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Benefits of Homework
The beginning of the academic year is a good time to revisit the
subject of homework: its purposes and benefits. Let's look at homework
from the perspectives of teachers, parents and students.
TEACHERS: A teacher who wrote to me about the development of homework
assignments stated, "First, I give my students a detailed syllabus at
the beginning of each marking period. Students are free to turn in work
early, but I don't accept late work. When homework is turned in, I check
to see that it is complete and then evaluate its accuracy. I sometimes
write correct answers on the board, so the students can check the
accuracy of their work independently.
"Second, I wrap my lesson plans around the previous night's homework so
that the students have to finish their homework in order for the lesson
to make sense. If you want students to do homework, they must see that
it is a valuable part of each class and not just busy work.
"Finally,
I exact a strict penalty for missing homework. It is due the next
day, along with an additional five times for punishment, if not
done. (I know the arguments about not using schoolwork for discipline,
but the word is out, and I don't have many students who take me
up on having to do an assignment multiple times.) I let them know
that they receive all of their assignments in advance, so there
is no excuse for not planning their schedules to accommodate their
assignments. It is a responsibility that is up to them. By the way,
my school is full of kids who are 'at-risk' for failure, but very
few of my students fail. Only once have I had to explain the rules
to a parent. When I did, she made her son write his missing assignments
15 times each – all six of them!"
PARENTS: Parents wonder about the purpose of homework, especially when
it interferes with extracurricular activities or badly needed sleep.
They rarely complain about assignments that clearly require thought and
learning, but dislike homework that contains several repetitions of
tasks their child has obviously already mastered.
Parents will be supportive of homework completion when: the length of the
assignment is reasonable; the purpose of the assignment is clear and the
content substantive for the age and ability of their child; the child is
required to correct mistakes (thus indicating improved understanding and
mastery); the assignments show some imagination and challenge so the
child doesn't perceive them as pointless busy work.
Parents appreciate guidance from teachers about how to be most helpful
to their children when either the child or the parent doesn't understand
a homework assignment. Especially in situations where parents' primary
language is not English, numerous misunderstandings can arise.
STUDENTS: Even though most kids say that they hate homework, most
recognize its value in helping them internalize new learning and
exploring ideas, facts and opinions. Since individuals learn at
different rates, homework helps students stay together in the
curriculum, by allowing students who require repetition and extra time
to complete daily work and review it in the afternoon and evening before
the next class meeting.
The most important thing to students is to see homework as relevant to
their studies and to receive feedback about the quality and accuracy of
their work. Without such feedback mistakes recur. Repeated mistakes just
stamp in inaccuracies and misconceptions that get harder and harder to
correct the longer they are left uncorrected.
For example, allowing creative spelling might increase creative
production, but can stamp in errors if left uncorrected for too long.
Readers, what are your concerns about homework? How can the extra time
students have after school and on weekends be used most productively to
improve academic performance?
LINKS:
Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.
Previous columns are available.
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