Wednesday, June 8, 2011

NO HOMEWORK!



I met a really nice woman this week who had taught English in a St. Joe high school for a few years before quitting to become a stay-at-home mom. She mentioned that some of the teaching work hadn't been easy. I mentioned being surprised at the lack of study skills exhibited by many of my freshman (college) students. She mentioned that when she first arrived at the high school here she was surprised to be told that they pretty much don't give homework because "the students are busy with other things" (jobs, sports, etc.).

No homework? Well, that clears things up a bit. (I do remember reading an article by Alfie Kohn that argues that homework doesn't in fact help learning, but I would guess that applies more to young children than college-bound teens. What does the research say about the effectiveness of homework for high schoolers?) Oh well—the issue now is how best to help the students I have, whatever their backgrounds. I have no answers yet—always a good place to start!
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2 comments:

  1. Carrie CorderJune 9, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    Matt told me I shouldn't post on old entries, but I'm doing it any way. I can completely relate to this teacher's experience. My first year teaching in public school, I was also told not to give homework, so I only assigned in- class work, but even so, the majority often failed to turn in assignments. Go figure!

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  2. simonbfinkJune 9, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    Wow, I guess that's more common than I realized.

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