Category: Burlington Public Schools

The Homework Discussion Continues With Thoughts From B.C.

On By Patrick LarkinIn Alfie Kohn, Burlington Public Schools, David Truss, HomeworkLeave a comment
Photo via psychologytoday.com

It has been great reading the feedback on the post I wrote a few days back titled “How Necessary is Homework?” If you haven’t had a chance to read the post and the comments, I hope you’ll take a moment to read it and then add your opinion on the issue. It is imperative that we have open discussions about topics like this that have such a great impact on our students and that we review our practices to ensure that they are accomplishing the outcomes we desired.

Another positive of having this discussion in a web-based setting has been the fact that we have gotten feedback from people in other parts of the world who have had these same discussions. We are truly fortunate to live in a day and age where this type of sharing can take place so easily.

David Truss

One of the links shared came courtesy of David Truss, a school administrator from British Columbia.   David shared a post he wrote back in April of 2011 titled “Homework.” I love how he handled the topic of homework when he was a classroom teacher:

 “As a math teacher, my first lessons were not about Math they were about life. I wrote this formula on the board:

Equal is not equal to fair.

Sometimes certain students didn’t get homework, or they got alternate homework. Some didn’t write the pre-tests, some only did every other question, some only had to do 5 questions, some had to do them all. It’s not fair to give 3 students the same number of questions when one student is bored to death by them, one can do them in 20 minutes and still another student will struggle with them unsuccessfully for an hour… it would be equal, but not fair.”

The differentiation of homework amounts as described by David is definitely something that needs to be looked at closely. I encourage you to read the entire post here and I look forward to reviewing some of the other links on the topic of homework that David cited, including one from Alfie Kohn, one of the most well known advocates for less/no homework.  
I hope people will continue to share their thoughts and links to relevant material on this topic. 

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Healthy Homework Guidelines (Video)

On By Patrick LarkinIn Alfie Kohn, Burlington Public Schools, Homework, Race To NowhereLeave a comment

The video above starts with Alfie Kohn stating, “Homework may be the greatest single extinguisher of children’s curiosity that we have yet invented.“

Whether you agree or not with this powerful statement, the video above from Reel Link Films, the producers of Race To Nowhere, is worth checking out in reference to the discussion on the assigning of homework.  The video discusses the Healthy Homework Guidelines that have been developed.  Check them out below.

1. HOMEWORK SHOULD ADVANCE A SPIRIT OF LEARNING 

Educators at all grade levels should assign homework only when:  

  • Such assignments demonstrably advance a spirit of learning, curiosity and inquiry among students. 
  • Such assignments demonstrably provide a unique learning opportunity or experience that cannot be had within the confines of the school setting or school day.  
  • Such assignments are not intended to enhance rote skill rehearsal or mastery. Rehearsal and repetition assignments should be completed within the confines of the school day, if they are required at all. 
  • Such assignments are not intended as a disciplinary or punitive measure, nor as a means of fostering competition among or assessment of students.

2. HOMEWORK SHOULD BE STUDENT-DIRECTED 

Educators at all grade levels, but particularly in elementary and middle grades, should limit take-home assignments to:  

  • At-home reading chosen by the student. 
  • Project-based work chosen by the student. 
  • Experiential learning that integrates the student’s existing interests and family commitments.  
  • Work that can be completed without the assistance of a sibling, caregiver or parent.

3. HOMEWORK SHOULD PROMOTE A BALANCED SCHEDULE 

Educators at all grade levels should avoid assigning or requiring homework:  

  • On non-school nights, including weekends, school holidays, or winter or summer breaks. 
  • On the nights of major or all-school events, concerts, or sports activities. 
  • When a child is sick or absent from school.
  • When it conflicts with a child’s parental, family, religious or community obligations. 

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Why School? Will Richardson Leads Us Towards Answers To This Critical Question

On By Patrick LarkinIn Burlington Public Schools, Education Reform, TED, Why School?, Will RichardsonLeave a comment

Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information are Everywhere is mandatory reading for anyone who cares about the education of their children. It is the perfect jumping off point for anyone interested in beginning or continuing a conversation on the long overdue changes that our schools need to undergo in order to provide a relevant learning experience for our students. Will Richardson speaks as a parent, a teacher, and a learner regarding the fundamental changes taking place outside the walls of our schools and he makes a compelling case as to what we need to do inside of our school walls to adjust to what he describes as “a shift in the way we define and acquire an “education.’”

I encourage school communities to read this book together as a tool for creating a new vision about why our kids go to school.   At just $2.99 a copy, you will not find a more cost effective resource. 

Will presents straightforward questions that we can present to parents and other stakeholders to help us make this much needed shift.  We need to help parents and community members engage in a narrative that will help them see clearly that the test scores that our country’s education reform movement are focused upon “tell us little if anything about our children’s chances for future success.”

Will also provides concrete examples of how and where there are schools that are starting to make this shift.  These schools have stepped away from the teacher-centered mentality that dominates most classrooms and moved to a learner-centered approach where students and teachers learn together about our rapidly changing world.  

The moral imperative for those passionate about the education of our children and their children is clear. He leaves us with this final thought:

“Just imagine the learners they could become if we made that the focus of our work, if instead of passing the test, we made those ever-more important skills of networking, inquiry, creation, sharing, unlearning and relearning the answer to “Why School?”


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