Rebellious Compliance

Alfie Kohn, the author of The Homework Myth, sent me the homework of the nine-year-old son of a friend, who was required to put the weekly list of spelling words into sentences:

1. I am sooooo aggravated about my homework situation that I can’t think of anymore sentences.
2. I want to decline this homework so badly.
3. I despise my homework situation.
4. My homework situation is disturbing me.
5. My second encounter with homework is sickening.
6. I wasn’t to establish an anti-paper club, A.P. for short.
7. I want to forbid homework after 8:00 p.m.

First Monday (Advocacy is an Ongoing Process)

This coming Monday, November 2, is the first Monday of the month. As I suggest every month in this blog, I hope you’ll send a note expressing your thoughts about homework to your children’s teachers or, perhaps, to a school administrator or School Board member. Even better, join with a few friends and send a collective note. Ask for a public discussion of the problem. Ask the school to be responsive. If you need help in formulating a note, look in The Case Against Homework for some examples, or see the kinds of notes parents have been writing by browsing Moms (and Dads) on a Mission on this blog. If you do send a note, please post a comment and send me a copy of your letter. And if you get a response from the teacher or school, please let us know that as well.

Or, take inspiration from Kerry Dickinson, a parent from Danville, California, who successfully changed homework policy in her community and is still advocating on her children’s behalf. Here’s what she did recently:

Advocacy is an Ongoing Process
by Kerry Dickinson

This year after Back to School night at both the middle and high schools my boys attend, I sent each of their teachers an email. In the email I said I had just read a really interesting book called “Rethinking Homework” by Cathy Vatterott and I had some extra copies I’d like to share with anyone interested.

To my surprise I got a few emails back right away from teachers at both schools saying “sure, I’d like to borrow the book.” Well, just last week I got a nice letter back from my 10th grader’s geometry teacher. I received permission from him to reprint it:

Hi Kerry,

Thanks for the loan of the book. It generated much “rethinking” at lunch in the math dept. While many of us were initially skeptical about a new homework paradigm, we found ourselves agreeing with much of the book. We are opposed to “busy work” and grading homework for accuracy. I hope that my assignments are appropriate, both as regards length of time and amount of practice. In Calculus, I think it appropriate to give homework no weight, but in my classes, I need to reward the effort – about 10-15% seems right.

Continue reading “First Monday (Advocacy is an Ongoing Process)”

“Mr. Homework” Does More Rethinking

I’ve written here before about Washington Post reporter, Jay Mathews, who calls himself “Mr. Homework.” In August, 2008, he did an about-face and called for an end to homework for elementary school students. A few days ago, he wrote a Washington Post column, “Is Homework Necessary,” where he wonders whether his faith in homework for middle and high schoolers is misplaced. He suggests that assignments be shorter and more carefully defined so as to get “the same sense of student understanding and not just to make sure the students and their parents don’t think the teacher is going soft.” Read the piece here.

After reading the piece, I sent Mr. Mathews the following email and posted it as a comment as well. I encourage you to post your own comments.

I read your recent piece in the Washington Post and, of course, I’m delighted you’re always rethinking homework.

I’m glad that the teachers you’re talking to are also thinking more about homework. One of the biggest issues missing from the homework debate, in my opinion, is the quality of the homework. If my memory is correct, you no longer have any children in high school, so maybe you haven’t had a chance to take a look at the kind of homework most kids are getting.

I do still have a child in high school, so I get to see, on a nightly basis, the homework that teachers give and that society still thinks is so important. And I’m pretty sure my daughter’s New York City public high school is typical of any large school.

I don’t think my daughter has yet had one homework assignment last year or this that was worth any time at all. Nevertheless, most of her teachers assign homework every night, and homework counts toward her grade. Most teachers provide no feedback on the homework whatsoever; they mainly spot check to make sure the students have complied with the requirements. None of it requires original thinking, there is very little writing or reading, and there are a lot of projects similar to the posters and “characters in a can” that she did in elementary school.

Whenever I’m on a talk show, there’s always someone who claims that homework is very important, as though students are being assigned interesting, challenging work that involves creative and analytic thinking. Neither in 9th grade, nor so far this year in 10th, has my daughter written an essay that was returned with any feedback. So the one skill that students really need, writing, isn’t being taught at all. It’s no wonder that when I taught writing to first year law students, I had to do so much remediation.

The real problem, in my opinion, is that education in general isn’t very good. Sure there’s a school here and there where students are involved in thrilling discoveries, sit in small seminars, have interesting and engaged teachers, and get a fantastic education. But the majority of kids sit in classes where teachers drone on and on from outdated textbooks and give the same tests they’ve been giving for as long as they’ve been teaching. (Have you read The Global Achievement Gap? The author takes “walking tours” of schools and explains what he sees going on in the classroom.)

As I stated at the outset, I’m glad to see you’re still thinking about homework and not taking it at face value. May I suggest that you take a look at the assignments the kids in your local public high schools are getting and see whether you think they’re worth spending any time on. (Or, if you’d like, I’d be happy to describe the work my daughter receives on a nightly basis.) I stand by my longstanding advice: Let students of all ages read, rather than inundate them with busywork. They’ll all end up more literate and able to think.

All best,

Sara Bennett
co-author, The Case Against Homework
founder, Stop Homework

Operation Daddy to the Rescue – Los Angeles

Today’s “Dad on a Mission” is Rafael Ortiz, the father of a 7-year-old second grader in a public elementary school in Los Angeles. Ortiz, who has a B.S. in Kinesiology, takes things into his own hands when his daughter’s teachers don’t respond to his homework concerns.

Operation Daddy to the Rescue
by Rafael Ortiz

Since last year, when my daughter was in first grade, she started to question me about why she had to do homework. She told me that she went to school the whole day and then still had school work to do at home, but her mom didn’t have to bring her work from work. I would tell her it’s because that’s what everyone does- it’s school.

But then I started thinking about it and realized that all this homework gives little time to explore out of the box. My daughter used to asked about underwater life, what’s out in space, loved to solve riddles and liked to invent stuff. But homework is burning her out.

My daughter has been bringing home homework since kindergarten. All of it seemed to be a waste of time; none of it was challenging or interesting. Now, in second grade the homework is still not challenging BUT rather longer. It takes my daughter about one hour and 30 minutes some days. She has lost that happy spark she had and she has started complaining that it’s too long.

I discussed it with the teacher and asked her to show me research on how long homework should be because I felt that my child was getting too much homework. Her response was that it’s the district policy that second graders need to spend 30-35 minutes and that if the student spends more time than that they should not advance to second grade. Knowing my kid I knew right away that this second grade teacher took it personally, but I held my ground and told her that it should be quality rather than quantity. She then said that she had been approached by other parents where they demanded that she give more homework. So I told her then to go ahead and give them more but that I was requesting less for my kid.

So this is the 8th week and we still go back and forth on the homework issue. The teacher still hasn’t modified my kid’s homework, so I took what I called “Operation Daddy to the Rescue,” where I looked at the homework assigned for that day and I choose a few problems (math, English , vocabulary, etc) and I tell my girl to do for example 5 out of 20 math problems and the rest I give her the answers. It seems to be working because her so called weekly test scores have not gone down.

The reason why her teacher says she gives the students a lot of homework is because of some number that schools get assigned every school year by some government test. The higher the number, the more prestigious the school is. Who cares!!! They are using my daughter like a robot – they want output and zero creativity.

For her x-mas vacation I plan to let the teacher know that my 2nd grader has plans and will not do HOLIDAY HOMEWORK!

Success – Parent’s Advocacy Makes a Difference in Denver, North Carolina

About a month ago, Deidra Hewitt, who lives in Denver, North Carolina, where she has two children in a public elementary school, wrote about how the school required her to sign off on her children’s homework more than 400 times a year. Today, she writes about what happened after she wrote to the school Superintendent to tell him about the policy. Read the background here.

Advocacy Can Make a Difference
by Deidra Hewitt

I emailed a letter to the school Superintendent and the Board of Education, regarding the “sign or your child will be punished” policies, that I find so offensive. The Superintendent contacted me for a meeting. I was really pleased with the outcome of this encounter. The Superintendent of Schools completely agreed with me, about parent signatures being voluntary. He was against children being held accountable for parent behavior. He indicated that changes were in the works. Starting at the county level, he advised me that the “accountability agreements” were being phased out, and that they will be gone next year. He stated that he is actively searching for ways to engage parents of disadvantaged students. He agrees that countless signatures do not accomplish this goal. He is prepared to investigate the objectives of requests for parent signatures, and certify that signatures are voluntary.

In an interesting side note, the Superintendent informed me of a parent committee, that meets with him, once a month, regarding parent issues. There is, apparently, a parent representative, from every school. I am a parent who does my research, and I was shocked that such a committee existed! It seems that the parent rep. is chosen, by the Principal. The Superintendent printed me a schedule, and advised me that the meetings are open, and I am welcome to attend. I will, most assuredly, be there!

My advice to everyone is to never give up! If you cannot get satisfaction, from teachers or principals, utilize the resources of Superintendents and School Boards. They are not just there for educators, they are there for parents, too!

Success – One Thousand Parents and Teachers Pack School Board Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, and Board Backs Down

In September, I wrote about parents in Pam Beach County, Florida, who were up in arms about the School Board’s new policy allowing for 60 minutes of homework in 3rd grade and 90 minutes in 4th and 5th. Homework was just one of their concerns. The others included frequent testing, a calendar of skills that teachers were to cover at a required pace, and monitoring by district staffers who would visit teachers’ classrooms to make sure they are following the program.

The parents banded together, set up their own website, Parents for Educational Reform, and more than 1,000 parents and teachers packed the School Board meeting last week to protest and voice their concerns.

The upshot: school control has been returned to the individual schools, which will get to decide whether they want to implement any of those policies.

The lesson to be taken: there’s strength in numbers and we should all organize in our own communities.

Guest Blogger – Experiences in Homeschooling

Today’s guest blogger, Tracy Stevens, is a former high school Spanish teacher who infrequently gave project-based homework to her students. She wrote here last year about her son’s difficult experience in first grade in a public school and her decision to have him repeat the year at a Waldorf school. This year, she decided to homeschool her two boys, and today she writes about that experience. You can also follow her on her blog, abettereducation, which is full of interesting interviews (including one with Daniel Pink) as well as reports on her experiences with homeschooling.

Experiences in Homeschooling
by Tracy Stevens

I got laid off in July of this year and after not finding any jobs that could keep our two kids in private school, I decided to homeschool. My older son is 8 and he did first grade at a public school two years ago. It was a very difficult year as he, one of the youngest boys in the class, struggled to learn to read at the pace they set for him. To “help” him learn to read, they kept him from recess to do more worksheets. This was in addition to the tutoring and the ridiculous load of homework.

So we decided to repeat fist grade, but this time in a private Waldorf school. The year went much better. There was no homework, plenty of art and nature, and the expectations of reading come much later in a Waldorf school.

I knew when I lost the ability to pay for a Waldorf education that he would be even worse off in a public school than the previous year, because now we were on the Waldorf reading schedule, making him even further behind the public school reading demands. This lead to my decision to homeschool my four and eight year old sons this year and surprisingly it has been an outstanding experience so far.

I take an eclectic approach, with influences from Waldorf and Democratic schools. We work on reading through art, stories, and manipulatives like magnet letters, in addition to old fashioned paper and pencil. We do math

Continue reading “Guest Blogger – Experiences in Homeschooling”

Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – Suburban Chicago

Today’s guest blogger, Mary Sullivan, is a freelancer writer and mother to two fifth graders and a seventh grader in suburban Chicago. I tracked her down after she posted a Comment linking to her webpage, Too Much Homework, and I asked her to write about what motivated her to post her own page.

Too Much Homework
by Mary Sullivan

Like many parents here, I’m proud of our district and appreciate that teachers care and work hard. But in terms of homework, there are issues with both volume and consistency. Parenting twins has been revealing over the years, as the amounts (not to mention types) of homework they’ve received from different teachers within the same grade has varied dramatically. Other parents of multiples I know locally have said the same thing. Through the PTO we did some research last year with families and found the inconsistency is system wide, especially in about grades 4 and up. Part of this, of course, is that some students take much longer than others to do the same amount of work. But that can’t be the whole explanation.

I still don’t think many teachers know about Harris Cooper’s 10-minutes-per-grade-level rule, its basis in meta-analysis of 40 years’ worth of well-crafted homework studies, and the science behind moderation as the most effective approach to homework. I’m sure many parents don’t know, either, and feel confused and helpless when their kids are overwhelmed and missing out on adequate sleep, exercise, reading for pleasure and other essential “nutrients” for developing minds and bodies. Hoping to reach both parents and teachers, I wrote the Squidoo article based on our family’s experiences and on what I’ve learned over the past several years about homework–from The Case Against Homework and other sources.

Something else we learned through the PTO research is that a large percentage of parents feel their kids should be spending more time on “chores” and “helping others”–which to my mind are closely related. Both household chores and service/volunteerism are “other directed” activities, unlike something like homework, which requires much effort but is ultimately self-directed. (The only beneficiary is the student, through good grades, praise, etc.) I tried to touch on this in the Squidoo article through the box on “what kids could be doing if they had less homework.” Life skills like taking responsibility and acting as a contributing member of a community need to start at home. With hours of homework, kids have no time for chores, or parents take pity and just do things for them. As parents we need to run a “gut check” on all this and speak up when it doesn’t feel right. Kids should work hard, but in a *balanced* way that makes intuitive sense.

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Be sure to visit Too Much Homework.

Send Etta Kralovec Your Stories about Lowered Grades Because of Homework Incompletion

Etta Kralovec, the co-author of The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning, needs your help. A long-time educator, teacher, author, and university professor, she is now the principal of a charter high school in LA. She wrote to me:

The community where my school sits has the lowest parental educational level of any community in LA. And yet, many teachers at my school pile on the homework! Homework is often 20% of a student’s final grade. When I began noticing how low our students’ grades were, I did a little research and found that the reason the grades were so low was not because their test or classwork scores were low, but because they had 0s for their homework grades.

I think homework’s impact on students’ final grades is a wide spread problem related to homework and rarely discussed. If students are able to pass class tests and complete classwork why should their homework grades be factored into their final grade? I would like to hear from your readers about this issue. Have your kid’s grades been lowered because they fail to complete homework? Do you know anyone who has challenged this practice and won? Please let me hear your stories.

Please send Etta an email with your stories and post them in the Comments as well. Tell her I sent you her way. And please take the time to do this. It’s very important.