Do we really need grading? Do we really need homework?
I have just finished reading The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish and I am now reading Alfie Kohn’s book The Homework Myth. Both books convincingly argue the same point: we are giving too much homework.
Three weeks ago, I would have been skeptical. Lately, however, I have been asking students about their homework. What I hear is alarming. Students are working from dinnertime until midnight.
I worry that we are creating Homework Potatoes.
Most of us think: computer games are bad. Television, too, is not good for children. They sit for hours on end, getting fat and not learning much. We have a name for these kids: couch potatoes. But what about students that are sitting for hours on end completing mindless assignments? They are getting fat and not learning much. We reward them because they are not playing computer games. Is this really what universities want:
The Homework Potato?
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6 comments:
I'm always happy to come across a thoughtful teacher. I'm wondering what grade you teach, what your students said, and whether you're changing your homework-giving practice after reading mine and Alfie's books.
Hi Sara,
I teach math to 8th - 12th graders. The students all said, "WHERE CAN I GET THAT BOOK?" and yes, and no, I'm sort of changing my homework practices. I give them "suggested exercises" and tell them, "this is what you need to be able to do if you want the very best grades."
That's a pretty good start. At least, then, students aren't doing busy work. If you don't mind, though, I'd suggest saying that "this is what you need to do if you want to understand the material." We need to take the focus away from grades and move it towards learning.
I hope you tell your students (and, more importantly, their parents) where they can get THAT book!
Interestingly, many of my students are asking for "busy work." They are tired of being told to be creative. I think it's the presssure of grades.
Your book is a big hit. It's getting passed around. I expect some parents to descend upon it like vultures! I hope they read it carefully and use your tactful advice.
There were a lot of reasons why I started thinking critically about homework and education. Over the years I worked as a lawyer, my law student interns needed more and more guidance. They wanted me to tell them where to look to solve the problem, how to solve the problem, and in how many paragraphs. And many of them didn't know how to write.
From talking to them, I realized that their education had left them woefully unprepared to think creatively--in fact, they had become so used to giving the teacher what s/he wanted that they were at a loss when the teacher (me) didn't know what she wanted. After all, in law, there is no correct answer--just interpretation and application of the law to the facts.
Hi Sara,
One of my students had his nose deeply buried in your book during a math class. I couldn't tell him to stop. At the end of the lesson, he asked, "can I borrow this book?"
He took it home. His father is a teacher and a friend of mine. Your book relates to his life directly; also, he likes to see me reading; also, he will be so proud to bring home a book and say, "dad, you should read this." These emotional connetctions are very important in teaching.
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