A classroom teacher’s view on homework

Homework can be a dissentious subject in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers perspective. We would like to hear your ideas about homework. What is your approach? How do you interact with households about homework?

LE: What is your position on the concern of research?
I respond to as an educator and as the parent of school age children when I address this concern. I do see research as having a role in the academic process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to think research is useless, or worse, has an unfavorable effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that proves homework to be advantageous, I did not see a persuading quantity of hard data to support getting rid of all homework.
Yes, the amount of homework should be based on the students age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be fairly simple to offer math homework one night, checking out or spelling one night, etc to prevent straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Students need to not become frustrated or bored if teachers are imaginative with projects and in communicating the function of the project. Those are my goals as a fourth-grade teacher. I see research to extend learning. Would I appoint 30 math issues to students who I understand would have a hard time with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my job as the teacher to customize the assignments.
Our book points out it can take 24 repeatings of a skill for a trainee to reach 80% proficiency. Kohn points out how students might end up being much better at keeping in mind, however not believing. I see this as 2 different things; we require trainees to keep in mind specific realities and then move on to utilizing those skills as thinkers and problem solvers.
As a parent, it can be tough to squeeze in homework some nights! My own children have brought home assignments I believed too prolonged or improper for one night. We do the very best we can, and if we have issues or concerns, I connect to the teacher. Knowing some students have little or no assistance in your home should be recognized by teachers. Again, good teachers make it a point to know what some house scenarios may resemble and to customize accordingly. When possible, colleagues can collaborate, as explained in 2 extra course posts, by establishing a finding out lab or including “Drop-In” times throughout the school day
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I do see homework as having a role in the academic procedure and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to think homework is worthless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research study that shows homework to be useful, I did not see a persuading amount of tough data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of research should be based on the students age and grade level. As the majority of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it should be relatively simple to offer math research one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to avoid overloading 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.

When thinking about homework, instructors discover it advantageous to interact their policy with the families of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade instructor from Pennsylvania, assessed her homework philosophy that includes the purposeful roles teachers and families play.

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