Homework can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this teachers viewpoint. We want to hear your thoughts about homework. What is your viewpoint? How do you communicate with families about homework?

.

When considering research, teachers find it useful to interact their policy with the households of their students. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade teacher from Pennsylvania, reflected on her homework philosophy which consists of the purposeful roles instructors and families play.

LE: What is your position on the problem of homework?
I address as an educator and as the parent of school age kids when I address this concern. I do see homework as having a function in the academic process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think research is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that shows homework to be beneficial, I did not see a convincing quantity of tough information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of homework should be based on the students age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it should be fairly simple to provide math research one night, reading or spelling one night, and so on to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees ought to not end up being bored or annoyed if instructors are innovative with assignments and in communicating the function of the task. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend learning. Would I designate 30 mathematics issues to students who I know would have problem with them, or to trainees who have shown their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my job as the instructor to customize the assignments.
Our textbook points out it can take 24 repeatings of an ability for a trainee to reach 80% proficiency. I believe practicing skills is worthwhile. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you should practice to improve. There are fundamental mathematics skills children need to practice to develop a strong structure prior to moving on to higher-level math abilities. Kohn mentions how trainees may end up being better at remembering, but not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we require trainees to bear in mind specific realities and then proceed to utilizing those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be difficult to squeeze in research some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I reach out to the instructor. Again, great teachers make it a point to know what some home scenarios might be like and to customize appropriately.

I do see research as having a function in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe research is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that proves homework to be advantageous, I did not see a persuading quantity of tough information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the students age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it ought to be reasonably simple to give mathematics research one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive topic in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.