I hate homework. I despise it. I think it is totally useless and I resent the loss of family time caused by it. There. I said it. Again. I know I tend to harp on things. Homework is one of the sacred cows of the educational establishment and because teachers have done it for SO long, no one seems to reflect on whether it makes one iota of sense to assign it at all. Now before everyone has a fit and says "I did homework and it didn't hurt me.." Children go to school longer than you did. Research says that students in 2003 did TWICE as much homework as students just twenty years before. Why? Total worship of standardized testing is part of the problem, but even in private schools where testing is not emphasized at all, homework continues to be the 500 pound gorilla in the room. Every parent and every educator should read the books "The Case Against Homework" and "The Homework Myth". In both books, the authors cite studies showing that while certain types of homework DO help achievement in high school, there is scant if ANY evidence that homework has ANY impact on achievement at all in the elementary grades. We do it because we've always done it but in fact, our children have less free play time to develop creativity, to burn off extra calories, and to strengthen the bonds of family. Yes, this is something I am passionate about and had I not already delved so deeply into my currrent dissertation topic, I would change it to determine the detrimental effects of homework on elementary aged children. With that, let me say.... I am in love with Ali Grace's teachers this year. Praise the Lord Praise the Lord and Thank You Jesus! She has had homework this week a few times. It has been a VERY reasonable amount and it's given me an opportunity to really keep up with what she is studying in school. Beyond this, in my opinion, homework is a total waste of time. Busy work. Crapola. Thank you so much Ms Winkler, Ms Daniels, Ms Johnson, and Ms Hogan for returning my child to me in the afternoons and evenings. I've missed her.
I have been totally consumed by my new position as instructional coach at our school. I am really loving it y'all but I am exhausted. I'm really going to have to work harder on time management and on prioritizing. It's been tough but I have LOVED it for the most part.
Here are some pics of the girls from the first few days of school.
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| Check out Addie's cutie patootie matching shoe charms. |
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| Love her pose here! |
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| Ali Grace so grown up and ready for the first day of school. |
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| She is in Vera Bradley overload. |
Pete didn't start back to school until Wednesday so he was able to have some "chair time" with the girls before school earlier this week. He was also able to drop them off and walk them to class.
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| Ali Grace smiles because she has no homework, so we were able to enjoy supper with grandparents! |
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| Addie smiles because she had a reasonable amount of homework and she was so proud of herself for reading her story to Nanny! |
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| What can I say? Rotten. That's the word. |
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| Ali Grace is laughing here because she's making fun of her Daddy's shoulder injury! (he can't raise his right arm as high as his left. I told her it was rude, but it was kinda funny!) |
Have a wonderful weekend with your families folks. I pray that your kids had no homework over the weekend!!
I totally agree with you, Carmen! I feel if they can't grasp the concept during the 7 hours they are there,then they may need to slow down the curriculum and just spend more time on it in class. Family time is so very important! I've always said if I were to ever be a teacher, I would not give homework, and prove that it's not necessary for success. Thanks for the support from a teacher!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheila! I have been a teacher for 14 years and I know I stepped on some friends' toes. I didn't mean it to be ugly, but we always need to reflect on our instructional practice. If it's not improving achievement and it's detrimental to family life, then maybe its use should be reevaluated. That's all I'm saying!! I teach in a very poor school and our test scores smoke the state average in math. HARD work during the school day is key!! Hope Joseph's school year has started off as wonderfully as Ali Grace's!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I teach first grade. We had Open House last night and several parents addressed the homework question. They seemed shocked when I told them they would not be having daily homework. For gosh sake, they are 6 years old! Kids need to be kids:)
ReplyDeleteWish more educators took your lead. A glance in the notebook allows me to see what they are doing in school. After a long day at school with very little recess, I want my kiddos outside getting some fresh air. I haven't even mentioned the lack of natural light in schools-let the light shine folks.
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