A classroom teacher’s view on homework

Homework can be a divisive subject in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers viewpoint. We would like to hear your ideas about homework. What is your viewpoint? How do you communicate with households about homework?

When thinking of research, teachers find it helpful to communicate 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 research viewpoint that includes the purposeful functions instructors and families play.

I do see research as having a function in the academic procedure and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think homework is worthless, or even worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that proves homework to be useful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of research must be based on the students age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it ought to be relatively basic to offer math homework one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view.

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LE: What is your position on the issue of homework?
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 agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe research is worthless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that proves research to be useful, I did not see a persuading quantity of difficult information to support eliminating all homework.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the trainees age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be relatively easy to provide math homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. I see homework to extend learning.
Our book mentions it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a trainee to reach 80% proficiency. I believe practicing skills is rewarding. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make sense to me. There are skills in tennis you must practice to enhance. There are basic mathematics skills children need to practice to build a solid structure prior to moving on to higher-level math abilities. Kohn mentions how students might end up being much better at remembering, however not thinking. I see this as two various things; we need trainees to remember specific truths and then proceed to using those abilities as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be tough to squeeze in research some nights! We do the best we can, and if we have issues or issues, I reach out to the teacher. Again, excellent instructors make it a point to understand what some home circumstances might be like and to customize accordingly.

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