My Thoughts on The Homework Debate

Yesterday I write a post on Should Homework be Banned, in which I list the Pros & Cons of Homework in Schools thoughts on the "homework debate". Being a teacher I began thinking about where I fall in this often controversial discussion and what my thoughts are about having my students complete homework. I follow many education blogs from around the world and have seen teachers discuss all different types of homework ideologies, from those who are completely against it to those who have assigned homework every single night.

    In elementary and middle school, I had loads of homework that was causing so much stress to me as a student. In high school I had to do projects, essays, a few worksheets and others THAT HAD TO BE DONE AT HOME. Either way, I think it definitely influences my teaching style because I grew up thinking that homework was a mandatory and/or necessary piece of the learning process. With that being said, here are some of my thoughts on homework:

- Students should never be receiving a mark for completing homework (or simply for
  completing anything). Students are assessed on their understanding of curriculum
  standards and I have yet to see any curriculum that states, "The student will be able
  to complete assigned work outside of school hours."

- Homework completion is greatly affected by a student's home life, not just their
  ability to understand the material...

- Nightly assigned homework should NOT be mandatory at any grade level...

- Teachers that feel like they need to assign homework in order to cover curriculum
  need to reevaluate how they are using their time in the classroom...

- Students who are struggling with a concept are not going to benefit from simply
  completing worksheet after worksheet at home ("remediation homework").
  Teachers should work on differentiating their instruction and meeting the student's
  learning needs in the classroom rather than isolating them by making them complete
  more work at home...

     With that being said, here is a brief look at what "homework" would look like in my classroom:

- Students will be given adequate time to complete all assignments in class. Those
  who do not use their time wisely, however, may need to take assignments home with them in order to complete them on time. Taking the assignment home is not
  mandatory but the assignment due date does not change simply because of a student
  did not use the time they were provided with...

- Many of our projects will be real-life scenario projects with direct ties to my
  student's lives. At times, I may ask students to look at home for certain supplies and bring them back to class (ex. a paystub, cell phone bill, empty beverage container, etc). Again, this is not mandatory, it simply allows the lesson to be more personal as they have a direct link to how this is applicable in their lives...

- Students will be provided with a review class before formal assessments-of-learning.
  It will be suggested that they also review/study on their own time so that they may
  be as successful as possible, but it is by no means mandatory that they study for
  x-amount of minutes at home.

     Being a teacher, I'm sure that I will end up adding different things to this list or modifying them as I see necessary. As I stand right now, however, these are my thoughts on homework... what are yours?