Homework in Schools

I teach in an elective area that rarely allows students the opportunity to practice skills at home because they are hands on skills that require a lot of equipment and safety supervision. That does however still leave me lots of options for assigning homework outside of hands on skills; vocabulary practice, content specific reading, online discussions, introductory videos, etc. But, I very rarely assign homework. The homework that I typically assign would be short writing assignments relating to questions about skills currently being taught in the class, and even then an overwhelming majority of my students are able to finish the assignment during class time. Typically students that are off task during class are the only one’s that need to finish the assignment outside of class time.

So, I know that I have options for giving students homework, why do I not utilize those options on a regular basis?

The reason that I rarely give homework to my students is that I think their time is better spent on homework for their core classes. I know that my content is important, the students that sign up for my classes understand the importance of it as well, but the skills that students are going to practice for their core classes are necessary components of the career skills they will practice in my class. In my eyes, the overlap between the classes is already allowing students to practice and grow in areas that homework from my class would also be reinforcing. According to the Salon article by Heather Schumaker, studies show that high school students receive a positive impact from doing homework, but only in moderation (https://www.salon.com/2016/03/05/homework_is_wrecking_our_kids_the_research_is_clear_lets_ban_elementary_homework/ ). In other words, more homework does not equal more growth. A Life blog by Diane Ravitch raises a counterpoint to my thoughts on assigning homework (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-homework-is-good-for_b_44037). Diane asks when will students have the time to read a book or write a paper if not at home? It is a fair question, but teachers need to also be respectful of students’ time. Between school, jobs, homework, and activities we have students that are stretching themselves far too thin. There is a bright side to the homework being assigned in schools recently. According to a USNews World Report written by Allie Bidwell, homework has shifted from busy work or simple practices repeated over and over again to long term projects that allow students a chance to be more interactive with what they are learning (https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/02/27/students-spend-more-time-on-homework-but-teachers-say-its-worth-it).

Homework has a place in education, but we as educators need to be respectful of students’ time, and provide quality homework opportunities that will allow students a chance to be successful on the work they do outside of school.

After spending some time diving further into my philosphy on homework, I do have a few questions that I would like to hear other educator’s thoughts on. First, what type of homework or specific projects do teachers use that get students excited about working on something outside of school? How do other teachers grade homework and what value do they place on it in the grade book? And lastly, what are the homework policies in place in your district or schools?