First, although it seems reasonable for students to
participate in organizing their weekly planer and I have no objection to the
notion that they will write down their assignments, I don’t get why they would
stay in for recess if they can’t complete the assignment. Recess is there for a
reason. We give salaried workers legally mandated 15 minute work breaks twice a
day, because we know they need breaks. Similarly, we give kids breaks because
we know they are good for them. Why we would take breaks away from a child who
struggles to meet the requirements does not make sense. This is school, so if
the child has trouble doing something the teacher considers important, it would
call for an educational, not a punitive intervention.
Second, we have the question of why a child would not get
his or her homework planner organized for the week, assuming 20 minutes is a
reasonable amount of time. Does the child have trouble focusing? Does the child
need help learning this strategy for organization or does the child need to develop
an alternative strategy? Does the child have trouble with handwriting? Is the
child hungry first thing Monday morning and not ready to proceed? Maybe the
child has trouble sleeping on Sunday night, making the adjustment from a
weekend to a weekday schedule? I don’t know the reason for any particular
child, but, as with any behavioral requirement, failure to meet the expectation
is an opportunity to assess why, and engage in an intervention, an opportunity
lost if we blindly assume the child can do what he or she is asked to do and use
a punitive response when the child does not. And keep in mind, even if the
teacher doesn’t see keeping the child in for recess as punitive, the child’s
experience is still one of negativity, not one that is conducive to further
learning.
Third, let’s consider the overall volume of work. Educators
typically say ten minutes per night per grade. This teacher seeks 25 minutes
per night reading, which would leave about 15 minutes for other work. Looking
at the volume of the remaining assignments, it seems unlikely that most
children can complete them in that period of time. Is there are agreed upon
amount of time that children should be spending on homework? Is it more than 40
minutes per night in this teacher’s mind? And if so, how much? 50 minutes, an
hour, an hour and a half?
Fourth, let’s assume these requirements are consistent with
the overall philosophy and approach of this school and represents what children
in the fourth grade there are expected to do. Children don’t work at the same
pace? Children may not all be able to hit the ground running and use
their homework time productively. Children may not all be able to read what
they wrote? They may not all remember what the assignments were about? They may
not recall what was taught in class, the basis for understanding what they need
to do? It is not uncommon for children to take twice as much time or more to
complete what the more proficient students can do? Are we looking a situation
in which some kids will need to spend two hours a night on this work? Perhaps,
just to get by? Are we looking at kids who are going to face mounting demands
in subsequent years, without developing positive attitudes toward school and
their own competencies? In my experience between 10 and 25 percent of all
students, to differing degrees, have the experience of moving through the
grades with increasing demands that eventually overwhelm them and cause them to
fail.
Finally, what is the relationship between the teacher and
the parent? I’ve often highlighted how homework involves a usurpation of
parental authority by the school. It involves decision-making by the teacher
over activities that are to go on in the home. Where did that authority come from, and should
we leave it unchallenged? What I find interesting here is that there is a clear
threat to parents that, if they don’t use the information in the way the
teacher meant them to; if they take the information given, look at the child’s
homework planner, and make their own best decision how to best help their
child, this website will be taken down.
I’d like to advise the teacher to rethink her homework
policy and make the following adjustments:
1. Establish clear time expectations for homework.
2. Advise parents to stop their children from working after those
limits are met.
3. Advise parents of their ultimate authority to modify
expectations as they see fit for their children.
4. Ensure that grading policies do not create situations in which children
fail because of homework difficulties.
For more information on Dr. Goldberg's model, read other postings on this blog, visit his website, The Homework Trap, or read his book, The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Students and Teachers.
Posts
