As an educator I know that homework is something that many people just generally think is necessary. My kids are growing up and I have noticed that as they get older the homework gets less. I have kids in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 11th grade. My first grader brings home a book to read everyday. With this book he must read it to an adult or to himself and then get a signature/initials stating it was done. My 2nd grader brings home a paper that has each day on it and has squares for different types of homework questions. This covers mainly math and english, but at the end he must read each day for 20 minutes. My 3rd grader comes home and she never has homework. The only thing she needs to do is study her words for her spelling test. My 11th grader, who is taking honors classes, also comes home with no homework.
Questions I have: Why are my younger kids coming home with more homework than an 11th grader taking honors classes? Why has homework gone obsolete over the years? Is homework even necessary anymore?
I have thoughts on all of the questions which I will share. I find that one reason my oldest kid comes home with less homework is because he has more time to do it in class. With class times being about 70 minutes long the teachers generally give students 20-30 minutes to just do homework. In one way I think this is great, but I also think that it is not teaching them to be responsible or showing them that they need to do stuff at home in order to succeed. I can tell you as a teacher that I can't just sit down at school and get everything done. I have to bring home work just about everyday in order to make sure that I have completed what is required. When my kid is older, graduates from college, and has his first job what do you think will be expected after the day is over? I would think that he would still be doing some work after the normal business hours. It is hard as a student to understand what the real world will be like, but I also know that it is hard to do something that you have never had to do before. My younger two tend to have homework because they are just starting some of these things in class. Teachers give them reading because we find that being great readers help later in the school years so my youngest child having reading everyday could potentially be very beneficial. My other child who has homework that covers math, english, and reading I also believe it will be helpful. I think that those two are gaining the knowledge that can be very beneficial and that those are the things that are going to help them. My oldest child doesn't come home with homework because her teacher doesn't feel it is necessary. This is my child's first year with "real" text books in the classroom. At the desk there are books that cover science, english, math, social studies, etc. I like that my child is finally able to see what it will be like growing up, but I also think that bringing those books home could be beneficial. As a teacher I get many parents who ask for their children to have homework each night. I understand why the teachers of my children don't give homework each night or even if giving homework they don't give extended assignments. They are already doing so much that to add that on top of the ours they are already working will bog them down even more. I think that some homework is a good thing, but I don't think that they necessarily need it everyday!
As we continue to grow in this world with technology homework continues to become obsolete. I think that many times this is happening because everyone has more they can do then assign or do homework. I also think that there are a lot of parents who complain about their child having homework or there isn't someone to help their child with their homework. Many things are going on now that prohibits the chances that children use to have of getting homework completed and turned in. Many parents are taking a back road to their child's education and feel that everything needs to be completed at school. I think that homework is necessary, but not everyday with doing hours of it each night. I like how my youngest two children bring home very little homework and that it has to do with the main concepts they are needing to learn. Reading at a young age is very important and so is math and english. I also believe that once we continue into the uses of technology that it may change everything since it already has started. In my room we do a lot of things on the iPads and my students love it. I think if I made a google classroom that said homework many of them would go home and do it because they like being on technology.
Overall I think that homework is necessary in some cases, but that children don't need to be bogged down with hours of it at a time. My hope would be for students/children to have homework that is a) beneficial, b) only takes about 20 minutes to do, and c) easy enough to do on their own because you never know if someone is around to help them. I do not think that students should be penalized for not doing homework because you don't know what their home life is like. It's hard for us with good lives to understand what some of our students are going through at home. It's also hard for us to even try walking in their shoes because we were never in a situation that is even close to theirs.
Daidra
