posted on December 5, 2007 08:53:15 PM new
Now that I'm getting entrenched in my son's homework, I have to question the benefit the homework holds for the student. I understand "teaching to the tests" which all teachers must endure due to the no child left behind policies. I don't understand the benefit 40 word computer-generated word-search puzzles which consume a huge amount of time holds for the student. Is it to improve their spelling? Wouldn't writing the words x 5 improve the spelling skills more(in half the time)? They may be fun for some of the students, great! use them for extra credit.
posted on December 6, 2007 06:45:14 AM new
I suppose I could be persuaded otherwise but right now, I'm not in favor of homework in elementary schools.
To be effective, homework should be an attractive challenge to students. And hopefully, homework should be a challenge that can be accomplished without the help of parents who may not be able or willing to help. Wouldn't it be a tragedy to alienate some children from the joy of learning by tedious or frustrating homework assignments.
posted on December 6, 2007 11:50:25 AM new
Homework for some teachers is just "more of the same", and is a bore to most students. A kid who can grasp concepts and complete assignments in class shouldn't be punished for his good work with more of the same. By the same token, a kid who isn't "getting it" in class is unlikely to get it at home either and needs a remediation plan at school.
I have projects that I assign that are too large to be completed in class, so there is sometimes work to be done at home. These are usually long term written assignments and current events preparation. In addition, since not all kids work at the same pace, some assignments need to be taken home to be finished if they don't get done in class.
Having said all that, teachers can't win. You'll get complaints from parents who want more homework for their kids, and parents who think you're giving them too much. Those who think you're giving them too much are usually the parents who have their kids so overscheduled in stuff they don't know whether they're coming or going anyhow. My answer for them is simple. School comes first before other activities.
As for word search puzzles, they're busy work and nothing more. A kid would learn more digging a hole in the back yard, and have a bunch more fun.
posted on December 6, 2007 01:37:14 PM new
We've had a few fun homework incidents this week. My son had a problem he didn't complete in class. Something like Store A sells CD's at $15 each and Club B sells CD's at $12 each, but has a $25 annual membership. How many CD's do you have to buy in a year to benefit from Club B's lower price? Graph the results. At which point do they intersect? I used the problem to launch a lesson in using a formula with a spreadsheet to determine the data points. Fun for both of us.
posted on December 6, 2007 05:21:21 PM new
Having taught junior high for 3 years, and having three kids go through the school systems, I'm with PROFE on this. I did assign spelling words to learn, and sometimes a book report, and often writing assignments which they were given time to do in class before taking it home.
But the mountains of make-work some teachers assign to make themselves feel better about how they're teaching is ridiculous.
_____________________
posted on December 6, 2007 05:41:40 PM new
I also like Profe's use of more individualized homework assignments in which some students are allowed to complete projects at home or work on concepts that may not be well understood.
posted on December 6, 2007 08:12:57 PM new....But the mountains of make-work some teachers assign to make themselves feel better...
It's true Roadsmith, but if you taught school you'll agree I'm sure that a teacher, even a good one, goes home at night not knowing what they've accomplished that day. I was talking with the guys who do our grounds maintenance not long ago and, having had a particularly rough day in the office with parents and miscreant kids, I offered to switch jobs with them. "Are you nuts profe?" Asked one guy. I said look, if you guys know that today's job is to prune these trees, or to move that pile of gravel from over there to over here, at the end of the day you KNOW for a fact whether you got the job done or not, and you can go home with the full satisfaction of a job completed well or with a plan for completion tomorrow. No ifs, ands or buts. A teacher almost NEVER has that perk. Teachers as a group are the most workaholic bunch of folks I've ever known, and most of what they end up rushing around about is stuff they do that helps them feel like the got SOMETHING accomplished today. They can't help but pass some of that along to their students in the form of busy work. One out of a 100 kids will come back 10 years later and say thanks, you made a difference. It's a long time to wait when you have to get yourself out of bed and pumped up to do it day after day....
posted on December 6, 2007 09:27:29 PM new
Ah yes, Profe. Wise words. Workaholic is right! Teaching is/was hard work, and I cannot imagine teaching now, 40 years later, with the drugs and guns and discipline problems that make our little problems back then seem soooo minor.
My first month of teaching school, I'd go home every Friday night and cry and say I just can't do it another week. By Monday I was ready again.
_____________________
posted on December 6, 2007 09:46:43 PM new
New low today, a Spanish Word Search that had two words definitely not found in the puzzle - we wasted far too much time on this. We also spent a lot of time on a character analysis for a short story that I consider time well spent. My son did the first draft, which was pretty awful and disorganized. I had to read the story, organize pertinent questions about the character, have him answer the questions and then have him put the answers in paragraph format. An extra process I guess we can't expect teachers to do. Still, it has been a successful process that last year resulted in my having to do little participation of reports at the end of the year. We need to reach that level again.
posted on December 6, 2007 11:44:20 PM new
Quite a few teachers in my family...NONE are lazy....but I do see lazy students....have to have parents help to get homework done encouraging more laziness....I wonder what they really learn by having a parent do the work ????
posted on December 7, 2007 01:34:41 AM new
So Mingo, if a student requires help or direction in homework, do you suggest that it is due to laziness and the parents should do nothing to help?
Pixiamom, my question is what happens when a child's parents are not helpful. Would a child like your's fail school because he did not complete his homework? Obviously, your child is intelligent but simply not interested in the homework assignments. Would an intelligent child such as yours become a failure because of an unecessary option such as homework?
Fortunately, you and your husband were able and willing to spend the time to correct the problem but what happens to a child who does not have parents like you and your husband? What happens to a child whose parents may be immigrants who speak English less fluently than their child or parents who are uneducated or parents who may not have the time or energy. Will children of those parents fall through the cracks because for whatever reason they don't complete their homework?
I am not directing my remarks to good teachers like Profe who use homework with consideration and discrimination but rather to elementary teachers who appear to want to shift their job to parents.
posted on December 7, 2007 06:45:13 AM new
In a perfect world, all work would be done at school. Unfortunately, budget cuts have resulted in huge classrooms where teachers don't have time to direct individual students. There are some resources we tried to take advantage of. There is an after-school homework program we enrolled our son in for the days when his father picks him up, where high school students are available to mentor the student's homework until their parent picks them up. Or, they can go to the gym to play basketball. Guess where our kid chose to spend his time. My lesson learned is that parents need to be concerned and vigilant. In my son's case, it wasn't enough to ask him about homework, we need to keep contact with the teachers.
Edited to add: I got an annoying excessive absences letter from the school today. Annoying because it stated by son had 7 1/2 days absent from school. He was sick one day, had 2 dentists appointments (one which extracted problem baby teeth- we gave him the whole day off). The other 5 days were his eco-school which all 6th graders have. I called the school immediately and they told me to ignore it. How annoying!
[ edited by pixiamom on Dec 7, 2007 06:54 AM ]
posted on December 7, 2007 08:15:19 AM new
I think kid's should do the homework assigned....it's one thing to make sure they do the work and another to put hands on and do it for them.
I don't see what it has to do with teachers being lazy or not.
Kid thinks homework is unfair, too much, too hard, boring???
Tough! It's a good preparation for real life. You run into ALL those things at some time or other....
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