A classroom teacher’s view on homework

I do see homework as having a function in the academic process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to believe homework is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that shows research to be helpful, I did not see a persuading quantity of tough information to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework need to be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it needs to be relatively easy to offer math homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, and so on to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.

Research can be a dissentious topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors viewpoint. We want to hear your thoughts about homework. What is your approach? How do you interact with households about research?

LE: What is your position on the problem of research?
When I address this question, I answer as an educator and as the moms and dad of school age children. I do see homework as having a function in the instructional process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is worthless, or worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that proves homework to be useful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult data to support getting rid of all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework need to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be relatively easy to offer mathematics homework one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to prevent overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. I see homework to extend knowing.
Our textbook points out it can take 24 repetitions of a skill for a trainee to reach 80% competency. I believe practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you must practice to improve. There are standard mathematics skills kids should practice to construct a solid structure before proceeding to higher-level math skills. Kohn explains how students may become much better at remembering, but not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we need students to keep in mind certain facts and after that move on to using those abilities as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be hard to squeeze in research some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I reach out to the teacher. Again, excellent instructors make it a point to understand what some home situations might be like and to customize appropriately.

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When considering homework, instructors find it useful to communicate their policy with the families of their students. After just recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade instructor from Pennsylvania, reflected on her homework approach that includes the purposeful functions teachers and families play.

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