Rethinking Homework. By Alfie Kohn [For a more detailed look at the issues discussed here — including a comprehensive list of citations to relevant research and a discussion of successful efforts to effect change– please see the book The Homework Myth.] After spending most of the day in school, children are typically given additional assignments to be completed at blogger.comted Reading Time: 10 mins Sep 06, · The Truth About Homework Needless Assignments Persist Because of Widespread Misconceptions About Learning By Alfie Kohn. Para leer este artículo en Español, haga clic aquí. There’s something perversely fascinating about educational policies that are clearly at Estimated Reading Time: 11 mins Aug 19, · Alfie kohn interview homework Alfie kohn interview homework Kohn argues that homework is a burden to children, and, not surprisingly, their parents. Challenge the status quo. Who is controlling these individuals and watching their agenda in this regard? All that does is ensure that plenty of children will be gratuitously defined as failures — sometimes
the homework myth audio interview with alfie kohn
After spending most of the day in school, children are typically given additional assignments to be completed at home. This is a rather curious fact when you stop to think about it, but not as curious as the fact that few people ever stop to think about it. It becomes even more curious, for that matter, in light of three other facts:, alfie kohn interview homework.
The negative effects of homework are well known. Many parents lament the impact of homework on their relationship with their children; they may also resent having to play the role of enforcer and worry that they will be criticized either for not being involved enough with the homework or for becoming too involved.
The positive effects of homework are largely mythical. The results are nothing short of stunning. For starters, there is absolutely no evidence of any academic benefit from assigning homework in elementary or middle school.
At the high school level, the correlation is weak and tends to disappear when more sophisticated statistical measures are applied. Meanwhile, no study has ever substantiated the belief that homework builds character alfie kohn interview homework teaches good study habits. Alfie kohn interview homework homework is being piled on children despite the absence of its value.
And teachers who have long harbored doubts about the value of homework feel pressured by those parents who mistakenly believe that a lack of afterschool assignments reflects an insufficient commitment to academic achievement. Such parents seem to reason that as long as their kids have lots of stuff to do every night, never mind what it is, alfie kohn interview homework, then learning must be taking place.
What parents and teachers need is support from administrators who are willing to challenge the conventional wisdom. Make sure you know what the research really says — that there is no reason to believe that children would be at any disadvantage in terms of their academic learning or life skills if they had much less homework, or even none at all. Whatever decisions are made should be based on fact rather than folk wisdom. Such policies sacrifice thoughtful instruction in order to achieve predictability, and they manage to do a disservice not only to students but, when imposed from above, to teachers as well.
Many parents are understandably upset with how much time their children have to spend on homework. Quantity, however, is not the only issue that needs to be addressed. Too many first graders are forced to clip words from magazines that begin with a given letter of the alphabet, alfie kohn interview homework.
Too many fifth graders have to color in an endless list of factor pairs on graph paper. Too many eighth graders spend their evenings inching their way through dull, overstuffed, committee-written textbooks, one chapter at a time.
Teachers should be invited to reflect on whether any given example of homework will help students alfie kohn interview homework deeply about questions that matter. What philosophy of teaching, what theory of learning, lies behind each assignment?
Does it seem to assume that children are alfie kohn interview homework makers — or empty vessels? Is it about wrestling with ideas or mindlessly following directions? Change the default. Ask the kids. Find out what students think of homework and solicit their suggestions — perhaps by distributing anonymous questionnaires.
Many adults simply assume that alfie kohn interview homework is useful for promoting learning without even inquiring into the experience of the learners themselves!
Do students find that homework really is useful? Why or why not? Are certain kinds better than others? How does homework affect their desire to learn?
What are its other effects on their lives, and on their families? Suggest that teachers assign only what they design. In most cases, students should be asked to do only what teachers are willing to create themselves, as opposed to prefabricated worksheets or generic exercises photocopied from textbooks.
On those days when homework really seems necessary, teachers should create several assignments fitted to different interests and capabilities. Use homework as an opportunity to involve students in decision-making, alfie kohn interview homework. One way to judge the quality of a classroom is by the extent to which students participate in making choices about their learning. The best teachers know that children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions.
What is true of education in general is true of homework in particular. A discussion about whether homework might be useful and why can be valuable in its own right. keep talking until we reach consensus? look for a compromise? And that growth occurs precisely because the teacher asked rather than told. Teachers who consult with their students on a regular basis would shake their heads vigorously were you to suggest that kids will always say no to homework — or to anything else that requires effort.
When students are treated with respect, when the assignments are worth doing, most kids relish a challenge. Help teachers move away from grading. Ask teachers who are reluctant to rethink their long-standing reliance on traditional homework to see what happens if, during a given week or curriculum unit, they tried assigning none.
Surely anyone who believes that homework is beneficial should be willing to test that assumption by investigating the consequences of its absence.
In such a position there is a strong temptation to avoid new initiatives that call the status quo into question. For anyone willing to shake things up in order to do what makes sense, beginning a conversation about homework is a very good place to start.
We are awash in articles and books that claim homework is beneficial — or simply take the existence or value of homework for granted and merely offer suggestions for how it ought to be assigned, or what techniques parents should use to make children complete it.
Here are some resources that question the conventional assumptions about the subject in an effort to stimulate meaningful thinking and conversation. Barber, Bill. Bennett, Sara, and Nancy Kalish, alfie kohn interview homework.
The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It New York: Crown, Buell, John. Closing the Book on Homework: Enhancing Public Education and Freeing Family Time.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, Dudley-Marling, Curt. Hinchey, Patricia. Kohn, Alfie. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, Kralovec, Etta, and John Buell. The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, alfie kohn interview homework, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning Boston: Beacon Press, Samway, Katharine.
Vatterott, Cathy. Waldman, Ayelet, alfie kohn interview homework. October 22, It becomes even more curious, for that matter, in light of three other facts: 1. Alfie kohn interview homework We are awash in articles and books that claim homework is beneficial — or simply take the existence or value of homework for granted and merely offer suggestions for how it ought to be assigned, or what techniques parents should use to make children complete it.
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Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. Audio Interview with Alfie Kohn. Please be patient, the audio file may take a few minutes to load Aug 19, · Alfie kohn interview homework Alfie kohn interview homework Kohn argues that homework is a burden to children, and, not surprisingly, their parents. Challenge the status quo. Who is controlling these individuals and watching their agenda in this regard? All that does is ensure that plenty of children will be gratuitously defined as failures — sometimes Sep 06, · The Truth About Homework Needless Assignments Persist Because of Widespread Misconceptions About Learning By Alfie Kohn. Para leer este artículo en Español, haga clic aquí. There’s something perversely fascinating about educational policies that are clearly at Estimated Reading Time: 11 mins
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