Are you one of many to assign unnecessary busy work each night to your students? Or maybe you don't assign homework at all. Do parents complain about their child having TOO MUCH homework? Or maybe some parents are saying that their child NEVER has homework. What side of the fence do you fall on? Assigning homework or no homework?
There's a study on this, like most things now days, and 90% of 2,100 students surveyed through Education Week, reported that homework caused them additional stress. 75% of these students spend at least thirty minutes each night on homework and 45% spend more than an hour each night on homework. Granted homework can be stressful, but I really don't believe that a high percentage would say it's fun and carefree.
Education Week also wants to know if homework is unnecessary. Could homework be a waste of time? Or is it an effective, educational tool? According to the same study, math scores did not necessarily improve when homework increased. However, this same study revealed that homework does benefit high and low achieving students, but counterproductive for average learners. The authors of this study believe classes "could be better served by using other methods to improve student achievement with a more effective tool for improvement." So now what? Do we give homework or not give homework? This has been debated for many years.
We also have a nation-wide problem of low test scores. Trying to remedy this problem, statistics have shown that teachers are loading their students with homework. Is this why the amount of time students spend on homework has tripled since 1981?
Spring Branch Independent Schools would like to know this; as others would, does homework enhance or hinder students' academic achievement? Is there a right answer? Not at this time, but many teachers feel that homework is good for time management skills. And what about reinforcing what students learn in the classroom? Many teachers also feel that by assigning hours of busywork deprives a child of the free time he or she needs to develop. How about a happy medium: moderate, meaningful homework? This way students can discover their own intellectual curiosity, without being forced to learn. 40% of parents surveyed in the same study as above, say that one-third of their child's busywork assignments are of "fair" or "poor" performance when completed.
The school board members of Toronto School District are looking to exclude homework during vacation periods, no homework at the kindergarten level, and to NOT punish students if their homework isn't turned in on time. Instead, they're looking into having family fun nights by incorporating homework with games.
All in all, the homework debate still continues nation wide. It still could be a prominent part of students' educational lives. I just wish more parents participate and engage with their child and their homework. I don't ASSIGN homework. However, any independent work we do in the classroom turns into homework if it's not completed by the end of the day. But wouldn't my students just LOVE it if they didn't get punished for not getting it done at home and on time??? Then homework wouldn't be stressful!! Poor kids! If only life was stress free!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Denise,
ReplyDeleteI LOVED YOUR blog this week! This is the biggest issue I have. I am known in my school for giving too much homework. However, ALL of my students have 90 minutes of study hall a day (two 45 minute periods). It is my belief that if students worked diligently udring their study halls, they would not have homework or much of it. I don't believe the homework I give is just for the purpose of having busy work. I like to believe that I have a purpose behind everything I assign. Of course, at the beginning of the year, I do assign quite a bit of work in order to see where the students are at, how much they can handle, etc.
I try to stress to them that students should have 10 minutes of homework for each grade level they are in. Sometimes it will be more, sometimes it will be less if any at all. In the end, it all washes out to be even.
Yes, I would love to have parents become involved and engaged with their child and his/her homework but it just doesn't happen, sadly!
I find it interesting that math scores don't go up with the additional homework but not unlikely. Students don't know how to study these days. I always here the question, "How can you study for math?" I believe the amount of homework that has increased since the 1980s is because students don't know how to use their time wisely, don't care about getting things done at school, don't have the added support (or pressure) from parents at home; thus, causing them to waste time at school and have to take things home to do.
Life is stressful! Life is hardwork! Parents and students today want everything handed to them on a silver platter. SORRY, CHARLIE!
I don't agree with assigning homework just to assign it. I think homework should be left over work that didn't get done during class time and the intended lesson. Sometimes it does seem that kids have a pile of homework. But on the flip side, I have been a study hall supervisor and watched many a kid have absolutely nothing to do in study hall and they squander the time. If these are the same kids having too much homework at home at night, I do not feel sorry for them. Interesting that the Toronto school is looking into family fun nights in lieu of homework. Why not make it in addition to homework. Homework in and of itself is not a bad thing. To not punish kids for not getting it done is absolutely absurd. What next? Not punish or grade a test because it causes too much stress? Honestly.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Haraseth
Great blog! Homework is such a touchy subject. I remember getting some assignments and thinking this is pointless! I hope my students or parents never think this about my homework. My students have homework almost every night. They either have math homework (part of the Saxon math curriculum), re-reads from guided reading and spelling words. I try to only have one assignment a night which on average would take 10-15 minutes. I think as long as homework has a purpose and only takes up an appropriate amount of time it is a positive thing. It allows parents to see what thier child is learning and allows students to practice skills used during the day to make them more successful. As a teacher I express to my students and parents (during conferences and newsletters) the purpose of the homework. I also ask parents at conferences how the homework goes at home and I hardly ever hear anything negative. I know families can be busy but I think that is a bad excuse. If you have three different practices a night a family either has to decide what is more imporant (school or practices) or find a schedule to make it all work. I don't think homework will go away so as teachers I hope we make it meaningul and as a family I hope they make it a priority.
ReplyDeleteDenise,
ReplyDeleteI find your topics very interesting. I think I've ended up responding to most of your topics because of it! Good work. Within my own school, we've had the same debate. Some of our teachers are parents. The last thing they say they want to do is deal with homework each night with their kids after all the activities they involve their children with after school, too. For that reason, they never give homework. In the upper grades at my school, 6th-8th grades, we give homework. I can honestly say that most of our kids finish their "homework" in class before they leave, while others just never get it all done regardless of the time allotted. I think that kids who do their work on a regular basis and take time in doing so are ones who will surely be successful later in life. I know that the knowledge they soak up during school often will be lost or faded memories. I believe it was Einstein who said not to memorize useless information to which you could easily reference later anyway. With that in mind, it's all about work ethic.
If you read my blog, you'll see that I believe it only matters if student push themselves and complete the hardest level coursework they can instead of dumbed-down courses. If they can achieve any amount of success and understand how to manage the work in the difficult classes, they can do anything later in life. I don't remember having a lot of tough classes in school, because I finished most of my "homework" in study hall. Kids today don't have a lot of work overall either, I just think parents are less motivated to "kick their kids in the behind" when the going gets tough. Instead, parents and the psychobabble that ensues seems to stop hard work and ethics in their tracks.
Have a good week.
Randy B.
In high school, I usually had homework in math. I think it was very helpful. It fit the saying that practice makes perfect. The more math I practiced, the better I became at solving the problems. I do think that sometimes teachers hand out unnecessary busy work. I get frustrated when students come to my after school program with ‘locker art’. It is a coloring sheet that they have to hang on their locker. I think time could be better spent studying spelling words, reading, or working on math facts. Most of the times, the students who have homework have wasted time in class so their assignment becomes homework.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed emotions on this topic. On one hand I see homework as helping to enhance what was learned in the classroom, but on the other I see it as a stressful thing, especially if the student did not grasp the concept in class. I remember sitting in my room doing homework most nights in high school and sometimes not getting it and finally just saying the heck with it and not finishing it until the next morning at school. I think if you really want to give assignments for homework, they should be enticing and creative. It should captivate and motivate the students to go out and do it on their own. I know some teachers assign things that would make the students go out of their way to do it and it usually pays off. I try not to assign homework because the students do not do it, however if I do, I allow them some time near the end of class to work on it if they are done with their in-class work.
ReplyDeleteI also don't assign homework. I believe with the subjects I teach students are probably going to get very little quality help from parents on any homework assignment. By encouraging students to do all assignments in my presence, I am there to help them with problems/questions. Also, this reduces the amount of cheating that can occur. If students don't complete assignments in the prescribed time, they either need to come in during their free time (for computer classes) or finish as homework. I do believe we have some teachers who assign too much homework or expect students to spend too much extra "required" before or after school time. I am really starting to feel like we are expecting so much from our kids growing up that they don't have a chance for an equally important task - being a child.
ReplyDelete