The great debate...Do you think homework is a useful tool to extend learning or do you think homework is useless busy work? Here's an interesting article on the topic:
http://encarta.msn.com/column_toomuchhomework_tamimhome/Homework_Too_Much_of_a_Good_Thing.htmlDH went to a private, self-paced school and doesn't remember having hardly any homework. I, on the other hand, remember being in high school and doing homework up to 4-5hrs a night plus a lot on weekends. I think I studied more in high school than I did in college! Of course, I was in advanced classes in one of the best school districts in the state, so I had more homework than average, I wasn't quick about getting my work done, and I often procrastinated by busying myself w/ other thnings. On the other hand, I remember thinking how useless much of the work is (repeating the same math process 25 times didn't make me learn it more than the 3-4 times I did it in class). I remember thinking that there should be another way of doing things. Al in all, I was a motivated learning who loved learning and reading on my own, but hated homework.
Yet, when I was a teacher of high school English, on the other hand, I felt a lot of pressure to meet guidelines and to get through certain lessons by a certain time, which meant that the students had to do reading and writing assignments outside of the classroom.
I think that doing worksheets and/or the same type of problems over and over is ridiculous. I think I remember a study that said something to the effect of completing a task twice drills home the point, doing it a third time really confirms it. Anything beyond that is not beneficial. Doing the same type of problem 25 times is definitely useless. Also, I do think that "self-practice" has a purpose, but I think much of this can be accomplished within the structure of the learniing envirnoment w/ better support, access to materials, and motivation to get the task complete. I think that middle school and high school would work better if they were 75min long, rather than 50-55min. I think that the lesson plans should still be 55min, but with 20min at the end to do practice work, research, or reading. If all teachers did this everyday, it would spread out the burden of homework so that most of it could be accomplished at school. Or, alternatively, they could extend the school day and have mandatory "home room" that was basically study hall to give kids the chance to accomplish self-practice tasks, research, or writing projects...basically, a mandatory study hall. I wish I would have taken study hall in school, b/c I wouldn't have brought as much homework home.
I'm not sure how this idea applies to those who plan to homeschool, other than the fact that students would learn about something and then have their own time to finish their task. But, I think a separation between school and family time might be better accomplished by integrating "self-practice" into the learning time.
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