply discounted.”

TODAY reached out to the couple to respond to the Instagram posts make by the Merediths Wednesday but they were not immediately available for comment.

Response to Vienna and Robert Goates

Vienna and Robert Goates told TODAY that they sent the Merediths a $50,000 down payment for their $100,000 renovation, but the project never began.

"We want everyone reading this to know that the Goates family do not deserve anything that has happened to them. We were all very excited to create a beautiful addition together," the Merediths wrote.

On Instagram, the Merediths confirmed that they do owe money to the Goates family, and last week told TODAY that the Goates claims were "true." TODAY reviewed a judgement, signed by Candis, that confirmed that as of Sept. 30, 2021, the Merediths owed the Goates family $39,537.94.

On Instagram, the Merediths said that the money was given to a general contractor, who was first unable to complete work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the delays stretched on, the Goates family asked for their money back, and the Merediths said that the contractor told them he "could not return the funds." Candis also said in a Instagram video Wednesday that she would not identify the contractor.

"We were absolutely panicked and after trying and trying to get that deposit back, it was very apparent that there was no way whatsoever to recover that," the Merediths wrote.

"We personally took on the debt and also agreed to pay all interest accrued and lawyer fees with a confession of judgement so the Goates would not be out any of their own money ... We wholly agree it has taken too long to get their principal and fees back to them, but we have paid about $14,000 to date and will continue to pay until it is paid in full. We care deeply about the Goates and we are taking this responsibility seriously."

Candis said in a video that the allegations were making it more difficult to make payments to the Goates family.

"All of my income has been cut off. I hope we can pay them soon," she said. "It has taken too long and I admit that."

Emotional response to allegations

In a final, emotional message, Candis said that her family has been impacted by the allegations. She and Andy share seven children, who she said are "being bullied at school" and that they pulled their daughter out of public school because they didn't feel she was safe.

"We are not OK," Candis said.

"We have received death threats, our home is under police surveillance for our safety, and these comments and judgments of us, stating that we are liars, thieves and con artists are so extremely hurtful and based on one narrative amplified by others who were not part of any of these situations," the Merediths wrote.

"We have effectively lost it all," Candis said in an Instagram video. "And I don’t know what the future is."

Update 1/13/2022: Magnolia Network announced that it would return to airing "Home Work." TODAY wrote about the announcement here.

Kerry Breen is a reporter and associate editor for  TODAY.com , where she reports on health news, pop culture and more. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from New York University. 

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Candis and Andy Meredith transform a 20,000-square-foot historic school into their family home.

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‘Home Work’ Will Return to Air After Magnolia Network Finds ‘No Malicious Intent’

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Magnolia Network adds ‘Home Work’ back to TV lineup after reviewing allegations against show

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Magnolia Network, a joint venture between Discovery, Inc., and Chip and Joanna Gaines, is putting “Home Work” back on the TV network’s schedule. (Magnolia Network/Associated Press)

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(NEXSTAR) – The Magnolia Network, after deciding last week to temporarily remove the TV series “Home Work” from its schedule, said Thursday that the show will be re-added to the channel’s lineup.

The network had previously pulled the series amid a review of allegations from homeowners who were chosen to have their houses renovated. As of last week, three people had come forward with claims of shoddy workmanship or projects that were left unfinished . In two of the cases, the homeowners said they had agreed to a specific budget, only to learn months later that the work would cost much more than originally stated.

Allison Page, the president of Magnolia Network, confirmed in an emailed statement that the show will return, claiming that a review of the allegations found “no malicious or ill intent” on the part of the production or the show’s hosts, Candis and Andy Meredith.

“Magnolia Network is dedicated to sharing hopeful and genuine stories. In doing that, we strive to meet people with compassion, and to cautiously approach difficult moments with honest understanding. After speaking with homeowners as well as Candis and Andy Meredith regarding renovation projects for ‘Home Work,’ and hearing a mix of both positive and negative experiences, we do not believe there was ill or malicious intent,” Page said.

“Our commitment now is to provide appropriate resolutions for those whose experience with ‘Home Work’ fell short of our network’s standards. While ‘Home Work’ will return to Magnolia Network, we recognize the responsibility we have to act on how we can better support not only our talent, but those who put their trust in them and this brand.”

“Home Work,” a renovation/reality series hosted by the Merediths and based in Utah, was among the first shows to be produced for the Magnolia Network, itself a joint venture between Discovery, Inc., and Chip and Joanna Gaines of “Fixer Upper” fame. The show became available to watch as part of the Discovery+ streaming network in 2021.

Only days after the DIY Network was re-launched as the Magnolia Network in early January 2022, the network removed “Home Work” from its schedule in response to allegations of poor experiences on behalf of the homeowners featured in the show.

Aubry Bennion, one of the women who came forward with her account, claimed that Candis Meredith suggested making unneeded and ultimately detrimental renovation choices, like removing an egress point that was required by code, and creating a drainage problem by attempting to install a deck (to fix the egress problem). She also claims the Merediths hired uninsured and unlicensed workers.

Bennion, like one of the other homeowners who came forward, also claimed she was told months into the renovations that she would need to shell out a significant amount of additional money in order to finish the projects.

“People, bank accounts, livelihoods, families, our health, sanity … all of us have been left on the cutting room floor,”  Bennion wrote on Instagram , claiming she was hoping to protect “future victims” by sharing her side of the story.

Prior to the show’s reinstatement on the Magnolia Network, “Home Work” hosts Candis and Andy Meredith took to Instagram to respond to some of the allegations. They also shared videos taken during production, including one in which Bennion appeared happy with the finished project.

They did acknowledge, however, that there were “misunderstandings” and “hard conversations” along the way.

In his latest video response, Andy said that he and Candis were attempting to vent their frustrations and share their side of the story, and said they were not trying to “ lessen anybody’s feelings or make light of their story ” by sharing their own accounts.

Candis also said the couple’s children were being bullied as a result of the accusations.

It’s worth noting that not everyone who came forward with their experience on “Home Work” was critical of Candis and Andy’s work. On Instagram, another woman gushed about the “reading cottage” the Merediths had built for her, saying they did  “beautiful work”  despite it taking longer than expected.

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Assign and monitor homework online with the market-leading homework solution that engages students, involves parents and saves teachers time.

What is Show My Homework?

Show My Homework is the market-leading homework software, used by 1 in 3 UK secondary schools, that integrates seamlessly with Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams . Made up of easy-to-use features that involve all key stakeholders in the homework process, Show My Homework provides schools with the tools they need to support home-learning in the most simple and effective way.

• Set, submit and grade homework online
• Re-use your own and colleagues’ homework tasks
• Integrate with Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams
• Identify learning gaps with auto-graded Quizzes and detailed reports
• Notify parents when students receive assignments
• Dedicated parent, teacher and student apps
• Mark tasks and view results via the Gradebook
• Differentiate homework to cater to students at different levels
• Access homework tasks made by other teachers in Community Resources
• Import quizzes directly from Neeto

Meet your new AI Sidekick

Get your evenings and weekends back by supercharging your productivity with Sidekick, an AI homework tool that makes creating homework, quizzes, spelling tests and lesson plans as easy as a few clicks. Now available in Satchel One

Here's what our customers have to say about us

"It was a lifesaver in Lockdown. The company quickly adapted further tools. Now it's a comprehensive site."

"Saves time, allows me to send web links and the huge variety of types of homework. Amazing support during lockdown and..."

"It is very efficient; allows parental access; archives tasks; allows 2 way communication between pupils and teachers; keeps records..."

"Very professional, rapid answer to issues, constantly updating in response to feedback - new facilities added regularly"

"I have found it incredibly useful during this period of lockdown, however I was using it to enter homework as well and that has..."

"It makes setting Homework easy and you know everyone in the class is informed."

Facilitate blended learning

With Show My Homework your school has immediate access to powerful distance learning tools, making it easy to combine in-person teaching with online-centred learning. Teachers can set remote Classwork instantly, notifying learners of work to complete via Satchel One.

• Integrations with tech leaders, Microsoft and Google, makes blended learning even more powerful
• Assign Classwork online to students working from home
• Teachers can see how many students have viewed work and completed assignments
• Students can message teachers directly for support with tasks, or begin a task discussion with their peers
• Parents can see assigned tasks via the parent app
• Be ready to switch to distance learning, should the need arise, at any time

• Increase parental engagement in student learning by notifying them when tasks are set on Satchel One and shared to Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams
• Save time and share best practices across your school with easy-to-reuse homework tasks and access to Community Resources
• Have a clear view of how homework is performing across the school with detailed reporting and student insights
• Create a more personalised learning experience for your students and provide thorough feedback and support with combined use of Satchel One and Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams
• Enjoy access to all the tools and features your school needs to provide a complete distance and blended learning experience

Because Satchel One is such a flexible platform, we were able to offer a blended approach. We were still teaching physical lessons, but we also had students joining in via Google Meet.

Integrations

• Import tasks from Google Classroom direct to Show My Homework or easily share tasks to Microsoft Teams
• Students can submit work to Show My Homework via OneDrive and Google Drive
• Schools can change their default submission method to either Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams
• Attach Google Drive or OneDrive documents to assignments
• Open Google Drive and OneDrive documents via the Assess tab for quick access to marking
• Add live lesson links from Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams to Satchel One’s Timetables
• Use either your existing Gmail or Office 365 email address to sign into Satchel One

While we did most of our communication with pupils via Microsoft Teams, we found that posting on Satchel One was key in keeping parents informed.

Used by 1 in 3 UK secondary schools

We’re partners to 1 in 3 secondary schools across the UK, join the Satchel One community today.

AET Academy

Borden Grammar School

Castle Newnham School

Harris Academy South Norwood

The Habs Boys' School

Lavington School

Sir John Lawes School

St Bonaventure's School

Thorpe St Andrew School

Wilson's School

Award winning software

Satchel are an award winning company who currently work with 2500 schools worldwide.

2023 Winners Response to Covid-19

2021 Winners Whole School Aids for Learning, Teaching & Assessment

2020 Winners School Business Category

2019 Winners Edtech Innovator of the Year

2018 Winners Whole School Aids for Learning, Teaching & Assessment

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2017 Winners Education Company of the Year

2017 Winners Digital Innovation in the Public Sector

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Speak to the team today!

Whether you’re looking for pricing, a quick demo and login details or more detailed information about getting your school set up, the team will be on hand to help. Fill in the form or give us a call on 020 7197 9550 option 1.

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Get to grips with our mobile app for Android

Homework submission

The Show My Homework app is an easy way for students to stay organised on the go. To download the app, simply visit the Google Play Store and search for Show My Homework, or click the icon below. ​

Once you have downloaded the app you will need to search for your school. Then simply log in using your login details as normal. ​

Once logged in, you can get to the main menu anytime by tapping on the menu bar in the top-left corner. You can use the main menu to navigate to the following sections:

To-do list: View upcoming, past, or overdue homework

Timetable: View your scheduled classes per week. Kindly note this section will only appear if your school has Timetables enabled.

Notice board: View school announcements and event reminders

Reminders: Your own list of personal reminders

Updates: Review notifications for grades, comments or announcements that have been posted for you

Settings: Update your account settings, access our Help Centre or get in touch with us,

Sign out: Press to log out of your account on the app

From the To-do list, you can select tasks to read their description and download any resources attached to the task. The To-do List is divided into three different sections: Upcoming, Past, and Overdue. ​ On the Upcoming list, you will find any homework with forthcoming deadlines. Once you have completed homework, check the box beside its title. If you want to view only homework that has not yet been ticked as complete, toggle the switch in the top-right-hand corner. ​ On the Past list, you will find homework that you've marked as complete, and now their deadline has passed. The Overdue list will show you any homework that is now past its due date and has not been ticked off yet. ​ 

Marked something as completed before you meant to? Not to worry! The To-do list is simply an organisational tool, your teacher will not receive any notifications for this. You can untick the homework task to return it to your Upcoming list.

If you have a question for your teacher you can leave a comment for them by selecting the Comments tab and typing your comment in the text box.

If your teacher has requested that you submit your homework online , you can do this within the app. Simply upload your homework for online submissions directly from your camera gallery, Dropbox, or Google Drive by clicking the Submit Homework button.

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• January 4, 2021 (United States)
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• Runtime 30 minutes

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Reviews 1.4.

Most relevant

You can’t open documents uploaded to…

You can’t open documents uploaded to homework. I have spent since February trying to resolve with Satchel, but. One of their fixes have resolved the issue.

Date of experience : 10 October 2023

Upload issue via Google Chrome

The site doesn't work properly when my son try to upload his work via Google Chrome! AND we didn't get back any warning sign, eight pieces of his homework weren't submitted! So annoying! Finally, we could somewhat manage to use it via Safari...

Date of experience : 02 May 2020

Show My Homework can be useful for the minority, but not for me. Why? Well, I rarely connect to the internet and teachers can also forget to upload homework and you therefore miss out on learning. Planners are a perfectly reliable way to write homework: it never crashes, which Show My Homework does sometimes and you just have it with you. Without my beloved diary which my mum bought at WH Smith (she doesn't like it either) I probably wouldn't get homework done. I don't recommend this service.

Date of experience : 24 January 2018

I tried a free trial - avoid at all costs

I tried a free trial - my daughter didn’t use it. When I tried to cancel it was impossible. Customer services initially told me I didn’t have an account and I had to send a credit card statement to prove it. Then they sent instructions to access ‘cancel’ tabs that did not exist. Messages answered after gaps > 3 weeks at 16:51 one day as further payment taken that night. It’s now over a month since I instructed them to cancel the subscription which they have refused to do yet I am unable to. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY’S FREE TRIAL OR ADD ON SERVICES

Date of experience : 26 June 2021

Show my homework / satchel one is diabolical

Show my homework / satchel one is turning out to be diabolical. My grandson has only just started secondary school and has had his first detention ever for being late with homework even though it has been uploaded. Submitted homework is showing as outstanding (not in a good way!!) even though it has been done. Maths homework had questions that weren't covered in course work and English homework gave the answers but not the questions. Presumably schools are paying for this awful service, let's get back to proper teachers doing proper teaching and putting effort into delivering the curriculum and their pupils education and futures. Let's get personal!!

Date of experience : 07 October 2020

Issues accessing on and off but…

Issues accessing on and off but perserverence wins through. Overall excellent for keeping tabs on homework due. However, cannot seem to tick off completed homework which still showing as overdue tasks! Constant reminders for pupil to mark as completed but still doesn't accept tasks ticked off.

Date of experience : 07 February 2020

If you start writing in the SMHW…

If you start writing in the SMHW document ( to submit hw ) and then go back to the "description" bit of your homework, everything gets deleted and it cannot be retrieved. I just lost an entire essay :) Fix this, SMHW!!!

Date of experience : 08 April 2020

i hatwee shoiw nmy home work it…

i hatwee shoiw nmy home work it cimplet5elt ruineed dmy life i wajrt to sue the comany myhouse burned diwb and mjyt dog died because of it pleasae raje sqghr rgte4ew hsxy cojpany And shedy syu

Date of experience : 05 June 2023

Do not use this app / website - it has ruined my life. It encourages and enables laziness and selfishness from teachers, who can spend 30 seconds setting a 4-hour-long piece of homework without any more information than a sentence. My school uses this app, and I have been given several behaviour marks and detentions from not submitting a homework that didn't come up on SMHW for me, or didn't send to the teacher when I submitted it. It lets teachers bombard you with homework without setting it properly, and you are forced to spend every minute of your free time / weekends checking the damned website to see if you've been given homework, or else be punished. It just lets teachers ruin your holidays and home life with homework.

Date of experience : 08 October 2021

evasive regarding technical support....IF you get a reply that is

son's account has another pupil's details/homework etc on it, have been begging them since the beginning of September to sort it out....and so far (today is the 30th) they have ignored my 5 technical support tickets, and there is no contact on the site itself, i've had to do a bit of detective work but i've found a number for them.....

Date of experience : 30 September 2018

Good if used properly

This website is good if it is used properly by both teachers and students. Some teachers may forget to upload homework so I do understand some peoples reservations about using the website. Our school has recently got rid of the trusty paper homework diaries as a way saving money and paper. And although these were a useful way of keeping track of assignments, individual pupils tended to "forget" to write down homework. This website provides no excuses. The website also allows students to upload assignments online. Quizzes and online activities can also be uploaded by teachers. Show my homework also has an app!!!

Date of experience : 01 June 2018

How can i delete work from early last…

How can i delete work from early last year but my son hasn't got it on his it's driving me nuts also it's so slow not all the time the work appears

Date of experience : 03 February 2021

OMG I CANT TELL YOU HOW MANY HOMEWORKS HAVE NOT BEEN SUBMITTED COS OF THE TRASH BAG CEO OF THIS COMPANY SO PLS TAKE THIS WEBSITE, APP OR WHATEVER DOWN MY TEACHERS ARE STILL GIVING ME DETENTIONS !!!!

Date of experience : 26 June 2020

It's actually quite good but I hope it…

It's actually quite good but I hope it gets killed like DingTalk there is so much stress, sorry SMHW but I'm getting too much homework.

Date of experience : 02 April 2020

This thing makes me wanna kms! <3

This thing makes me wanna kms! No one likes home work. This is BANG OUT OF ORDER. who ever made this deserves a life sentence in jail. This is torture. Unacceptable.

Date of experience : 24 September 2023

I cant give it a 0/5

Terrible website doesnt even work 90% of the time and then when it doesnt the teachers still give you detentions for the company being as smart as a jake Pauler

Date of experience : 11 September 2017

WEBSITE IS A PIECE OF TRASH!

WEBSITE IS A PIECE OF TRASH! KEEP AWAY IF YOU DONT WANT A TON OF UNESSESARY HEADACHES!!! THS WEBSITE KEEPS SAYING I HAVENT SUBMITTED MY WORK EVEN THOUGH I DID! LIKE I SAID BEFORE, KEEP AWAY!!

Date of experience : 25 June 2020

Poo poop poop

Date of experience : 31 January 2024

satchel one review

it is too slow when I try and load up show my homework it takes a hot minute to slow. Also, it sometimes unchecks my homework for no reason but I hope these bugs get fixed then i would give show my homework a 4

Date of experience : 08 February 2021

this app is horrible and is supporting…

this app is horrible and is supporting a source of stress and literally no one likes homework so this app is very not good

Date of experience : 16 March 2020

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 5 best homework help websites (free and paid).

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments?

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use? 

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help websites
• The cost of homework help websites 
• The five best homework websites out there 
• The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help 
• Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started! 

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple. 

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out! 

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students. 

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring! 

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!) 

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites 

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with. 

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material. 

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa. 

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you! 

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads. 

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

• Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance  

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.  

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school. 

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects. 

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers. 

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

• Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want 
• Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help 

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help. 

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter! 

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!  

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

• Best for: Science homework help
• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded. 

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.  

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly. 

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below. 

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites 

First, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays. 

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college. 

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school. 

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook . 

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts. 

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites 

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help. 

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option. 

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming 

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up. 

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service! 

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. 

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating. 

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website. 

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best 

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most. 

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need 

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick. 

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process.

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article.

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Homework: Only Review What You Need to Review

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A lot of teachers think that if you assign homework, you must review it with students the following day. This makes sense in that it’s important for students to correct and learn from their mistakes.

But what if they didn’t make any mistakes? I realize it’s unlikely every student will have the correct answer for any given question. Yet even if only half the class got it right, what should those students do while you review something they already know how to do? Well, I can tell you what they did in my classroom before I changed my approach: they talked or slept or worked on assignments for other classes.

The root of the problem is the same as what I described in the context of class openers (or Do Nows ): teachers reviewing an assignment without knowing whether students need them to review it. In extreme cases, teachers go over every homework assignment, beginning to end. I’m reminded of my high school math teacher working through problem after problem on the board, oblivious to snoozing and socializing students.

Then there are those teachers who act like disc jockeys by taking audience requests: “What questions would you like me to go over?” And if just one kid requests #3, the teacher reviews #3. Same goes for #4, #5, and so on. I did this until it backfired for a couple of reasons. First, just because Michael needs you to review #3 doesn’t mean Maria and Marcus do, which is why many students don’t pay attention when teachers use the DJ approach. Second, if students want to keep you from moving on to the next activity, all they have to do is request another question. And if you think kids won’t play you like this, think again. Nothing rankled me more than students asking me to go over problems, and then yakking or putting their heads on their desks as I obliged them.

Of course, you can’t look over students’ shoulders while they’re doing homework, so you’ll need to identify in class those homework questions most students need you to review. And here’s a great way to do this:

As you wrap up the class opener, show the answers to homework on your interactive whiteboard or projector screen. Then give students five minutes or so to check their answers and troubleshoot their errors, while you circulate to identify questions worth reviewing as a class (i.e., those most students struggled with)--and identify students to present the correct solutions to the class.

This process not only saves time, but also improves student learning. By working backward from the correct answers, students often figure out where they went wrong, and have a better grasp of the material as a result. And in the end, you’ll have fewer questions to review as a class, and a more captive audience for those questions you do need to review--as captive as any DJ could hope for!

Image provided by GECC, LLC with permission

The opinions expressed in Coach G’s Teaching Tips are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Blu-ray Review: Homework

June 18, 2024

Blu-ray Reviews , Reviews , Top Story

The key to being a great exploitation filmmaker is figure out how to alter an already released film in order to exploit a new development. There were a lot of films that changed titles to exploit a headline or trend. When Homework was originally released in 1979, it was a low budget teen sex comedy with a few named older actresses in smaller supporting roles. But a few years afterward, one of the actresses finally had a career break through that turned her into an international superstar. Joan Collins saved the primetime soap opera Dynasty in the Fall of 1981. Since this was an era before home video caught fire, the makers of Homework retooled the film and put it back in theaters for 1982. They sliced up Joan Collins’ few scenes so she appeared throughout the film. Plus to make it sizzle, they added nudity to her role with a body double. They redid the advertising and posters so Joan Collins looked like she was the star as an older woman wanting to get in the pants of a high school boy. The now superstar Joan Collins was not happy and dragged them to court. The lawsuit made Homework a notorious film.

High Schooler Tommy ( Midnight Offering s’ Michael Morgan) daydreams about his future profession of being a photographer for Playboy. He’s just completely obsessed with getting laid. He even confesses this to the school counselor ( Diary of a Mad Housewife ‘s Carrie Snodgress). When he discovers one of his classmates has musical talent and songwriting skills, Tommy decides that they need to start a band so he can get groupie action after their first gig. In order to have a cool band, they recruit Lisa ( General Hospital ‘s Shell Kepler) who can play bass while on a skateboard. They also recruit Cookie (Renee Harris) whose father doesn’t want her singing in a rock band since Alice Cooper doesn’t have a PhD. Their first dream is to win the school’s talent show and impress an agent in the audience. Is Tommy going to spend the summer on the road covered in groupies? And what’s up with his swimming obsessed not-quite-girlfriend’s mom (Joan Collins) who looks at him so lustfully?

Homework has a Crown International vibe from this era without one of the characters owning a cool van. It’s easy to trash the movie since it’s not a snazzy big studio production. Dale Pollack’s review in the Los Angeles Times complained about “poor photography, sloppy editing and atrocious acting.” Pollack went on to be the producer of the nearly forgotten teen movie Meet The Deedles that hasn’t been on DVD in nearly 20 years. Pollack’s film cost 25 times the budget of Homework and made a third less at the box office. What Homework really has going for it is that this film isn’t just about teen fantasies with no consequences. One of the teenagers borrows dad’s expensive foreign car. When he drives back into the garage, his dad rewards his spunk by kicking his ass. This was rather revolutionary when you consider that you didn’t see Tom Cruise in Risky Business or Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off get curb stomped by dad for screwing up their dream cars. Another character has to get the disturbing news from the health department that they might have V.D. Homework isn’t just plucky teen frolics. These kids are getting their teen dreams popped as we watch.

There are quite a few notable faces in the movie. Wings Hauser ( Tough Guys Don’t Dance ) plays a skeezy coked up record producer that gets frisky with a band member in his office. His secretary is Betty Thomas right before she joined the force on Hill Street Blues . Lee Purcell would go on to play the younger wife who wants to sleep with a teenager that her stepdaughter wants in Valley Girl . That almost the plot here since Joan Collins wants to hook up with her daughter’s frustrated boyfriend.

Those two films aren’t the same since they featured the moms going after daughters’ boyfriends as just a side plot. A year after the re-issue of Homework , there would be a movie featuring an older British actress getting into a high schooler’s pants as the main plot. The film was Class with Jacquiline Bisset ( The Deep ) hooking up with Andrew McCarthy. The makers of Homework paved the way for MILF-mania even if they had to reshoot and recut the film to achieve it.

The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer maintains the grainy nature of the low budget film. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 mono and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The LPCM has a bit more depth to it. The movie is subtitled in English.

Interview With Legendary Producer Max Rosenberg (27:20) lets us meet up with half of Amicus Productions. He gets into what made him bust up the English based horror company. He was the executive producer on Homework . He talks about getting Joan Collins for $25,000. Things went bad when she sued over the body double and the hinting poster. He was also not happy with director James Beshears. Making matters worse, he invested his own money in the film and wasn’t thrilled when original distributor went bankrupt when the film was still in release. Homework had been a success and the box office returns vaporized. Max passed away in 2004 so it’s great to get to hear him. He does seem confused about what was going on in Carrie Snodgress’ life. The ex-lover he can’t name is Neil Young. They never married, but had a kid together. Although Max might really be talking about her relationship with record producer Jack Nitzsche which ended when he assaulted her with a gun.

Promotional Gallery (1:18) has movie ads, lots of press photos of Joan Collins, the posters with Joan Collins in various undress and home video boxes. The European VHS boxes removed Joan Collins’ photos from the cover.

Homework Trailer (1:25) is a red band trailer! We see what this film is all about with Joan Collins in white jeans. There’s also trailers for Fully Body Massage, Tokyo Decadence and Nightwish .

Unearthed Films present Homework . Directed by James Beshears. Screenplay Maurice Peterson & Don Safran. Starring Joan Collins, Michael Morgan, Shell Kepler, Lanny Horn, Erin Donovan, Renee Harris, Mark Brown, Betty Thomas, Lee Purcell, Carrie Snodgress & Wings Hauser. Running Time: 89 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: June 25, 2024.

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The Polokwane Airshow is the place to be on June 28-29

The airshow will be held on June 28 and 29 and aims to showcase various aircraft and aviation-related activities, while also providing entertainment and educational opportunities to the public for attendees of all ages.

POLOKWANE – The Polokwane International Airport (PIA) will be hosting the Polokwane Airshow 2024 in partnership with Botha Shellhole.

The airshow will take place over two days, with June 28 specifically targeting the youth in and around Limpopo.

The aim is to expose 1 000 learners from Limpopo to various careers and opportunities in aviation, to inspire future generations of pilots, engineers, and aviation professionals through aircraft displays, flight demonstrations, and interactive exhibits.

The event is an excellent opportunity to showcase the airport’s infrastructure, such as runways, aprons, terminal building, navigation systems as well as facilities, services, and capabilities to a wide audience.

The PIA hopes to attract aviation enthusiasts and potential airport users, including airlines, aircraft manufacturers, businesses, flight schools, investors and tourists, thereby boosting the airport’s profile and revenue.

The airshow will have significant economic benefits for the City of Polokwane by attracting visitors from outside the area who will spend money on accommodation, dining, transportation, and souvenirs, therefore stimulating the local economy.

By attracting large crowds, the airshow creates a platform for networking and collaboration with the community, fostering goodwill and strengthening relationships with stakeholders.

The show comprises of mobility track demonstrations, aerobatic displays and many other static displays from some of the biggest names in the aviation and defense industry who will demonstrate their latest and greatest aircraft.

There will be educational exhibits, family-friendly activities and food and beverage stalls.

The PIA CEO Mokgadi Matl is confident that the airshow will inspire many a youngster to start a career in aviation. The airport is ready in anticipation of the large crowd that is expected, with awesome displays and something for all in the family to experience it’s going to be a big one.

Purchase your airshow ticket from Ticketpro or www.polokwaneairshow.co.za on and join in the most anticipated event in the region, attracting aviation enthusiasts, families, and professionals.

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