A Kindergarten Teacher Responds to “Kindergarten Cram”

A kindergarten teacher posted a comment that I want to make sure everyone sees. This is what s/he says:

As a kindergarten teacher (don’t shoot me) policy and curriculum is not set by the teacher and many times not by the school, but by standards set by the state and federal government. I agree that we are overtesting and not giving children enough “free” time. We do not even get “recess” for our kindergartners. What kind of social skills are we giving them? What adult wants to go somewhere for a meeting/educational activity without much of anything but a bathroom break in 3-4 hours? This is what many kindergarteners face. I am proud of the parent that “checked” out the school she was sending her child to and their policies. Most of my parents are not even aware of no recess in our schools….. We are burning out our kids on reading before 2nd grade because we are not teaching the LOVE of reading but attaching a test every time they read a book. The teachers do not have control. Parents need to get involved and push for change. Teachers would lose their jobs if they didn’t do what is considered their job “the way the standards” make them teach……

Upcoming Documentary–Race to Nowhere

A few months ago, I wrote about an upcoming documentary which was tentatively called Slipping Behind. The film, which looks at the fact-paced, high-stress lives of many of today’s students, is now called Race to Nowhere and you can view the trailer here. You can pre-order the film here or set up a screening. Let me know what you think of the trailer by posting a comment.

I think it’s going to be the perfect way to either start, or supplement, a conversation in your community, so be sure to spread the word. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am an Advisor to the film and I appear in it as well.

California School District Abolishes Homework for Elementary and Middle School

The Helendale School District in California is instituting a no-homework policy for students in K-8th grade beginning this fall. According to vvdailypress, “First- through sixth-graders will complete any independent work during daily lessons, while seventh- and eighth-graders will get an added ‘homework time’ class period.”

Which school district will be next?

More from Yesterday’s High School Senior

I got a second email from yesterday’s high school senior, who had even more to say on the problems with homework.

More Thoughts on Homework
by a high school senior
Camarillo High School, California

As always, the homework load depends on the individual teacher.

When homework is excessive, it simply turns into “drill.” The teacher assigns “stuff” (worthless worksheets, pointless projects) which are to be taken home. Very little of “it” was even taught in class, nor will be tested in the future.

The next day in class, students discover they did a lot of the work incorrectly. This leads to low scores and frusteration among students. (I’m sure some cheated w/ peers.)

Class time simply becomes a time for grading and going over homework rather than teaching, therefore making the environment stressful and tight schedules. This leaves very little time to cover the new material, which therefore leads to more homework. It’s a vicious cycle. Confusion among students and classroom complexity lead to students lagging behind.

One solution to less homework is more effective use of class time and better teaching methods to ensure that the students and teachers are on the same page. Another solution is simply not to assign the work, because some assignments are just ridiculous. (You’d be surprised to see what some teachers assign!)

There’s a common myth floating out there that teachers tell and parents purchase. “Homework teaches kids how to manage time and have good study habits.” That’s a lie. Since most of it is unproductive, or better yet counterproductive, it simply is a waste of time. Many students simply don’t know how or won’t study for tests because the homework serves no real purpose for test preparation.

My True story of excess homework (one of many)

When I was in 6th grade the whole class had difficulty understanding basic statistics: (mean, median, mode). She assigned six math worksheets over the weekend. The problem was the students weren’t understanding the material, not that the students didn’t practice enough.

From My Mailbox–A High School Senior Speaks Out

Here’s an email I received from a senior at Camarillo High School in California:

Dear Sara:

As a high school student I believe most homework is just a waste of time.

Simply put, a lot of the work can actually be done in class or not done at all (I’ll get to that later). Homework is just used as a substitute due to ineffective teaching methods and teachers wasting time.

Most homework assignments are just pointless: fill in the blank questions, word seaches, crossword puzzles, drill assignments, etc. It does not help review the material. It’s just used as a tool for teachers to figure out how to grade. Bad students simply won’t do the homework. Good students will do the homework getting nothing out of it.

Excess homework has created a lazy generation. It teaches students it’s okay to cheat, copy off, or even fake assignments. The more homework teachers give, the more tension there is in the class, the more tension, the more behavioral problems and lower grades students have. It’s a lose for the student, a lose for the teacher. Since there is too much homework, after homework is finished, kids just like to watch TV.

This year I pretty much have no homework. Since my calculus teacher only assigns very few problems, I actually learn how to do them correctly.

Lots of homework is the root of student laziness, not the solution. Having better teaching methods in class is the solution, not homework.

Thank you for your website.

Guest Blogger–Homework Should be Relevant, Interesting, and Personal

Today’s guest blogger, Ben Kestner, is the Middle School Principal at the Berlin Brandenburg International School, where he initially started as curriculum coordinator for the IBO Middle Years Programme. He studied flute at the London College of Music and in Berlin with Andreas Blau and after spending time playing and teaching he pursued a career in education after completing his PGCE in the UK. He wrote to me several weeks ago to tell me he’s an “avid supporter” of Stop Homework. He has a blog that’s worth reading.

Homework Should be Relevant, Interesting, and Personal
by Ben Kestner

I am currently the Middle School Principal at an International School in Berlin, Germany.

Over the last two years, I set out to examine the whole idea of homework at our school. After reading relevant books and research I decided that we really needed to re-think the whole idea of homework and go back to the question of why we set it. Then, during the current academic year, I pulled together a task force in the Middle School to look at the issue of homework. Throughout the year we have discussed the issue in staff meetings, parent meetings, and student leadership groups and during the last two years student surveys were conducted. It has become clear that homework is certainly a topic which creates a range of opinions and emotions amongst staff, students and parents.

The student survey was interesting. To the question “Do you find your Homework interesting”, 61% said no, only 4% said yes, with the rest answering “don’t know”, suggesting that the last group had no particular feeling about their homework assignments. The survey also revealed that 83% of our students take part in extra curricular activities in or outside of school on an average of 3 times per week, which shows that they are using their time after school for relevant tasks, and that additional homework can overwhelm that benefit.

Continue reading “Guest Blogger–Homework Should be Relevant, Interesting, and Personal”

“Kindergarten Cram”

Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine had a great article, Kindergarten Cram, about the problems with today’s kindergartens. One of my favorite lines: “How was it that the same couples who piously proclaimed that 3½-year-old Junior was not “developmentally ready” to use the potty were drilling him on flashcards?”

Here’s the beginning of the article:

About a year ago, I made the circuit of kindergartens in my town. At each stop, after the pitch by the principal and the obligatory exhibit of art projects only a mother (the student’s own) could love, I asked the same question: “What is your policy on homework?”

And always, whether from the apple-cheeked teacher in the public school or the earnest administrator of the “child centered” private one, I was met with an eager nod. Oh, yes, each would explain: kindergartners are assigned homework every day.

Bzzzzzzt. Wrong answer.

Read the rest of the article here.

Does your Pediatrician ask about Homework?

I received an email from a father in southern California who told me:

My 14 year old daughter was told by her doctor she was 40 pounds overweight, at 139 pounds and almost 5′ tall. The doctor said she was “too driven” and asked about homework. She carries a 3.8 GPA, but often stays up until midnight or beyond, and wakes up sometimes between 3-5 am just to finish homework assigned that day!

I just ordered your book and I look forward to reading it and discussing with her teachers the information it contains. I had no idea this movement existed, and I will be actively involved from now on.

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a pediatrician asking about homework. Kudos to him/her and it made me think that all of us should suggest to our children’s pediatricians that they start asking their patients that same question.

This same father also told me that he stumbled across stophomework on facebook. Have you posted a link to stophomework on your facebook? If not, please do.

More from Yesterday’s Principal

In yesterday’s blog post, a former principal and current teacher wrote about some of the problems with homework. As we continued our email exchange, he offered more insights which I’m sharing with you today:

Are we teaching or are we preparing for exams so that we can demonstrate accountability?

In a knowledge based model (the lowest level of the continuum of learning) we must ‘push’ through material and ensure that we ‘cover’ what needs to be covered. I am all for exit outcomes, but creating curriculums to be covered for the sake of covering allows a mindset to develop. It is one in which certain rituals are necessary to demonstrate accountability: (a) show that there is a ample amount of cleverly written curriculum, (b) develop a rigor and pace that will force this curriculum to be covered in a stringently set amount of time, (c) demonstrate the rigor and breadth of the curriculum by stressing teachers, stressing students, and stressing parents — stress, after all, is the hallmark of success; (d) give lots of homework to prove the validity of the curriculum and the rigor of the approach. Homework becomes an indicator of something that ought to be real. It’s not real, however. It’s a facade meant to placate the accountability police.

I was in China recently visiting a private school… whoa, they study from morning to night and create great students… er, regurgitators of knowledge. And with all their great results, they send their students in the thousands to Western schools (as do many Eastern countries) to understand play, freedom, fun, creativity, joy, diversity, individuality, self-determination…. I have dealt with educators from China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan and all of them are awed by our system… why? They see the uniqueness of our education — the soul. Yet they can’t change because they are caught in the illusionary dance of sequences… so they send their kids here to get their hearts back, to learn about their souls……