As many of you already know, I have an unhealthy obsession for Saved By the Bell. I can name and describe an entire episode within the first 15 seconds of the show (even if they almost always start with Zack entering The Max. When I watch episodes, I tend to notice all the little quirks about Zack and the gang such as Slater's hilarious stonewashed jeans or how Jessie was off and on the cheerleading squad. I also notice that you never see any of the characters doing homework. Sure, some episodes have them studying for tests, but there's never a point where they are doing math problems or filling out a workbook for Spanish. There's no worksheets for their history classes to complete or vocabulary flashcards in an English class. I obviously realize that the show was not going to waste time and film "homework" scenes, but it makes me think...
In my last post, I mentioned that I tried an experiment of not giving homework to my students (in case you are curious, I did this in my 7th Grade World and 8th Grade US History classes). I had come to a point where I seriously doubted the positive impact homework has. I wanted to see if not doing homework would lead to lower test scores and less comprehension. Occasionally there were times when I needed my students to finish something at home that we just didn't complete in class, and students did need to work on projects at home, but I decided that answering questions out of a textbook or making flashcards on important people were a waste of time (after all, I never seriously graded the work, kids usually just got points for doing the work no matter the quality!). I started thinking: if I want to see if they understand the material, why can't I ask them questions in class or discuss the main ideas of the chapters? Why do I need to give them mindless work at home?
Now I'll stop for a moment and mention that I am not an expert in other class subjects. Perhaps there is a valid reason for assigning homework in a math or foreign language class where daily practice may be necessary to master skills...I do not want to come off as judgmental. Each teacher knows their class best. But after reading portions of "The Case Against Homework" and "The Homework Myth," I feel there is more than enough evidence that proves a scaled-down homework model leads to healthier students and furthermore, students who don't get burned out on learning.
My four-year-old daughter sometimes gets homework worksheets from her preschool teacher. These worksheets are all about coloring, learning her letters, tracing, and practicing cutting...and she loves them! After waking up from a nap, she will often ask to do her homework. I joke with my wife that when she gets older and despises doing homework, we should show her video evidence that she once was excited about homework. But this phenomenon makes me wonder: what happens to a child that makes them go from enthusiasm to dread when it comes to homework? My theory is that there is a passion and love for learning new things in every student, from preschool age to high school senior. But kids resent work (both in class and at home) that teachers give out just to keep them busy. I never want be responsible for squashing a child's interest in history and social studies. If that means sacrificing homework than so be it.
My no homework experiment is still a work in progress. I need to continue to monitor my students to make sure their comprehension does not suffer and make adjustments accordingly. I work at a school where academic standards are high and not giving homework might bring suspicious parents this next year. But I think teachers sometimes give homework because they think its a natural part of school for students ("if we had to suffer through homework than you kids do too!")...a rite of passage you might say. Well, sometimes change is a good thing and perhaps even a necessary thing.
