A classroom teacher’s view on homework

LE: What is your position on the concern of research?
I answer as an educator and as the moms and dad of school age children when I address this question. I do see research as having a function in the academic process and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe research is worthless, or worse, has an unfavorable impact. While Kohn asserts there is nearly no research that shows homework to be advantageous, I did not see a persuading amount of difficult data to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the amount of research ought to be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it should be relatively simple to give mathematics research one night, spelling or checking out one night, and so on to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Trainees must not end up being bored or annoyed if instructors are imaginative with assignments and in communicating the function of the project. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see homework to extend learning. Would I assign 30 math problems to trainees who I know would struggle with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the ability? No, in those cases, it is my task as the instructor to modify the projects.
Our book points out it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a student to reach 80% proficiency. I think practicing abilities is rewarding. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make sense to me. There are abilities in tennis you should practice to enhance. There are basic mathematics abilities kids must practice to build a solid structure prior to proceeding to higher-level mathematics skills. Kohn explains how students might progress at keeping in mind, however not thinking. I see this as 2 different things; we require students to keep in mind specific realities and then proceed to using those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be hard to squeeze in homework some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have issues or problems, I reach out to the instructor. Again, great instructors make it a point to understand what some home scenarios may be like and to customize accordingly.

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Homework can be a divisive topic in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors perspective. We want to hear your thoughts about homework. What is your approach? How do you communicate with households about research?

I do see homework as having a role in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to believe research is useless, or worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is practically no research that proves homework to be helpful, I did not see a persuading amount of hard data to support doing away with all homework.
Yes, the quantity of research should be based on the trainees age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it ought to be relatively basic to offer mathematics research one night, checking out or spelling one night, etc to avoid overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can appreciate this instructors point of view.

When thinking about research, instructors find it helpful to interact 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 homework approach that includes the purposeful roles instructors and families play.

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