A classroom teacher’s view on homework

I do see homework as having a function in the educational process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to think research is worthless, or even worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that proves homework to be helpful, I did not see a convincing quantity of hard data to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework ought to be based on the students age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be relatively easy to provide mathematics homework one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

Research can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can value this teachers point of view. How do you communicate with households about homework?

When thinking of homework, teachers find it helpful to communicate their policy with the families of their trainees. After just recently finishing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade instructor from Pennsylvania, showed on her research philosophy that includes the purposeful functions instructors and households play.

LE: What is your position on the issue of research?
I address as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age kids when I address this question. I do see homework as having a role in the instructional process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to believe homework is useless, or even worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that proves research to be useful, I did not see a convincing amount of difficult information to support eliminating all research.
Yes, the amount of research must be based on the students age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be reasonably basic to offer mathematics homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. If teachers are innovative with projects and in communicating the function of the assignment, trainees must not end up being annoyed or bored. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend knowing. Would I assign 30 math problems to students who I understand would have a hard time with them, or to trainees who have demonstrated their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my task as the instructor to modify the tasks.
Our book mentions it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a student to reach 80% competency. I believe practicing skills is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are skills in tennis you must practice to enhance. There are standard mathematics abilities kids must practice to develop a strong structure prior to proceeding to higher-level math abilities. Kohn points out how students might progress at remembering, however not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we require students to keep in mind certain realities and after that carry on to using those abilities as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be difficult to squeeze in research some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I reach out to the instructor. Again, good teachers make it a point to know what some home scenarios may be like and to modify appropriately.

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