Homework

Homework always seems to be a point of contention and conflict in education. Some schools of thought seemed to believe that only through doing homework can students master skills. I admit their arguments are convincing. If a student can perform a skill at home where they don't have their teacher or peers to help them, then they truly know how to do it. I know from personal experience that homework tests how well I know how to do something very well. I might think I understand in class, and then get home and look at the homework and be totally lost. I've found this true in math classes, as well as other types of classes from social studies, to music, to theater.

On the other hand, I have also often done my homework with little attention to what I was doing, and just done it to be finished. Likewise I have often been in situations, most often in high school, where I knew the material very well, and had to do the busy work of homework. In many of my classes, I did all my learning in class. I also understand how many teachers give their students homework as if their class was the only class, or the most important class.

So what do we do about homework? All things in moderation I suppose. I think it is important that students learn how to do homework. They need to learn how to budget their time and plan ahead so that they can turn in an assignment when it is due, even if they have no little to no time in class to work on it.

I have recently been working in a class that Does Not Do Homework. The fact that these students lack the will, work ethic, or whatever to do homework is incredibly frustrating, and it means that I have only the time in class to give them to practice their skills. It is clear to me after this experience that No Homework is not a good option for my style of teaching.

I think that perhaps I would start of the year with homework most nights, and grading it all very carefully. This way I would build the homework habit, and students would be concerned about doing it. Then I would slowly ease up on the amount of homework assigned and choose to grade only a couple problems, or grade it for completion. This seems to me like a happy medium, but do you think the students would 'catch on' and stop doing the homework? I know that it's not always a priority for students, especially it seems high school students who have all kinds of other drama of relationships, friendships, and more 'real world' issues. So how do we convince students that it's important to do their homework?