To give homework, or not to give homework, that is the question!
Teachers have various feelings about homework. Some teachers have the mindset that students should have some percentage of homework that correlates with how much school work they have. Some teachers feel that students have worked hard enough all day and do not need any more work at home. Some districts or schools have homework policies in place that teachers have no input about.
I have worked at schools with various requirements. I taught younger grades, and we were told at one of my schools that students in kindergarten should have about 15 minutes of homework and 15 minutes for reading for a total of 30 minutes. These time frames increased as the grades went up until they got to 6th grade and have an hour of homework and 30 minutes for reading. Some sites I worked at just had kids complete the classwork they did not finish in class. Some schools said the homework had to be able to be completed independently by the student. Other policies came into play at that point. Could we require homework? Could it be graded? Who is actually doing the homework? Should we just grade for completion or participation? How does that hold value if some kids are doing it and some parents are just signing off that they are doing it? What if a student has an IEP or a 504? What value does homework have?
Other factors need to be considered when making homework policies. Do the students have access to the materials at home they need to be successful? Internet access, books to read, access to a quiet workspace, people they can ask for help, and supplies to do the homework, are all factors that need to be considered when deciding if homework is going to be a benefit to students.
My personal view on homework changed when I became a parent. Before I was a mom, I didn’t understand why people found it so difficult to get homework completed and turned in. Fast forward to when I had four kids in elementary school. My kids were in 6th grade, 4th grade, 3rd grade, and kindergarten. At that time, I worked at a school with a required homework policy. It was difficult to help all of my kids with their homework each night. We had all of the resources we needed to help our kids, but it was still overwhelming, especially when we had other commitments on the same evenings.
I can see both sides of the issue. I have been a parent overwhelmed with assisting my kids with homework, and I have been the teacher that sees the value of some homework being given. I have been the teacher that was required to give homework, but I have also been at schools where it was the teacher’s discretion and I did not require extra work. I have also been the teacher that has asked students to complete the unfinished work at home. It’s hard to find the balance of what is the right thing to do for students. How do you feel about homework?
Image rom istockphoto.com
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Sarah Kirchoff
Sarah Kirchoff is an instructional coach in Mesa Public Schools. She has over 20 years of experience in early childhood education. She began her teaching career way back in August 1999, when everyone was worried about Y2K. She did not even have computers in her classroom at that time! Since then, she has taught first grade for four years, preschool for three years, second grade for two years and kindergarten for twelve years. She has worked for three different school districts during her teaching career. During this time, she has been able to identify which grade she found to be the most enjoyable. Her greatest teaching passion is for kindergarten. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University. She was teacher of the year at her school in the 2019-2020 school year. She became a National Board Certified Teacher as an Early Childhood Generalist in December of 2020. She currently serves on numerous committees at her school including school site council, the instructional leadership team, and the culture and climate team. She is a mentor teacher at her school and has mentored numerous interns and student teaching candidates. When she is not busy with school commitments, she spends time with her family. She has a husband who is also a teacher, and four children. Two of which are students at NAU and two that are in high school. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading books and spending time with family, friends and her two dogs. Children need a teacher that is always advocating for them, socially, emotionally, and academically. Sarah wants every student she encounters to realize their potential and she is willing to help in any way she can. The impact early childhood educators have on students reaches far beyond their younger years. Sarah wants to leave a positive impact on her students so they can continue to have wonderful educational experiences beyond her classroom and school.