Homework: A Mother’s Lament
Then I decided to really think about what I was assigning.
Maybe 2 from this section, 3 from that, and always some word problems. Cue late
and missing assignments, full lunch sessions of make-up work, etc. I am sure
everyone knows the scene.
“I am teaching them responsibility”
I would tell myself. “But what about the curve of forgetting?” the little voice
in my ear would say when I wanted to skip it. Back then, my son was in
preschool. He never wanted to sit with me to talk about letters or numbers, but
he could build a Lego set for 8 year olds.
Then, he started Kindergarten. Besides the adventure of
learning that he had ADHD and all that ensued from that (a future blog post I
am sure), I started homework with him. I made to do lists and carved out time
for him and me to sit and work. HARDLY. It was scenes of crying, frustration
and anger as I worked to be patient with a kid who had used up all his energy being
engaged during school. We didn’t have time to play outside or walk the dog or
play…or build Lego sets. We had to get our work done, and it took forever.
The scale was tipped on my view of homework. 4 problems MAX
for my students, and time to do it in class. At first, their procedural fluency
went down because their practice was gone (and by practice, I mean homework help
at the beginning of every class). But, because I got back roughly 15 minutes a
day of homework review, I added procedural practice to my routine. Imagine:
practicing newly learned concepts and procedures with a person who can help!!!
My classroom evolved. My students were finishing their work, copying
disappeared, test scores went up, UNDERSTANDING WENT UP, all by eliminating the
stress of homework.
But what about the teachers who didn’t experience this? What
about the teachers who still think they are creating opportunities for responsibility
and follow through?
Some teachers are really trying. The research is out there
that homework isn’t worth it, but teachers (and parents) need support to take
the jump.
Cue today’s epiphany: Homework calendars.
What?? Bear with me...
My son’s third grade teacher has started homework calendars.
Each week we complete 4 activities from the calendar and reflect. But
here’s the best part, the activities are FUN, and because I am a math teacher, I
make sure math shows up somewhere (I also add any related content area). And
when my son (and daughter) have an interest, we follow up and create a new
square on the homework calendar.
This weekend, my son saw a giant bottle of water and said “I
wonder how much water fits in that bottle?” I asked him to make some Goldilocks
estimates (Too low, too high, just right). He guessed and then explained why.
He estimated where one bottle would reach if he dumped it in, then iterated
that up the bottle. I wanted to ask him about the narrow top, but I held myself
back for the investigation. Then, the family estimated, because we play math
all the time.
Andrew: 6 bottles
Emily: 11 bottles
Mommy: 7 bottles
Daddy: 7.5 bottles
So, we filled it up! After the first bottle was dumped in,
he saw he underestimated the height and immediately wanted to change his estimate,
so he did. His new estimated was way too high, but we went with it, because 1. It
was his estimation, and 2. his reasoning was sound.
SPOILER
ALERT!!**********************************************************************
6 bottles and the majority of the 7th bottle filled
the bottle. We measured the remaining water from the 7th bottle and
talked about our estimates. The final amount was 6 and ¾ bottles.
Picture this: our whole family sitting outside watching my
son fill a water bottle to discover the accuracy of his/our estimation.
His reflection for his homework was that he learned how to
estimate and it was the most challenging homework activity. Challenging, with smiles. Compare the tears and
fights to this, and imagine how it would feel to create this for all families.
I plan to start with 3rd
grade (for obvious reasons).
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