LE: What is your position on the problem of homework?
When I address this question, I address as an educator and as the parent of school age kids. I do see research as having a function in the academic process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think homework is worthless, or even worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research study that shows homework to be advantageous, I did not see a persuading amount of difficult data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of homework must be based upon the students age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it needs to be fairly easy to provide mathematics research one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. If instructors are innovative with tasks and in communicating the function of the project, trainees ought to not become bored or disappointed. Those are my goals as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend learning. Would I assign 30 math problems to students who I know would deal with them, or to trainees who have shown their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my task as the teacher to customize the tasks.
Our book points out it can take 24 repetitions of a skill for a student to reach 80% proficiency. I believe practicing abilities is rewarding. Kohns contrast with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you should practice to enhance. There are basic math abilities kids need to practice to develop a strong structure prior to moving on to higher-level mathematics abilities. Kohn explains how trainees may end up being better at remembering, however not thinking. I see this as two various things; we require students to keep in mind particular realities and then proceed to using those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be tough to squeeze in research some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have issues or issues, I reach out to the teacher. Once again, good instructors make it a point to know what some house scenarios may be like and to modify appropriately.

I do see research as having a function in the instructional process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to think research is useless, or even worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that shows homework to be advantageous, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be reasonably easy to give mathematics homework one night, reading or spelling one night, etc to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.

When believing about homework, teachers find it beneficial to communicate their policy with the households of their students. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade teacher from Pennsylvania, reviewed her research approach that includes the purposeful functions teachers and families play.

Research can be a divisive subject in the education neighborhood, 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 households about research?

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