Home visits vs. reduced homework

In the Washington Post, there is an article by Jay Matthews, “Students won’t learn? GoVisit their parents." The article starts with the difficulties teachers have in high poverty school districts getting their students to complete homework, and reports on a program in which teachers are trained to visit the homes. The teachers are paid for the visits and the schools are reporting increased scores in reading and math. Sounds good?

I know nothing about this program except what I just read, so my comments are based on limited information. But I have some thoughts about this program’s success and invite the author to comment if he likes.

It seems that the central aspects of this program may have little to do with home visits per se, but more to do with training and empowering teachers. On the training front, the teachers have been taught to interact with parents in a different way, one that involves listening under conditions of respect. On the empowering front, the teachers are given tools to counteract frustrations they feel about their work, as they face pain and despair without clear solutions.

Even if this approach has merit, there are problems with it. First, it involves one-time or possibly sporadic contact with parents, whereas teachers see students every day, which I think is where their power really lies. Second, it may be hard to reach every parent. Even if some show improvement, we don’t really know how many visits were completed and how many children were affected by this approach. Third, there is the intrinsic question of authority over the home vs. authority over the school. In the end, it is the parents’ role, not the school’s, to make decisions about how to run the home. I think it is great that teachers are being taught to listen. I’d like to hear what they do if the parent says, for whatever reason, that homework is disruptive and cannot get done.

Taking the notions of training and empowerment, I have my own ideas about what would really work, and that involves: Teacher training on homework rather than on parental visits, and empowerment through homework reduction.

The sad fact is that homework, despite its widespread use, is poorly taught (virtually not taught at all) to educators as a teaching technique. I am not aware of any school of education that has a course for teachers called “Homework.” A review of teacher development, continuing education courses will show a virtual absence of courses on homework. I’m a psychologist, not an educator. If you came to my office, most likely, I would offer you a psychotherapy session or administer a psychological test. You can rest assured that over 35 years ago when I was in school, I had lots of courses on counseling, psychotherapy, and psychological testing. I have access to numerous continuing education courses as a practicing professional on those topic. You assume your accountant studied accounting, and your lawyer studied the law, when they were in school. You would be shocked to learn that teachers don’t study homework. At the least, it is critical for teachers to receive education on the theory, research and practice of giving homework.

The other issue is empowerment. Teachers in high poverty school districts understandably feel frustrated. The fact that they are trained in an action (visiting the parents) and are experiencing some success is important. But why place their bets on visits to parents, when engagement with children may be their true trump card? If you read stories of turnaround, high poverty school districts (I have), the central elements are always the same: a visionary principal, an energized teaching staff, and a sense of excitement created for the children in school, during school hours. I have never seen mentioned in any story of a school district like this, homework.

All the training and energy that has been placed in the home visit program could be redirected in positive ways, if teachers gave up the sacred cow of homework. They have over 6 hours a day with the children, and do themselves a great disservice spending any of it fretting over the half hour assignment they wish got done at home.

There’s a mantra that is used in addictions treatment that has great applicability to all aspects of life. There is serenity in accepting what is out of your control, power in acting on what you can truly do, and wisdom in understanding where the differences lie. Our teachers are extremely misguided banking their success on behaviors outside of their control (what happens in the home), when they have in their hands important and direct relationships with children, in which they can share their true love of learning.


_{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.} 

Examples of success with The Homework Trap

I have two examples of success using the model of The Homework Trap. I recently shared an interaction between a parent and me over her child's homework problems. She has since been sending me periodic updates. She set time limits on homework. Although the school frowned at the idea, they accepted it. Her child proved more cooperative doing his homework. She took the role of observer rather than enforcer and, as often happens, highlighted handwriting problems as the culprit. She has since explored the problem and, in her most recent communication with me, indicates that she is proceeding with occupational therapy to help her child out.

Two days ago, I had a conversation with another parent whose child had been homework trapped. She took the same position of limiting her child's homework time. She went on to making sure that the school had ample supplies of the book, The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Students and Teachers. This created a buzz in her child's school district about homework policy. As expected, teachers responded in different ways and many did not directly agree. Yet, the attitude changed and they stopped punishing her child for work that was not done. He is now an honor roll student despite the fact that he fails to do some of his homework. The key is that teachers may grumble and may hold onto their past beliefs, but no one works in a vacuum, and, to some degree, everyone has to bend. The teachers may be used to bending to what their superiors (e.g. the principal) say yet remain resistant to bending to parent demands. But if parent's demands are reasonable and made in authoritative ways, many will bend.

I have no doubt that, for both of these parents, the story has not come to an end. Their children will advance one grade at a time, and face new teachers, with new systems, and different attitudes. They may have to refight these battles. But that are winnable battles, and logic and reason are the tools they have on their side.


I welcome all feedback, through public posts on this blog or The Homework Trap Facebook page, or through private communications to me, that can be made through The Homework Trap website and can be conveyed to others in anonymous ways. And I am open to feedback of situations in which my model has not worked. From what I hear, time boundaries is proving to be one of the most powerful and effective steps a parent can take.

_{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.} 

New Year's Day Party

Yesterday, I attended an annual New Year's Day party that a friend of ours gives. I met some old friends who asked me how things were going with my book and my efforts to effect homework reform. As we talked, two teachers came up and joined the conversation. Obviously, they had their own opinions about how homework fits in.

I told them that I was interested in homework, not as a teacher but as a psychologist, and that my concern was not homework per se, but how homework impacts some kids. I ended by pointing out that I consider education in the purview of educators, and should be developed by professionals, not parents or politicians. I then added my observation that homework appeared to me to be the most highly utilized and highly weighted technique that was not covered at all in schools of education and hardly covered at all in professional development forums, and that my major concern was that teachers are not trained in the theory, research, and practice of homework-giving.

The reaction was tremendous. It was an "ah-ha" moment for one of the teachers. I point this out because I could have argued my opinion on homework, yet, I believe it had more impact to point out the lack of training (and in the end professionalism) inherent in homework policy, rather than just pushing the policy I believe to be right.

This is not the first time I've had this experience. I should also mention that I know people who have come to schools, trying to protect their children, with mounds of documentation about what is wrong with homework, to find their efforts falling on deaf ears.

So this is something to consider when you enter discussions with your child's school about homework, prefacing your concerns with a recognition of the professionalism of teachers, and placing blame on schools of education, more than the individual teacher.

*****

Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Teachers, and Students, published by Wyndmoor Press.

 

Question for Teachers

As many of you know, French President Francois Hollande has proposed a ban on homework. This has led to controversy around the world with people weighing in on different sides. President Hollande's reasons coincide with his socialist perspective and concern for the education of the poor. Frankly, one could make a conservative argument for the ban based on family values and the importance of parents being the ones who are in charge of their homes. But here is my question, and its one for teachers.

Please put your opinions about President Hollande's proposal aside and ask yourself, what would you do if homework was banned?

Would you quit teaching because it was now impossible to teach? Would you continue teaching with the understanding that you will be a less effective teacher? Would you respond to this "new normal" and develop effective ways to teach your students?

I want to hear what you think? And if you are not a teacher, I ask that you pass this question along to teachers you know and ask them to tell me what they think? Please leave a comment.

Thank you.

Kenneth Goldberg

*****

Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Teachers, and Students, published by Wyndmoor Press.

 I recommend giving copies of the book to the teachers at your child's school. Discount purchases are available through Wyndmoor Press. Single copies can be purchased at Amazon.

Rigor vs. Vigor

Today's Washington Post Education blog has an article by Joanne Yatvin, The most important element of student success? in which she discusses the difference between rigor and vigor in education. She gives examples of two different teachers giving two different lessons intended to elucidate that difference. In the comments, a retired teacher suggests that the most important difference lies in the students, their character and desire to learn. I disagree and comment as follows:

I don't think this has anything to do with the character of the student but with the passion of the teacher, and the degree to which the school allows that teacher freedom to be him or herself. Passionate teachers can teach through different models, and children, as a whole, will resonate with the energy and enthusiasm the teacher conveys. Because of that, we need to look at factors that constrict teacher passion more than get overly concerned about differences in approach, perhaps some more rigorous and some more vigorous. The two factors that I think interfere with teachers are external standards emanating from outside the profession as a whole and outside of the school systems in which teachers work, and homework policy. Both distract teachers from their primary goal, which is to create a learning environment in direct relationship with their students.

*****

Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Teachers, and Students, published by Wyndmoor Press.