Solve the following: Homework

I'd like to start with a few premises:

1. There is no substantiated proof that homework improves student learning - certainly not in elementary school.  I will save this argument for another time, but do recommend you go out and get the book The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn.  In any event, the anxiety and dread it causes kids, and families during family time, outweighs any perceived benefits - especially for kids who "hate" school to begin with.
2. We all wish for our children a better life than our own, and understand that education is key to their achieving that.  This is not about "valuing education," or about "Well when I was in school . . ."  I don't know about you, but one of the things I learned in school is that we have the wisdom to make life better, even if that means replacing the old ways with new ways of thinking.
3. Education is not the exclusive responsibility of the school.  In fact, school is where knowledge is delivered in bulk, and outside of school is where we learn how to apply all that learning in our lives.

I love being a board of education member, but I'm not sure how I feel about school boards in general.  Instead of being vehicles of change and innovation, they have become part of "the system" and as such have learned to not rock the boat too much, just accept the way things are.  So while I am one board member - and therefore not authorized to speak on behalf of my board - the changes I propose are not going to go anywhere unless there is parental concern that results in parental action.  So the rest of this post is for those of you who would like to see their home- and family life improved by a new role for learning in the home - and not by fighting over finishing homework every night!  If that's you, I hope to see you at future board meetings.

(As an aside: whether you want to be involved in re-writing homework policy in your school, at least INSIST that school policy require that any homework teachers assign, MUST be reviewed, corrected, and returned to the student.  This will cause a riot: if passed, the teachers will stop assigning so much homework.  If it doesn't pass, your school district can't articulate the purpose of homework in the first place and you should keep reading.)

Typically when parents complain to the board about homework, the board says "we'll look at our district homework policy."  Then they make some changes to the policy so as not to tie teachers' hands too much.  Typically the policy will be changed to say something like "Teachers should assign homework, but not too much homework" and then come up with a recommended formula for how much homework should be assigned per day, per subject, depending on the grade-level . . .   Something so complicated that after being able to say they did something, no one pays attention to it because it is unenforceable anyway (who's going to coordinate nightly homework assignments every day?).

So let's look at the word home in homework for a moment.  It implies that some of the responsibility for the work of learning is with the home.  This home-work includes seeing that your kids get a good night's sleep; get a good meal; and know from you - the parent - that school and learning are important.  Do you find yourself mocking "smart kids" in front of yours?  Do you put down teachers in front of your kids?  Do your choices and priorities imply that school is not important?  Do your kids have a quiet space for doing schoolwork?  Do you talk with your kids about their future in college or careers?  Parents, this is the homework that you are responsible for!

We say that life-long learning is something we value, then we make school seem like a life sentence to kids.  So, if you are willing to do your homework parents, I would be willing to support a policy that is specific and enforceable - it would look something like this:

Recognizing that learning is not limited to school hours and school buildings, but takes place outside of school as well, the                Board of Education supports learning in the home as follows:

1. Teachers will provide guidance and materials that students need in order to study independently at home, and to be prepared for tests.  
2. Test subjects, topics and dates are to be announced no less than one week from the actual test.
3. Teachers will recommend books for children to read independently at home, and promote the joy of reading to our students.  Reading may be assigned in preparation for class discussion.
4. Classroom quizzes will constitute no more than 15% of the total class grade.  Each quiz must be distributed to the class the day before the quiz.  Quizzes based on independent reading assignments will be distributed at the time the reading is assigned.
5. Teachers may assign appropriate projects based on grade level, content areas and subject matter.  The requirements of these projects will be reviewed and assigned no less than one week from their due date.  The instructions and grading rubric will be sent home with the assignments.
6. No work assigned for completion at home, with the exception of projects as defined above, shall be collected, graded or in any way part of a student's final grade. 
7. It is the expectation of the teachers, staff, and               Board of Education that parents will support their children's learning by knowing what they are studying, noting test and project due dates, and promoting development of their children's reading, learning, and time management skills necessary for their academic success.

This policy would not eliminate homework - it still places some of the responsibility for learning with the home.  This policy places some trust that, if the kids and parents are told what students are expected to know, and when they are expected to know it by, they will use the time otherwise spent on homework being prepared for class and for tests.  For example, #1 above means that kids have what they need to be prepared for a test, and can study for it at home.  Quizzes replace homework: if the teacher did a good job imparting the day's lesson to the kids, why assign homework on top of it?  Just hand them tomorrow's quiz.  And while there is no more crucial learning skill than reading, "requiring" 20 minutes of reading per night, to be confirmed through a reading log signed by mom or dad, sure makes reading seem more like punishment than pleasure!  Yes, kids must read, and not just at school.  But let's not make it a job - there will be time enough for that stress later in life.

Do you find as an adult you have to manage your time and balance work and play?  This policy allows families to plan their time and teach time management to their kids, instead of reacting nightly to unexpected assignments or the sudden, sporadic, unpredictable avalanche of work.  And most importantly, kids would have less anxiety around school and their day-to-day life.

Not being a professional educator gives me perhaps just enough knowledge to be dangerous; I'm sure a teacher could list 100 reasons why this is not educationally "sound" policy.  But as trained educators, I would  challenge them to re-think the role of learning at home, and the relationship between learning at home and learning in school.  And I would like to assume that, if homework is important enough for a teacher to assign, it's important enough that each and every bit of homework assigned currently is being reviewed and graded by the teacher as well.  So, teachers should be grateful for a policy that relieves them of grading all those homework assignments!

Am I crazy?  If you think so, let me know at PaulOU2@msn.com !