New Era of Teaching: Reading as Homework

Traditionally, classrooms are where students are given knowledge about various content areas and at home they practice what they have learned.  In theory, this is a great model.  When there is an available expert (the teacher) then the content should be worked through, whereas when there is no guarantee for an expert to be available (after school) then a neophyte should develop and work to internalize what they have already been given.

But what if that content hasn't made a deep enough impact before the student leaves the classroom?  What if they did not comprehend the material for whatever reason?  If a student does not understand the material, homework will only increase their frustration level and discourage their self-esteem further.  For students who are grade levels behind in reading, this is frequently the case.  They may already find being in school frustrating and assigning more homework will extend their time doing something they do not like, which in turn will turn them further away from school. 

There are other negative effects of having homework than those which directly affect the students.  In his article "Boosting Schools' Value Without Spending a Dime," Jay Mathews called for schools to "throw away the expensive take-home textbooks, the boring worksheets" because "eliminating traditional homework...will save paper, reduce textbook losses, and sweeten home life."  Financially, it makes sense for the schools/school districts and for the students.

There is a problem though, parents are unaware of these facts.  Parents are very used to their children having homework.  Working with their child on his or her homework may be the method some parents have for checking their child pays attention at school and comprehends what is happening there.

The dated practice of assigning unhelpful homework in large quantities has such a negative impact, however, there are other ways we as educators can encourage learning while preparing our students for the coming lesson.  Mathews suggest instead of traditional homework "students should be asked instead to read something, maybe with their parents."  Revolutionary.  Go home and read.  My co-teacher subscribes to this train of thought and the students in our class are asked to choose any book they would like from our library of over 2000 books at the back of the room and read for a half hour every day.  Our students' reading ability ranges from third to ninth grade.  The best way to advance one's reading ability is through the practice of reading.  By assigning reading of any book, we can differentiate the reading lesson to keep each student in their own personal challenge zone. 

An elementary school in Gaithersburg has implemented this practice school-wide.  Mathews followed up the "Boosting" article with this piece which looks at how this practice will work at Gaithersburg Elementary.  We see the negative parental reaction, but there is also the hope this will encourage students to be better independent readers.

Here are some other alternative approaches to handing out worksheets or assigning blanket assignments to an entire class drawn from the author and lecturer Alfie Kohn's article "Rethinking Homework."  First, make sure the assignments are effective and the quantity is not overwhelming.  Second, teachers should only assign what they design.  This seemingly goes against the idea of collaboration between high functioning teachers who share lesson plans and assignments.  This collaboration can and should still take place, but they should be adapted to the needs of the particular students.  Speaking of students, third, involve the students in what they believe should be their homework.