A classroom teacher’s view on homework

LE: What is your position on the issue of homework?
I address as an educator and as the parent of school age children when I address this question. I do see research as having a function in the educational process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe homework is worthless, or worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that shows research to be useful, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of research must be based upon the students age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be relatively basic to give math research one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. If teachers are innovative with projects and in communicating the purpose of the assignment, students should not become bored or frustrated. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade teacher. I see homework to extend learning. Would I designate 30 mathematics problems to students who I understand would have problem with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my task as the teacher to modify the tasks.
Our textbook points out it can take 24 repeatings of an ability for a student to reach 80% competency. Kohn points out how students might become much better at keeping in mind, but not believing. I see this as two different things; we require trainees to remember specific realities and then move on to utilizing those abilities as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be tough to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have concerns or issues, I reach out to the teacher. Again, great instructors make it a point to understand what some house circumstances might be like and to customize accordingly.

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

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I do see homework as having a role in the academic procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to believe homework is useless, or even worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that shows homework to be helpful, I did not see a convincing quantity of difficult information to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research ought to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it should be fairly basic to provide mathematics homework one night, reading or spelling one night, etc to prevent overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

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

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