On the homework front: Abbys class was not given homework today. Why? Because the class was well-behaved, so they could have a night off from homework. What does this teach our children? If you said it teaches our children to be conformist little children who behave perfectly, you are incorrect, so you get homework tonight. No, it teaches our children that: 1. Homework is a punishment and 2. Every time they get homework, they must have misbehaved. Considering that this is the first night since the first week of school that she hasnt had homework, thats pretty discouraging. Yes, there are kids who benefit from homework. Unfortunately, the plural of anecdote is not data. I would have no problem with teachers sending home an optional weekly packet of activities to supplement the classroom - as needed - but I have a serious problem with kids losing participation points for not doing it. If the homework really does make an academic difference for a specific child, it will show up in their classwork and test scores. Do kids learn organizational skills from homework? Sure (though I would argue that its ME that learns organizational skills from their homework, not them). But if they dont get homework in 1st grade, they havent lost that window of opportunity to learn those skills later. This example of why Abbys class didnt get a homework assignment tonight absolutely underscores why Im opposed to homework for a first grader.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 22:12:11 +0000
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