The Do's and Don'ts of Homework

This week’s article summary is The Do's and Don'ts of Good Homework.

I liked this article for a number of reasons.

First, I enjoyed the summary of the past 80 years and that societal views of homework have gone through a number of cycles. 

Second, the article is written from a middle school teacher perspective, and for us as an elementary school knowing the tensions and debates at the next level of schooling is valuable.

Third, the author provides a succinct list of do’s and don’ts of homework, which aligns to Trinity’s approach and includes some new points for me—I especially liked her rule that homework require ‘original thought and meaningful product’ from her students.

While Trinity as an elementary-only school generally doesn’t get an over-abundance of parent scrutiny regarding homework and it does seems that we are in the beginning of a societal shift away from the perceived benefits of homework overload, it’s clear to me that any work at home for kids has to find that sweet spot balance of learning stuff (content) and opportunities to think critically and creatively (doing something with that content).

Parents seem to worry that if their children come home from school without much if any homework they will vegetate in front of a computer screen (the latest fad being Fortnite). I’ve suggested to parents that rather than asking their child what they learned in school today, they should emphasize words like 'why, how, and what else they want to know.’ To me, the best schools act as a springboard for a child’s natural curiosity to learn more about what they found intriguing in school.

Mix in time to think and reflect, time to exercise the body, time to read, and time to chill (yes, even on a computer screen) and you’ve got a great home complement to an inspiring school day!

Joe

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In the 1940s, when the country was dealing with more important issues, homework was seen as a redundant waste of time.

After Sputnik, however, it was the way we would beat the Russians to the moon.

The resulting backlash (post-moon landing) led to my elementary school years in the blissful 1970s when more problem solving, hands-on learning was emphasized.

After the dire “A Nation At Risk” warnings, the emphasis was on drill and kill in the 80s and 90s.

This prepared the way for the piling on of homework as supplemental test prep after the passage of No Child Left Behind in the early 2000s and its even greater emphasis on rote learning.

Many of my colleagues would love to give less homework, but they feel that they would be doing a disservice to the students by not sufficiently preparing them for the next level of their education (high school), which gives significantly more homework.

The high school feels the pressure to give excessive homework to enable students to pass the Advanced Placement tests and to do well on college entrance exams. Universities see students who are “unprepared” to do the critical thinking necessary to be successful because, sadly, they were given too much rote work at the high school level and below. The effects of all these conflicting goals roll downhill to educators at the middle and elementary school levels.

Although I am thrilled with the recent trend in elementary schools (which tend to be the most progressive level of education) – eliminating homework in response to research – I don’t see this moving up through the grade levels any time soon.

I was in a recent Twitter chat with other middle school educators about the topic of homework. There was a clear division among the teachers on the question of whether homework teaches time management and responsibility.

I fell on the side that believes it does not. I feel that the completion of homework merely teaches compliance.

To me, giving two or more hours of homework after they have already spent seven hours sitting and absorbing feels like making children clock in for a second shift.

When I do give homework, I make every effort to make it engaging, meaningful, and brief.

Much of what I learned about quality homework is summed up in Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, which presents a three-part test for homework:

• Am I offering my students autonomy over how and when to do this work?
• Does this assignment promote mastery by offering a novel, engaging task (as opposed to rote reformulation of something already covered in class)?
• Do my students understand the purpose of the assignment? That is, can they see how doing this additional activity at home contributes to the larger enterprise in which the class is engaged?

Through all of my research, and from trial and error in my own class, I have determined my own set of “rules.” Following practices like these can assure we have a positive homework policy in place.

Don’ts

• I do not use homework to introduce a new concept.
• I never give busywork (rote worksheets) as homework.  
• I make sure that the homework I assign is never too difficult for my students to do without assistance.
• I don’t grade homework for correctness.
• I feel that “No Homework” passes send the wrong message that homework is unnecessary and can be skipped.
• I don’t assign homework as students are ready to walk out the door during the last few minutes of class. When there is going to be some homework, I want them to begin it in class so that I can help answer any questions or clarify directions.

Do’s

• Students are more likely to complete assignments if they have an audience. Much of the work done in my class is shared and/or displayed.
• For anything more complex than just finishing a small amount of what they started in class, I give more than one day for assignments to be completed so students may parse their time as needed.
• I only give homework that requires original thought and a meaningful product. Students are motivated by work that stresses creativity and higher-order thinking skills.
• My homework is always developmentally appropriate. For middle school students, this means taking advantage of their desire to still have fun and see the absurd side of life, while simultaneously using their critical thinking skills. It is also work they are able to complete independently.