What is your philosophy on homework?  I have been doing some research where some schools are instituting a no homework policy.  How do you feel about this?  As a math teacher, I feel homework is necessary for students to master the skill being taught.  Homework is also a good way to instill a good work ethic in students.  Homework, however, needs to be seen as meaningful to the students and not just busy work.

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Personally, I've never liked sending my students home with extra work to do, but if I had to give them homework, I tried to make it as fun as possible so that they'd enjoy doing it, and have no trouble concentrating on it once they were home. On the other hand, my husband feels that kids get so little time with their working parents anyway, that when they are home, they need that time with them to learn things that the parents can teach too. Even if it's just bonding as a family. Perhaps if students could focus hard at school, knowing that they could go home with no homework, they'd be more inclined to do work hard and get it all done while they were still at school?
Angela, that is just what I found with my students. They work to get their work done in class. . They ask, "Can I work on this at home?" if they don't finish in class. When we are begining a new science or social studies project, my students want to research topics on their own. I think that by taking away a formal "homework" assignment, it has fostered a more positive attitude towards working on assignments at home when needed. I think that people are motivitated to do things when they see the benefit for themseves rather than being told to do it a regular routine just because they are told they "need to" do it.
*like!*
I defenitely agree with you. In my opinion students need to have homework in order for them to completely understand what it is being taught and mastered it. Homework needs to be seen as an exerise of what they learn that day in class, not as just busy work. We as teachers need to know if the student really understood what was being taught and homework is a way of knowing that.
I can see homework in math classes. Practice, practice, practice! Other courses, not so much. My content area is social studies and while I would love it if my students went home and read their textbooks every night and answered all the questions and what not, I know that this is unrealistic and not going to happen. The students I teach in some cases have family obligations that leave little to no time for homework that wouldn't really mean anything to them. Now, if a student does not complete an assignment in class because they were too busy goofing off, then yes, it's homework.
I do not believe that homework should be abolished completely, but I am not opposed to cutting down the homework assigned at all. I think the problem for students with homework is the massive amount that is required for them each day or week. If this stress is cut, even a little bit, it would do a tremendous amount on academic performance.
If your purpose for homework is practice then I think that it's important to keep in mind that it's not just practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice that makes perfect. If students are not able to do the work correctly, they'll either not do it, or do it incorrectly. And if they practice incorrectly, then they'll have to unlearn what they've taught themselves.

I teach 150 6th Graders in my 6th Grade Computer & Technology Semester long class.  We are in a mid to lower economic area so I cannot assume that all of my kids have computers and/or working Internet.  I have designed my class to be a Project Based class and every student has ample time to finish all of our projects in class.  My students know that if they do not complete a project in class, then it is on them to finish it at home.  So I do not assign work to complete at home, but if they don't finish it in class, then the responsibilty of completing it is solely on them.

 

If they don't have a computer, they must go to the public library, a neighbor's house, family member's etc.  That is my philosophy on homework.  My students have enough homework from the 4 core classes so I would rather them focus on those classes at home since those are the classes that have the High Stakes Statewide Tests. 

Constant homework nearly ruined our family. Fortunately we are hard headed and don't give up easily.

We managed to stay together and the kids came out okay in the end, but few talk about the pressures at home from constant constant homework.

From KINDERGARTEN through high school. That's 12 years for one child, form after form after form to fill out. Form is the other word for worksheet. Have 2 and you're in for more constant constant homework.

- No family dinners that last more than 10 minutes as: homework
- Crying jags and upsets almost nightly.
- Drudgery and boredom from the type of homework it is
- constant constant standardized testing testing testing.

Your kid would need to be the kind who enjoys sitting down to to tax forms all day at school and then come home to do more tax forms at night for fun! Not many kids are like that.

If you don't like the repetitive words in this post, then you also would not like the repetitive homework. Over and over and over and over for well more than a decade of your lfe. For the kids, it's their entire life as they know it.

Summers too! Bonus!

On average, as pointed out by homework helpers, girls seem to do well with this. On average boys are not doing well. They are less and less likely to go to college, more and more likely to drop out of high school and life. Currently about 60% of college kids are girls across socioeconomic brackets, 40% boys.

We need to do better.

Each student at least one time complained about a huge amount of homework given. And you know, this is the question of two sides. From the one hand, they should practice to gain more experience and to prove their skills. A homework is a way to deepen the understanding of the program and to gain more practical abilities. After doing homework they can solve everything faster. But on the other hand, they have to go to school or a university, work there on classes. After that, they go home and they have their free time. And they still have to work. So, I vote for a few homework tasks.

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