Homework Debate (Blog Post #13)

This week in EDM, we were to discuss a topic that had not been brought up in class so far.  I am choosing to discuss teachers assigning homework to elementary students.  I was curious to see the pros and cons of homework as well what is thought to be appropriate homework for the students.  I found a couple sources and this is the list of pros and cons I have compiled:

Pros

Applying what they have learned that day

Demonstrating proper use

Develop good study habits

Teaches time management

Connects the parent with their student

Connects the parent with the teacher

Cons

Contributes to sedentary lifestyle

Leads to stress, conflict, frustration, and exhaustion

Temptation to fib

Only boosts achievement in students that already do well

Enlarges gap between "good" students and "poor" students

The arguments both for and against homework are both pretty strong.  In the article Elementary Homework Seen as an Effective Tool of Education,  the author explains that though the children may not enjoy doing homework, there are some positive aspects of assigning the work.  He discusses researcher Harris Cooper, who wrote on the subject in 1989 and said that even if there is no direct correlation between homework and a student's test scores, doing work at home teaches the students that learning extends beyond the classroom.  The author also discusses the fact that homework teaches students time management.  Although the students are not in complete control of their schedules and there are other events in their lives, the article mentions that most elementary teachers are flexible and understanding if the parent writes them a letter explaining why little Jonny could not complete his assignment the night before.

For the other side of the argument, kids should not be expected to do homework, I read an article entitled Forget Homework. This is written by Emily Bazelon, she writes for the New York Times and she is also a mother.  She discusses three different books in her article, The Case Against Homework, The Homework Myth, and The Battle Over Homework.  She uses these three books to support her argument, which is homework is a waste of time.  There is evidence that points to homework having no effect on children's test scores and if it does, the effect slowly diminishes over time because the homework does not help to retain the information over time.  Another point that the author makes is that her son is in the classroom for six and a half hours a day already and that there is no reason for school to consume his free time as well.

After reading both of these articles, I am still torn on how I feel about assigning homework to elementary students.  One thing that both of the authors can agree upon, however, is that if a teacher is to assign homework, it needs to be reasonable and relevant.  It is hard for both authors to define "reasonable" but another source, the NEA,  discusses the 10 minute rule, which is also discussed by Harris Cooper.  This is that for kindergarten and 1st grade, the teacher should only assign 10 minutes of homework a night, and increase by ten as the child progresses through the grades.  This, in my opinion, is a very good rule of thumb and increasingly teaches the children to manage their time effectively as they are growing into more responsible adults. The homework should also be relevant, if a teacher is assigning work that has nothing to do with what they are doing in class, then the work is totally useless.