17+ years of giving homework. That works out to about 2,500 days of disappointment that 100% of my students did not turn in homework assignments. I'm sure there are a variety of reasons for why these students didn’t complete their homework such as I didn't understand the directions, I was busy taking care of my younger sibling, I had a game, a dance recital, music lessons, and so on and so on.
A more important question I’ve come to ask myself lately is why I have been assigning homework? The answer, if I am honest, is because I'm a teacher and isn't giving homework expected? I’ve reasoned with myself that I have to teach the students to be responsible, allow them time to do extra practice, and I should help prepare my students for the next grade level's workload. However, when I examine these reasons, I’m not sure they stand up to scrutiny. Let's look at each of those reasons in more detail.
First, homework teaches responsibility. After 17 years I have come to the conclusion that doing homework does not teach a student to be more responsible than any other activity they could do outside of school. In fact, I would argue that playing a sport, learning to play an instrument, being in children's theater, or following through with household chores teaches a child just as much if not more responsibility than completing homework. Being a member of a sports team encourages an individual to be responsible to teammates, coaches, and themselves. It is an athlete's responsibility to follow the coach's directions to improve their ability. It is the athlete's responsibility to put in extra time practicing skills they need to improve on to become a better player. Also, athlete's learn time management because they are expected to be at practice and games at a designated time.
Secondly, homework allows for extra practice to improve skills. Of all the reasons for giving homework, I would agree with this the most. However, what I have learned is that not all students have the opportunity to receive adequate assistance or tools needed to complete their homework accurately. What good is it to assign practice for a student that cannot do the assignment independently? If the student cannot do the work independently and he does not have someone who can provide support it can be harmful to the student. Sure they can wait to get assistance the next day at school, but now they will have two days of work to complete. On the other hand, what good is it for a student to complete the same assignment as everybody else if they have already mastered the skill? Furthermore, a homework assignment that often takes the average student 1 hour to complete may take another student twice as long. What I have seen is that the student that does not complete the assignment is punished in the form of lower grades. That lower score has nothing to do with one's ability to demonstrate an understanding of the material, but rather indicates that the student has not jumped through the teacher's homework hoop.
Another reason I have given for justifying homework is that the next grade level was assigning homework, so I needed to help prepare my students for that workload. That sounds great in principal. Of course, I want my students to be well prepared for the workload of Jr. High, but I am no longer sure this is valid. If assigning homework in the previous grade is working then shouldn't all students that were 5th-grade students now be submitting assignments promptly as sixth-grade students? It isn’t happening, and I have to ask why do I consistently have 10-20% of my students not completing their homework? Didn’t they practice that workload the previous year?
So, what would I have students do instead of homework? Students should read. They shouldn't read to complete a reading counts test or to fill out a reading log. They should read for the sheer pleasure that comes from losing oneself in a great book. I can sense some individuals saying, but students need to be held accountable for their reading. Then I would argue that we need to restructure our instructional time during the school day to increase the amount of time a student reads in class. Does it matter where a student does the reading? What is the difference between reading 30 minutes in class or 30 minutes at home? I just know that for some students when reading becomes a requirement rather than something to enjoy it tends to put a damper on wanting to read. On a personal note, I loved reading up until my sophomore year of high school when the books I read became my teacher's choice. Now, I still read the books as assigned, but there was resentment. I was completing these books because I had to. Now as an adult, I have rediscovered my joy of reading. Let's look at what we are doing to our students. Let's not squash the joy of reading.
Next, parents should have more control over how a child spends their time away from school. Many parents are not even finished with their work day until 5 pm or later. One parent still has to come home and prepare dinner. Then parents don’t often just take a deep breath and relax. No, now they will be rushing to make that 6 pm practice. Then when finally home after 6:30 exhausted from their work day they then often assist a child or two with some part of a homework assignment. The student has already practiced educational skills for 6 hours that day. I will no longer take precious moments from a family's dwindling time together. I will not add more stress than already faces every family today. With more "free time" a child may explore and use their imagination. Below is a clip entitled "cardboard adventures." After watching this, it should leave no doubt to the learning that can come from imaginative play.
In closing, I may not be on the "right" side of the homework debate, but I would rather error on the side of trying to create an environment where students love coming to school, love spending time with their families, and look forward to growing as individuals. If a family truly wants homework for their child, then I will work with them to meet the needs of that student and family. However, I will leave a student’s home life and the pursuit of passions to the guidance of their parents.
30 years of giving homework and nearly 100% completion everyday. Why you may wonder? Because what I give for home assignments is meaningful and purposeful. My students understand why the practice is important to their overall school success. Let me offer you a different perspective since you made reference to 5th grade specifically.
ReplyDeleteOur students are in school 6 1/2 hours a day. Of those 6 1/2 hours, nearly two are spent taking breaks, transitioning, etc. That leaves 4-5 hours- at best- out of 24 hours daily (even less on minimum days)and with just 180 out of 365 days a year (less than half a calendar year) to teach. That leaves an enormous amount of time for kids to have extracurricular activities and family time outside the school day. As a sixth grade teacher, your Pepper Tree students had six years of excellent teaching, including homework, to have them so well prepared for your grade level. That simply couldn't have happened if homework didn't play into the equation. I do not in any way advocate for hours of homework per day. That is unnecessary and unreasonable. Our fifth grade students generally finish whatever they did not finish in class and prepare for assessments if needed. In addition, they read -- for pleasure. I do not refer to reading as homeWORK because of the negative connotation. Rather, it is referred to as a habit to develop and enjoy. Yes, I require a reading log and responses on a weekly basis and here's why:
Spending 1-2 hours a week reading 60 logs gives me incredible insight into each individual child I work with- something I could never do on a daily basis at school due to time constraints. As I read each log I am using this authentic assignment of my student's independent reading choices as a means for determining instructional decisions I need to make. I am able to gleen a wealth of information which I use for conferencing opportunities with students based on their individual needs. It is a way for me to connect personally, provide feedback, set goals, form intervention groups, guide students who need book suggestions, see reading patterns, etc. And that is only the reading. Because reading and writing are so intertwined, on a weekly basis, I am also able to make writing decisions and groups based on conventions, sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, spelling pattern needs, etc. If I were to preassess all these literacy areas individually my students would be taking far too many assessments and I would be doing far too much grading with less authentic measures.
In a perfect world, all students could be told to just go home, read voraciously and choose books that propel their reading forward. In my many years of experience as a literacy learner and lover, I have learned and researched this idea of no accountability. It is not realistic and does not happen with all students. The kids who need the most structure, guidance, and support see it as a free ride, because nobody will check and nobody will know they aren't reading. The motivated students read because they enjoy it. I have students and parents every year come back to me and thank me for propelling their child into loving reading or at least liking it. They may/may not have not loved the reading log, but it served an important purpose and my students were taught very clearly why I needed them to do it. and writing have their log modified to inlcude far less.
To conclude, the homework debate will continue,no doubt. Like everything, moderation is key. Even though my students have home assignments, they love to come to school and are making important strides to propel them toward future success. I don't think an hour a day of meaningful and purposeful practice is detrimental to a student's life in any way.