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 perspective. We wish to hear your ideas about homework. What is your approach? How do you interact with families about homework?

I do see homework as having a function in the academic 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 practically no research that shows research to be useful, I did not see a convincing amount of difficult data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the quantity of research need to be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it should be fairly simple to offer mathematics homework one night, spelling or reading one night, etc to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. Homework can be a divisive topic in the education community, and we hope you can appreciate this teachers point of view.

When thinking of homework, instructors find it helpful to interact their policy with the families of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a 4th grade instructor from Pennsylvania, assessed her homework viewpoint which consists of the purposeful roles teachers and households play.

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LE: What is your position on the problem of homework?
When I address this question, I address as a teacher and as the parent of school age children. I do see research as having a function in the educational process and I do not concur with Alfie Kohn (see article), who appears to believe research is useless, or even worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that proves homework to be useful, I did not see a convincing amount of hard data to support eliminating all homework.
Yes, the quantity of homework need to be based on the students age and grade level. As most Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it ought to be fairly simple to give math homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, and so on to prevent overloading 5 to 8-year-olds. I see research to extend knowing.
Our book points out it can take 24 repetitions of a skill for a student to reach 80% competency. Kohn points out how students may become better at remembering, but not thinking. I see this as two different things; we need students to remember specific realities and then move on to using those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a parent, it can be challenging to squeeze in research some nights! My own children have brought home assignments I believed too prolonged or unsuitable for one night. We do the very best we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I connect to the instructor. Knowing some students have little or no assistance at home must be acknowledged by teachers. Once again, excellent instructors make it an indicate understand what some home circumstances might resemble and to customize accordingly. When possible, colleagues can work together, as explained in 2 extra course short articles, by developing a finding out laboratory or integrating “Drop-In” times during the school day
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