Reponses to Discussion

Research suggests that, especially for older students, homework seems to be positively correlated with student achievement. Even when some parents who are opposed to homework become aware of this research, they express strong negative feelings about homework. What do you think are some of the reasons for these feelings?

Shari

Homework has always been very important in my families' home. Even when I was in school, my parents were very firm about us getting our homework completed. There was no T.V., outside, or anything until our homework was completed and checked. As I got older and started my own family, I was that very same way with my girls. Even with my youngest still in college, I make sure that she is getting all of her work done, classwork and homework. This is very important to ensure that your child/children understand was is expected from their teacher and getting a good quality education. If your children understand the importance of work and homework from their parents, they will be more aware of how important it is for them.

Parents now are 1st off younger than our parents when we were growing up. They knew the importance of your education, cared about their children being successful, and did not play with you about your schoolwork. Back then the parents did not mind your teacher getting on to you about your work and they would be waiting on you to make it home so that they could get you again. Nowadays the parents are more concerned about their appearance, who is dating who, what is going on on Facebook, and where they can go on the weekend, and coming to the school to "tell the teacher something". Not saying that they just totally do not care about their child's education, but their priorities are not set up the same way as our parents were, or ours.

On the other hand, some parents feel that their child/children struggle to get their homework completed. They feel that the assigned homework is overwhelming to the student. Some parents also feel like the homework stresses their child out. If the parent is a willing participant then I feel that none of this would be true. Has the work changed over time? Yes, it has. Have the lessons become rigorous over time? Yes, it has. But there is always help for those that need and want it. If a parent truly has his/her child's education at heart, then it should not be a second thought on getting the help you need to ensure a quality education for your child.

Destiny

As a teacher, I have a love/hate relationship with assigning homework. There are many benefits for students who honestly complete assignments. For starters, it promotes retention and student accountability, which is what students most definitely need. Because, if I am, frankly speaking, a topic learned in fifteen minutes will go in one ear and out the other, and this is from an adult. If I do not practice, see examples of it, or use it in my everyday life, my brain seems to store it a junk mail. I can only imagine how our students feel! Therefore, there is a sense of necessity for students to have opportunities to practice the new information outside of a classroom setting. Scholars need to "struggle with it," as my lead teacher would say. I also feel that when homework is strategically assigned, meaning appropriate length and time frame, it can expand and enrichen material.      The negative aspects of homework would be due to the lack of parental support and resources. I can not tell you how many times a parent has said that they did not know how to help their child. I hear comments such as, " I have been out of school for twenty-plus years. I do not know this stuff!" and " I work nights, so I can not be at home to help with homework." It is remarks like these that make it hard for me to assign assignments, especially technology-based assignments. Some parents are at a disadvantage because they lack internet access. I also think this is why parents are fearful of lots of homework. They feel overwhelmed and lack the basic skills to support their child, which is no one's fault. With the constant changes in education, I am not even sure that I would be much help to my son as he enters school. 

Kristen,

Homework is a good method to help students practice what they have learned that day in class. Although homework seems like a good method, it can also be very draining for the students. In my opinion, I think parents have strong negative feelings because a lot of older kids have extracurricular activities. For example, I teach high school and most of my students are 11th graders. A lot of them participate in band, play sports, or have jobs. These extracurricular activities can overshadow a lot of opportunities to do homework. For instance, I have to implement a few days out of the week for review. On review days, I incorporate different games like Kahoot or quizizz since they will miss a lot of days of class. Another reason for parents harboring negative feelings towards homework or school in general is due to the fact of struggling to live each day. In some cases, you have students who work for a living to help their parents with things around the household. I brought this specific statement to point out that when people are struggling and trying to make ends meet, it can hinder the student from helping his/her parents out in the household. Some parents desire for their child to go straight to the workforce instead of school because this helps the parents with their day to day activities around the house as well. Overall, I believe homework is a good idea however, we must learn to understand that students endure a lot of things in their homes just like adults do. With that being said, homework can be a helpful tool to help a student but it can take away from a student who must help their parents or other circumstances that they face in their everyday lives.