The first few weeks of the school our students weren’t assigned any homework. I didn’t pay this much mind until the semester continued on with to take home work assigned. About six weeks ago my CT confirmed that she does not assign homework. Because of this my CT constantly emphasizes the importance of class time. She is always reminding our students that all of the points that they receive come from in class work. Therefore, in order to be successful in her class students must be in class, on task, and completing assignments. They don’t have the option to “do it later” because all work stays in class.
I see the benefits of such a system. The students are, much more often than not, on task and paying attention. They also have good attendance, overall. However, and this could be that I was always assigned homework in school; I also see a downside to this philosophy. I feel like homework, as tedious as it may be, comes with many advantages. It is a mechanism that can be used to encourage our students to practice independence. It is also a way to get them to look deeper into the literature being studied. Assigning homework is a way to get students to utilize their own brains. They will not have their teacher or classmates to lean on.
I am conflicted on the matter, but I believe this is another instance in which there has to be a set medium. I do not believe in overloading students, but at the same time I don’t think that absolutely no homework is an effective policy. Homework has many uses. Extra credit may be one way to incorporate homework, perhaps for the few students who do have an issue with attendance. They tend to struggle with making up assignments that they have missed in their absence. Letting them complete these assignments for homework would enable them to make up points they may not be able to make up otherwise.
I read an article about the pros and cons of homework. In it were some interesting strategies in deciding whether or not to incorporate homework or to what extent to incorporate it. A few of these were to: 1.) Reduce the amount of homework, 2.) Rethink standardized homework policies, 3.) Involve the students. I think all of these are good ideas and can be effectively utilized. I definitely like the suggestion of involving the students. Perhaps it would be useful to talk to them and try to establish a homework policy guided by their lifestyles. I’ve posted the link to the article below.
I am amazed to be in a classroom with no homework. This whole concept is new and intriguing to me. I certainly didn’t think any educators would consider this. It makes me wonder how prevalent this is. Is homework dying out, or am I just a part of a unique classroom setting?
