There are strong arguments for and against assigning homework to students. When such situations arise, that is when leadership has to be strong. I personally believe that homework is a great thing for a majority of students. It gives students the opportunity to practice and show what they know. Obviously, it has to be used properly. Again, leadership and training should lead the way in this area. I reject the notion that teachers should cease giving homework. I am certain that there are teachers who give busy work to students to take home and complete. That doesn't make homework a bad thing. It only highlights a lack of leadership. Here are three reasons why homework is still necessary:
1. Homework allows for an increase in self-efficacy
I believe that the relationship
between the student and the teacher is similar to a relay race. During class, the teacher hands the student a baton. The student is charged with advancing the baton to the finish line. I often tell my students this:
"You do what you can do outside of class so that you can do what you previously couldn't inside class"
When students experience this principle, it increases their self-efficacy and gives them confidence to try when things are challenging.
2. Homework increases soft skills
We know that there is a decline in soft skills in our graduates. As educators, we would be negligent to not address this serious issue. Homework helps to instill in students the importance of responsibility, timeliness, and organization. While these are 'behaviors', they are positive byproducts of a being a part of disciplined environment with high expectations. In a global economy, we must graduate students that are prepared to be competitive.
3. It forces administration to innovate and individualize
I believe that the main argument against homework offers us the greatest opportunity. If a student
doesn't complete homework but shows proficiency on assessments, the answer is not to eliminate homework (or refuse to grade it #SBG). We need to ask the
question: Why does this happen? Once again we need leadership in this area. We
need leadership willing respond accordingly when the results don't reflect our pedagogy. If there is a
student sitting in a class in which they don't have to try very hard, we have
to ask ourselves: Are we comfortable with such a scenario? is it possible that
that student could be in another environment receiving the challenge they need? The mixed ability classroom creates this scenario. Is there an alternative response? Yes. It takes leadership to find it.
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