Journal 6: "Ten Reasons to Get Rid of Homework!"

Spencer, J. (2012, 07 08).Ten reasons to get rid of homework (and five alternatives) Retrieved from http://www.educationrethink.com/2011/09/ten-reasons-to-get-rid-of-homework-and.html

In John T. Spencer’s article, Ten Reasons to Get Rid of Homework, he discusses that homework is an activity, which should be viewed as a useful tool rather than a necessary one.  As defense for his ideas, he provides ten reasons to support this theory.  According to Spencer, unless a student has a guardian at home to monitor their constant work and progress, they will not greatly benefit from homework as a reinforcement of their acquired knowledge.  Rather than benefit from its intended purpose, he shares, it is added on as an additional task to complete.  I believe he’s trying to express that the content matter is not built upon or further absorbed during their work sessions at home.  I understand the battle he faces as an educator, because this is the last thing students want to do when they arrive home.  After being an after-school program counselor for two years, I witnessed the difficulty in getting students/children to sit down and focus on their required work.  Especially after sitting in a classroom for most of the day, it becomes challenging for kids at any age to regurgitate the material they have just begun to grasp.  However, I do question whether or not getting rid of homework should be the solution.  Although this may sound like a drastic slippery slope of sorts, if we rid school systems of homework- what will be next?  Isn’t everyone’s life filled with activities and challenges we don’t want to complete?  Regardless, this is a shifting day and age we live in!  Maybe students will do better without homework and the possible problems they encounter while attempting to complete it (siblings, television, possible homelessness?).  Or perhaps all schools will begin incorporating a swapped homework-lesson idea like the one proposed in the article from Journal 3.  Anyhow, here are a few of my suggestions for alternatives of homework.

1.     Instead of assigning students with your own set of homework, have them create their own homework based on the coursework they’re learning in the classroom.  The following day, they can trade with a fellow classmate and have them complete the activity and collaborate with one another.

2.     Ask students to research philanthropic organizations that spike their overall interest.  At the end of the week, discuss the organizations and begin taking part in service-based learning as a class.

3.     Rather than insist upon homework that is geared towards classroom excellence, have the students write up the chores and activities they helped their parents/guardians out with at home.

4.     Encourage your students to get active outside of the home!  Children’s natural experiences with the environment build self-esteem and personal growth.

5.     Have the students join “reading groups” outside of already required material if they’re able, and discuss those extracurricular books within those groups.  Just like Spencer wrote, provide additional support for those students who need it.