Homework is a touchy subject. Some people are absolutely for it. Others are completely against it. And many fall somewhere in between. In the face of increasing amounts of homework being hoisted onto schoolkids, numerous articles have come out making the case against homework.
An article in the Washington Post outlines some of the arguments against homework. And that icon of education, Scholastic, even posted an article blasting current homework practices. In a nutshell, they're saying that kids are receiving too much homework and it isn't helping much.
In our school district, homework is required for every grade--even kindergarten, if you can imagine that. Here are the guidelines for elementary school, K-5:
Kinder 15-20 min
1st 30-35
2nd 30-35
3rd 35-45
4th 35-45
5th 50-60
Students at my school are required to read for a certain amount of time on top of the homework.
As a parent, I know what goes on when kids have a lot of homework after school. They're tired, grumpy, and the more homework they have, the more crying that takes place--so it takes twice as along as the recommended homework time. It's wretched and often doesn't really add to their education. It just makes them hate school. See my earlier post, Paging Dr. House: Little Buddy Can't Do It Alone.
This past year I finally found a way to tackle the homework problem. I have two major issues with assigning homework:
1. It takes kids away from playtime and relaxing time after school; kids don't have a chance to recharge their batteries.
2. Many families in our neighborhood, who are working class and/or immigrant, can't help their kids with the homework when they are having difficulties.
I give out homework packets on Mondays, to be returned on Friday. By giving the entire week's homework on Monday, I accomplish a few things:
1. The kids and parents know what they are going to learn for the entire week. Learning is predictable, and I stay focussed.
2. In the event that the family has an event and the child can't do their homework one night, they can either plan ahead and do it early, or make it up later without my having to keep track of them.
3. I reduce the homework collection process to one day, saving instructional time.
4. Families that don't understand the homework have a few days to communicate with me about helping their child because the homework is only due on Fridays.
Each day, my students get one very short page of math and one short page of language arts--it shouldn't take them more than 20 minutes to do their homework, 30 tops. Sometimes I give an additional assignment that focuses on talking to their parents. On top of that, my students know I expect them to read every day.
So, a week's worth of homework might look like this:
Monday: Math p. 39, Language arts write sentences using vocabulary words
Tuesday: Math p. 40, Language arts review page from workbook
Wednesday: Math p. 41, Language arts reading comprehension page
Thursday: Math p. 42, Language arts write 5 similes
Once in a while I will add an assignment like, "Tell your parents the story about how George Washington died." Practicing their listening and speaking skills is critical, especially for English learners. Also, by keeping the homework light and interesting, I know the kids will do it and not get bogged down in a cycle of homework tantrums. If you are a teacher but not a parent, please believe me--this happens even to the best of kids.
On Friday mornings, we correct some of it, but not all of it. I make the act of correcting homework solid instructional time, so we really go over it carefully.
And guess what? Homework becomes fun. My kids look forward to getting their packets on Monday and correcting them on Friday. Go figure!
But what I really want my kids to do is read, and read for fun. I tell them to read about 30 minutes a day, but I don't keep reading logs (another painful thing for parents to keep track of). I know how much they're reading by looking at the self-directed reading quizzes they take with our Accelerated Reader program. I don't care what they read--fiction, non-fiction, magazines, comic books, cereal boxes. It doesn't matter as long as they're engaging the language.
For vacation homework, they must read read read books and talk talk talk to their parents. Again, I want them engaging in language--whatever language that is.
Basically, here is the type of homework I find valuable:
1. Practice standards that don't get much coverage from the Open Court program (which is substantial)
Example: figurative language, fact/opinion
2. Review and practice math learned during the week or the previous week
3. Practice answering reading comprehension questions
4. Talk to parents about learning
5. Use vocabulary in a meaningful and creative way
6. Brainstorm for writing - thinking maps
7. Read, read, read
And by all means, make homework fun.
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