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Day 83: The Homework Dilemma


Source: 
Kauffman, G. (2016, August 23). Should second-graders get homework? Maybe not, says Texas teacher. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2016/0823/Should-second-graders-get-homework-Maybe-not-says-Texas-teacher


What is Sacred:
This elementary teacher is saying no to homework in a video to parents that has gone viral. Basically, the only homework her students will be bringing home are the things that they do not finish in class. Radical? No. Notable? Yes.

Connections to Current/Future Work:

 Here is the thing about secondary teachers. Our content is our god. Our content, compared to all other content areas, is the most important content IN THE WORLD. I raise my hand as one of the guilty ones who gave my students half an hour of reading every night and defended it up and down because - "hey math teacher, don't complain to me that students in your class can't read. Research shows that students read better when they read, and write better when they write. " So add my half an hour to your half an hour and the half an hour for PE and the half an hour for science, and the long project that they have for social studies that will take them five hours on the Sunday before it is due, or 10 days of half an hours if they actually space it out like they are supposed to. . .

I coached veteran teachers for many years. Grading is deeply personal. It is like hanging your panties out on the line in the middle of the hallways and every colleague of yours comes and comments on the state of your panties. It is a problem. People need to read Rick Wormeli Fair Isn't Always Equal on differentiated assessment (and differentiated homework, and just what the purpose of homework is for and why not every child deserves or needs the same homework).

I think this will be one of the practicum discussions which could lead to a response paper. . I will pair this article, the video and an article by Rick, have them observe what goes on in their own secondary classroom, ask some students about homework and yep, sounds like a plan.
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