Except homework is really not thoughtful when you just spew the formula. Homework then becomes the brainless act of repetition, not metacognition that we all should be striving for. Homework becomes the incessant chore we all seem so hellbent on making it. I know we are trying to raise responsible children, but is homework really the only way we can do this? Can we not accomplish those same goals of responsibility, time management, and work habits without the insane amount of homework? Can we, as educators, realize that perhaps we do not have the right to infringe on students’ lives outside of class up to an hour or more every night? Haven’t students already given us 7 to 8 hours of work?
I, for one, limit my homework giving and not because I am a hippie that doesn’t believe in hard work. We do work hard in my classroom, in fact, my students relish how much we get done in a day because it means they are managing their time. It means they are creating a work ethic that says give school your undivided attention for a whole day and you will be rewarded with free time. Do your job here right and then you don’t have to worry about it as much outside of school. And a formula can never encompass that.
So it is time we give up on the formula. It is time we realize that homework is not something we have to give just to give the kids work, that there are other ways to teach students motivation, time management, and effective work habits There are other ways to ensure all of the curriculum is covered and that knowledge is garnered.
This year, on the first day, I will tell the parents that there may be work outside of school and that it will differ from day to day. I will tell the parents that my mission is to keep work inside of my classroom so that the students may breathe a little bit. I will tell them there that will be projects, there will reading, sure, but there will also be time to be a kid, to live a little. No homework doesn’t mean no learning, it means school was kept at school and that is a good thing.
Pernille Ripp 
When you get going, you are an absolute joy to read. I laughed at what you should have thought to yourself when you prepared your power point.As always, love your passion and the way you make your points.
Hear hear! I am so glad to see that I am not the only one who thinks that formula is outdated and irrelevant! I couldn't agree more that we should reward students who give us organised, responsible work with free time when they leave the school building. Adults have that luxury when leaving their work…if they've been organsied and productive they don't need to take their work home. Let's prepare students for their future by teaching them how to manage their time and organise their resources, not mindlessly fill in boxes on worksheets just to show that they are still "thinking" even when they are not in front of us. Thanks for sharing your opinion!
My first grade daughter came home from school last Thursday and told us she had homework. When asked what she was supposed to do she said her teacher told them they had to play. Unfortunately she had not finished her chores and was sent off to do them. Later we hear her sobbing, "I'm supposed to be playing!" #mykindofhomework
Matt, as always you are much too kind to me. The debate has to happen and so we have to raise our voices. No longer can we just pass kids through the school system like we were, we have to adapt and change the way we do school, homework is a piece of that.Jessie, I love that you bring up the adult point because so many times that is the exact reason we hear for giving homework; adults have to work outside of their work too. Well, that is usually by choice and depending on the job. So thank you for reading and adding your comment.Will, Oh no your poor daughter must have felt that she was failing that teacher, you are so mean, ha.
I always thought the 10 minute rule should include time for reading, which is without a doubt the most beneficial part for elementary kids, especially. My third graders usually got about 10 minutes of math practice and 20 minutes of reading (their choice of reading materials) with twice weekly spelling homework (only because the school mandated it.) Never got any complaints on that. If the math regularly took more than 10 minutes, I told the parents to let me know and I'd modify future assignments for their child. Seemed to work well.
Still have never figured out why ANYONE thought that a child's age should determine the amount of homework assigned. Ridiculous. Back to the need for some to "simplify" by plugging life into a formula. Great post. 🙂
I couldn't agree more. Even in previous years, most of my students would complete their work in class. I always had a few students who wanted their parents to "help" them with their work. So far this year, I've assigned hardly any homework, except to read. That's my plan for the rest of the year as well. I read several pro/con points of view on homework. For the most part, the pro points of view on homework just weren't very convincing to me.
I agree with minimal homework in the younger grades unless it is purposeful. Having said that, I do believe it is my responsibility to help students and their parents develop habits to prepare for homework in later years which is inevitable. I have purposely chosen to limit the studying for quizzes and rests as part of homework as I believe students have been presented with the ideas and strategies at school and cramming facts the night or week before isn't going to be of benefit to most with the assessment I do. For weaker students I try to have reading that they can do ahead of time to be familiar with some of the knowledge pieces before they start applying them.
Charlene,Thank you for commenting. I agree that we each need to figure out our own path way to homework and how we want it to work in our room. I think what you are doing is a step in the right direction. Think of what would happen if more teachers even just evaluated why they assign homework and how they assign it. We could really get the dialogue started.
Completely agree on your thoughts about Homework. At my school we follow the ten minute rule as a guideline for parents, however, what I tell my students is that they will generally have enough time to complete the work in-class as long as they use their time wisely. If they choose to socialize then they may have more work to take home.Students, and people learn through experiences. If we are taking away the opportunity for these experiences by loading them with homework etc. then they are going to become very one-dimensional learners.
I would say it's not completely unreasonable to expect 40 minutes a night (Monday through Thursday) from fourth graders, but that time should INCLUDE book reports, preparing for tests/quizzes, and other tasks including practice (just not overkill on the practice, especially in case they are practicing WRONG). The separate time for reading, though, I think is a good idea. However, rather than have a nightly requirement, perhaps a weekly total or a monthly total is a better goal. That way, families involved in activities outside school can carefully budget time for reading when it works well with the family schedule. It's a good way to teach time management.