Homework Optional?

[Jeff V]

Today was curriculum night at my kids school. Both teacher sessions emphasized that any homework assigned was entirely optional.

The hell it is. One benchmark is 5 units per week in a particular online app. I told my son he needs to do 10. Not sure where this came from (last year, his homework was required). It seems they are moving towards less education. Can any of the teachers here explain why this is so? My daughter's kindergarten teacher did not hold back on how she felt about such things.

[Smoove_B]

There's been a movement that suggests homework is typically practice - a way to verify you understand something. So if a student can demonstrate immediate understanding of the transitive property of math (for example) why force them to do 37 homework problems with various permutations of the transitive property?

Also part of this is the idea that school is for learning and that not all kids have positive home environments that encourage learning. So if homework is required to learn something, those kids are at a disadvantage.

I don't really know what the answer is but as someone that engaged with post-HS individuals on the regular, there has definitely been a change in ability - specifically ability related to analysis and critical thinking. Memorizing? They're like machines. But applying information or figuring out how to use tools or models in appropriate way? Something is missing from the mix.

[$iljanus]

If I remember correctly when my daughter was in elementary school any course work that wasn’t finished during the school day was your homework. Any kids that needed extra help in learning a concept got supplementary work to take home. Homework started up again in middle school and high school. I thought the teachers did a good job with my daughter and they covered a variety of interesting subjects in elementary school. That said, I live in a town with an excellent public school system and I think that probably helped in making the move to “no homework” at the elementary level reasonably successful.

Edit: Blurb from school system handbook

Section 2: Elementary (PreK - Grade 5) Specific Expectations
The primary homework for all PreKindergarten to Grade 5 students is the reading of self-selected texts. No additional homework is required; however, on occasion, educators may elect to assign at-home work or projects that augment or enhance the in-class curriculum. When they assign homework in addition to reading, educators are expected to demonstrate that these assignments reflect the definition and purpose outlined above.
To facilitate students' transition from elementary school into middle school, educators may work together to develop strategies for gradual introduction of limited amounts of homework in Grade 5. Working in grade level teams, educators are encouraged to take a thoughtful approach in preparing students for what to expect when they transition into middle school.
As needed, teachers-working in conjunction with colleagues and/or grade level teams-may provide short-term, essential, targeted, at-home assignments for individual students in situations where educators determine that the student would benefit from additional reinforcement or supplemental learning.
No student shall be assigned homework to be completed on a weekend or during school vacations.

All in all it was a pretty reasonable approach but in middle school and now high school they made sure that my daughter got plenty of homework…

[Unagi]

Today was curriculum night at my kids school. Both teacher sessions emphasized that any homework assigned was entirely optional.

The hell it is. One benchmark is 5 units per week in a particular online app. I told my son he needs to do 10. Not sure where this came from (last year, his homework was required). It seems they are moving towards less education. Can any of the teachers here explain why this is so? My daughter's kindergarten teacher did not hold back on how she felt about such things.

Yeah, I believe they felt this was one place where Total Dominance Over Others was deemed to actually just be a stressor.

[Sudy]

There are a lot of studies available on the matter. Personally I think it's a matter of unsupervised study often not being necessary to reinforce the education of natural students, and not being sufficient or even being counterproductive for struggling students and/or those who lack necessary home supports. But I'm not a parent, and even though I got good grades when I cared, I don't think the school system served me well.

I think it's obvious that some home/independent assignments are extremely valuable, but the day-to-day stuff was often just regurgitation. Maybe extend the school day, but do you really want to teach kids to take their work home with them? Still, I guess if one wants their kids to rule the world, working them to death (at a cost) might achieve that.

Personally I can still remember the stress of doing math problems on the bus ride or during lunch, and getting bitched out for "not showing my work". This was in the 90s. I think what would have actually benefitted me was far more practical learning, and parents who had more time/money to involve me in less structured but broadly educational experiences.

Mainstream schooling doesn't strike me as something that's well tailored to individual students' needs. But I have no expertise in this area.

[Blackhawk]

And there has also been an emphasis on allowing play and exploration. An eight hour day followed by two hours of homework, dinner, and an early bedtime doesn't leave a lot of room for kids to be kids, to explore, to imagine, to play. And it is through those things that kids learn to understand how the world works, learn to problem solve, learn to think. Good play supplements and reinforces education, and the past approach of filling every waking moment with formal education has been detrimental.

Things aren't like they were when we were kids, and sometimes there is a really good reason for that.

[LawBeefaroni]

It seems like a great way to avoid teaching kids time management , prioritization and planning. I know such skills are sorely lacking in our younger hires. Can't say for certain this is due to "no homework" but can't imagine it helps.

[Sudy]

For the most part, I don't think homework taught me those things. It was my parents who did (or didn't). I did every book report the night before it was due. It perhaps helped teach me to educate myself, but it didn't teach me how to overcome frustration or a lack of motivation. It was me who did that (or no one).

Don't worry, I too believe that today's kids suck. The older generations thought that about mine, too. But there definitely isn't just one factor. And of course, most will have a tendency to defend the methods of the era in which they themselves were raised.

[LawBeefaroni]

For the most part, I don't think homework taught me those things. It was my parents who did (or didn't). I did every book report the night before it was due.

If you didn't have a book report assigned you wouldn't have done it at all, night before or no.

The homework itself doesn't teach mich other than by rote but learning to get it done on time or, God forbid, even early is the big takeaway.

[Madmarcus]

There's been a movement that suggests homework is typically practice - a way to verify you understand something.

the idea that school is for learning and that not all kids have positive home environments that encourage learning. So if homework is required to learn something, those kids are at a disadvantage.

Both of those are big ideas in teaching right now. There are studies that show HW doesn't improve learning in measurable ways so the trend is to make HW formative. That is, optional and used as a way to have students and teachers monitor progress. It works well for students who have strong support systems or internal motivation. The assumption is that the population that doesn't care about school, has a life that means they have other things to care about instead of school, or need extra individualized help are no worse off because they wouldn't get much benefit from HW that they either didn't do or couldn't do.

I worked in a magnet school and a private school. It was a good trend for teachers and students in both schools. It removed stress and busywork but still gave plenty of feedback. Plus I'll freely admit that being able to point out exactly who was not doing the HW was a nice bit of data for conferences without trashing the grades of the students who really were getting the material but had better things to do.

[Skinypupy]

I have no educational background at all, but will admit that I'm frustrated this year with my 13 year old spending 7 hours at school, then having another 2-3 hours of homework to do every night, along with any other extracurriculars (i.e. soccer, band, etc).

Working professionals get burned out working 50 hour weeks, it's absurd to ask a kid to do even more than that.

[Smoove_B]

It seems like a great way to avoid teaching kids time management , prioritization and planning. I know such skills are sorely lacking in our younger hires. Can't say for certain this is due to "no homework" but can't imagine it helps.

This is exactly what I see with young adults, yes. Deadline is 11:59pm on Friday night? I'll submit it at 11:57pm, having started working on it 30 minutes before. I have repeatedly wondered how they are going to function in a working environment (to myself, not to them) and you've more or less addressed my suspicions.

I do think having 2+ hours of homework a night is absurd but not having any responsibilities - especially work on a deadline - isn't quite right either.

[ImLawBoy]

My 3rd graders are supposed to have about 30 minutes of homework per night, but 20 minutes of that is reading. So far they've been getting a short math worksheet and then doing their reading. What they read is up to them, and they are supposed to do a bit of writing based on a theme (e.g., what do you have in common with the main character?).

This is good for us for a couple of reasons. First, I can easily see what they're doing in math and whether or not they're having any troubles. Second, they like to read anyway and we really use their written output as a judge of how their handwriting, spelling, and grammar are coming along.

I may not be so pleased about the situation when they get older and have more onerous homework, of course.

[YellowKing]

My daughter has been in a no homework curriculum since 1st grade (she just started 8th).

Academics-wise, it hasn't been a detriment. She's taking a couple of high school level courses this year, and routinely makes honor roll.

On the other hand, I do worry about her entering high school with no concept of report deadlines, etc. One of her advanced classes had an assignment due today that she didn't tell us about until 10:30pm last night.

I've repeatedly stressed to her that high school, and particularly college, are not going to hold her hand about turning stuff in on time. But of course me telling her and 7 years of her not having to actually do it is a pretty wide gap.

I think there's a compromise solution somewhere in the middle. I agree that homework for the sake of homework is not productive, and usually only ends in stress for both the parents and the students. On the other hand, there needs to be some instrument for teaching work accountability and deadlines.

[EvilHomer3k]

It seems like a great way to avoid teaching kids time management , prioritization and planning. I know such skills are sorely lacking in our younger hires. Can't say for certain this is due to "no homework" but can't imagine it helps.

This is exactly what I see with young adults, yes. Deadline is 11:59pm on Friday night? I'll submit it at 11:57pm, having started working on it 30 minutes before. I have repeatedly wondered how they are going to function in a working environment (to myself, not to them) and you've more or less addressed my suspicions.

I do think having 2+ hours of homework a night is absurd but not having any responsibilities - especially work on a deadline - isn't quite right either.

Working under pressure is a skill that people need to learn. If you wait until the last minute to do your work you learn how to work under pressure and figure it out yourself. Half of my job is stuff that needs to be done right now. The other half is stuff that needs to be done while I work on the stuff that needs to be done right now. It's rare for me to have the time to plan out anything at work and the amount of times I've gotten to plan a project and complete it without something else stealing at least half that time is 0. If it isn't on fire it's not important. 25 years in IT that's how it's been the entire time. Don't underestimate the importance of learning how to get things done at the last minute.

For my kids homework is just busy work that serves only two purposes. One is to keep them busy so the teacher can work with kids who need help. The other is to suck all the joy out of learning. If you know how to do something why should you be forced to do it 50 times on a sheet of paper? The kids who don't know how to do it won't figure it out at home and won't do it. So the only ones doing the homework are the kids who already know how to do it.

[Jeff V]

On the other hand, I do worry about her entering high school with no concept of report deadlines, etc. One of her advanced classes had an assignment due today that she didn't tell us about until 10:30pm last night.

This is a big thing. Like all kids in my high school growing up, the crowd I hung with did what all of the other school kids did -- smoked like a chimney, drank like fishes, and most certainly got high on our own supply. What set us apart from the rest was a sense of priorities...we'd go to the library to work on term papers, for instance, before going to a friends house for beer and poker.

My son turned 9 this week. I told him when I was 9, I worked 5 paper routes starting at 4 am, followed by sports (tennis, baseball and swimming in that order) during the summer, and school and homework during the school year. No kids were playing in the winter, it was too damned cold.

I am worried about ambivalence towards learning setting in, and the kids turning out like their slacker cousins who've amounted to nothing going through such a system.

[Daehawk]

I never did homework. Teachers were paid to teach at school and that was their time. My time in prison ended at 3pm and then it was my time.... homework be damned. Course I had planned to quit since 3rd grade anyways and didn't care...part of my mental stuff i suppose.

[Blackhawk]

'Set priorities?' Every kid I knew had parents with the same rule: Get home, do your homework first.

My kids had homework. Especially math homework. More times than I could count I'd get the kids home a little after 3:30, and after a quick snack math homework would start around 4. At around 5 or 5:30 homework would pause for dinner. Then I'd check it and they'd be back at it for another hour. On those nights, if they were lucky, they'd get an hour to an hour and a half of free time the entire day - as developing children. I found out later that they were giving up their lunch and recess time to do the homework at school instead of learning to socialize - you know, a significant part of their developmental process. More often to not, they were frustrated to tears (literally), and they ended up hating the class - and eventually math itself - as a result. After years of that - guess what? They hated everything about school, and have zero desire to continue their education now that they've graduated. They had a miserable experience because of the backwards "It needs to be the way it was when I was growing up" thinking that dominates everything around here.

People seriously need to get their heads out of their asses and stop the abusive (yeah, abusive) approach to education. It's having the opposite effect.

My experience growing up was similar to theirs. I ended up giving up on trying and earned straight Cs and Ds despite having a 140+ IQ. School wasn't about learning, it was a misery that felt more like punishment. And the funny thing is, I wanted to learn - most of my free time was spent reading and learning. I can only imagine where I might have gone had I not been made to actively avoid school.

There have to be ways to teach priorities and self-regulation other than that. If teachers approach with that specific goal in mind, they can certainly come up with something. Maybe replicate the college experience of long-term projects, starting at a week in elementary school and ended up at semester-long by high school (with 'checkpoints' for progress along the way.) Something designed to require regular work, but once or twice a week rather than nightly. I don't know.

All I know for sure is that homework the way it has been handled traditionally is broken.

[RunningMn9]

Welcome to one size fits all. Homework or no homework misses the point - some kids need homework to learn certain things. Other kids don’t. A system where everyone has to do homework harms some kids and helps others. A system where there is no homework helps different kids and hurts other kids.

I say that as someone that learns via homework (for some topics). I don’t learn math any other way.