Homework is the bane of our existence in many households. After a long day of school for the kids, outside activities, and our own work, the last thing we want to do is fight with our kids at the end of the day. And yet… there’s homework. Is it even worth it? Many studies say no, but still the homework keeps on coming. So, how can we figure out whether it’s worthwhile?

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, principal, or policy maker in your local school or district, this article aims to give you the questions to ask to help decide whether it is worthwhile. Future articles will explore what to do when it turns out it’s not.

A Checklist for Parents and Teachers

 
by Chip Woods

Photo courtesy of apdk

It’s the end of September and homework is beginning to come home in earnest. Teachers and schools have sent home letters about their homework policies, usually touting its value in teaching study habits and skills, and recommending that children spend a certain amount of time on homework each night (and increase that time as they move up in grade). Parents have also been given ideas for setting up a quiet place at home where children can practice those skills and review content they’re learning in class. Often, this practice involves filling out a certain number of worksheets, especially in language arts and math.

But how important is homework? The value and positive impact of homework on student achievement in the elementary grades has not been shown to be significant in most research studies on the matter. I have provided links to three of the myriad of such studies at the bottom of the page and you can, of course, do your own Internet search.

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Tags: education, homework, schooling

Wow. This article has so much information in it. This is like those films where you get to see a time lapse view of a flower blooming. Here you get to see our educational system blooming (or not, depending on your point of view) right before your eyes. This article is loaded with useful information that would normally take days of pouring through literature to get the overview of education theory. Grab a cup of latte, tea, or hot chocolate, and dive into our educational history. In other words, get schooled on school. You’ll be glad you did.

Education, What Are We Talking About?

 
by Jennifer Fox

The interior of the Collins School, a one-room schoolhouse in Steuben County, Indiana, USA, on the National Register of Historic Places.

Many people today are unaware that most schools do not operate with a standardized curriculum that is tied to a particular educational philosophy. Most schools’ teaching and learning methods are in fact a hodge-podge of educational theories, with teachers recreating the teaching methods used by their teachers. Of course, there are schools that specialize in a certain method such as Montessori Schools and Waldorf Schools — but most schools have no uniform theory. If the United States is to improve education, then people will have to simply know more about it. There are questions we should be asking, such as what educational theory backs up standardized testing? Before we make longer school days, let’s determine what we will be doing during this time and discern what theory supports our work. If America is to tackle the education debate, we will simply need more education to know what we are talking about.

For the average parent or citizen concerned with education, here is a very abbreviated walk through educational history presented with the hope that an understanding of today’s classroom becomes a bit more clear. The history of education is naturally a multidisciplinary study that combines philosophy (what is important for people to learn), psychology (how our personalities and social systems affect our learning), and science (how the brain actually functions).

continue reading "Education, What Are We Talking About?"

Tags: developmental, education, schooling