Category Archives: homework

“Ditch That Homework”

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Homework
Ditch That Homework. 

 How do we define “homework”? Is it worksheets, and “busy work” that keeps students chained to the material even while they’re trying to watch The Bachelor at home? Is it a masterfully designed project that will stimulate students to delve into their passions, and exploit their creativity to potentially change the future of the world? Is it something in between? Is it necessary, unnecessary? Are we doing a disservice to our students if we assign homework? How about if we don’t?










There are a few questions that I have learned to ask myself before I assign homework for a lesson:
  • “Does it increase a student’s love of learning?
  • Does it significantly increase learning?
  • Does it stimulate students’ interest in the subject and make them want to delve deeper?
  • Are students able to complete the assignment without help?
  • Is it differentiated for ability or interest?
  • If the students didn’t have to do it, would they want to do it anyway?
  • Is it fair to all students, especially those from poorer families and less-educated households?
  • Does it avoid causing fights, parent/child division, and a lack of harmony in the home?

If you answer ‘no’ to these questions, maybe it’s time to ditch that homework and try something else instead” (Miller xvii).
I recommend the book Ditch That Homework by Matt Miller and Alice Keeler. They’ve also written Ditch That Textbook, which is also a thought-provoking read.
After reading this book (a few times, it’s a quick read), I have definitely come to the conclusion that worksheets and “busy” work are not effective for my class. With worksheets, many students either forget to do the assignment, they didn’t understand it, or simply weren’t motivated to do it (how can they be, The Bachelor???) so they copy their peer’s worksheet to get credit. Unless there is a ridiculously “off” answer, I don’t really have much of a way of knowing whether the student understood the material, or if the assignment is plagiarized. This assignment serves no purpose for me. I’ll admit, I assigned worksheets in the past. I KNOW, I KNOW, MEA CULPA.

I’m not judging anybody who assigns worksheets, they just don’t work for me anymore. I have switched to assigning other types of homework. Sometimes, I assign students to write sentences using the structure that we learned in class. This is not an extremely challenging assignment and most students can get it done in under 10 minutes. It reinforces the material so they at least had a chance to practice it the night before so we can work on it in class again. It’s a memory refresher and it’s a gauge to see if students can fly solo on the material that was taught in class. They can also get creative with sentences, and they can be funny too.

Other nights, I assign weekly video diaries where students are given a prompt and they have to spontaneously respond in spoken Spanish in a 1-5 minute video. Initially, students dread this assignment however, as time goes by, students become more comfortable with speaking and I get a glimpse into their thoughts, their life, sometimes their families, and it’s a different way to interact with students that isn’t just the classroom. The quiet students in class have a way to express themselves and practice their Spanish in a more comfortable environment.
I also assign video tutorials on Schoology, where students watch a video explaining a grammar or cultural lesson, and they take notes or write down any questions they have so that we can review it the next day in class. Students don’t mind watching the videos, they are usually pretty short and palatable. They also have the option to not watch the video if they feel they understand the material, or if they don’t have access to the internet (lol, yeah right).
I’ve also decided that if the students can show mastery in the classroom, then the homework isn’t as necessary. I implemented a “negotiation” that I made with my students in class. I have a cylinder full of 100 colored rocks per class. Each class has a different set of rocks. Historically, I have struggled with students being willing to actually speak in SPANISH in class. I ask a question and students ask “en inglés?” and I say “no, en español” and they become indignant and say “ugh. Nevermind”. Then students would proceed to speak in English, with no consequence. This is tragic. And so began the PIEDRAS (rocks). 
SOOOOO I cut them a deal. Every time I heard English spoken in class, students would lose 10 rocks out of the 100. If they were left with 30 rocks by the end of the week, (which means as a class they spoke 7 times in English) they wouldn’t receive homework over the weekend. Students were very eager, and I have to say, I haven’t assigned homework over the weekend in over 2 months. I haven’t even come close. Students are holding one another accountable and demanding that they speak in Spanish. One student asked “en inglés?” and I said “tienes que sacrificar 10 piedras” (you have to sacrifice 10 rocks) and sometimes they take the sacrifice, but most of the time, they struggle through the Spanish because they don’t want to lose rocks. These students are practicing the language so much in class, that I don’t find the need to assign practice assignments for homework. It’s become ingrained in their brains because they are using the language, which is significantly more effective than simply writing it.
These are just some things that I have taken away from reading this book. It’s a great read, and I recommend it to anyone who has struggled with homework. I have a copy of both books if you would like to borrow.

Ruminations on Grading and Homework

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After attending a few different language conferences this year, I’m scratching my head thinking about grading percentages, homework, and late work. Since meeting other teachers who are on proficiency and mastery-based grading systems, I love the idea of assessing students for what they are actually capable of or how much they grow by the end of the year. And again, on the bus ride home from Shalom last week, Tiz and I had a great conversation about how to approach late work that still has me scratching my head. 
Homework, for better or worse, is one of my least favorite aspects of this job. Back in my day (full disclosure: I’ve always wanted to use this phrase) I was the annoying senior who had 7 classes every day, took all honors and AP classes, played three varsity sports, and did all my homework into the wee hours of the night in order to be able to turn it in on time Every. Single. Day… I’m exhausted just thinking about my high school days. And while I didn’t have the constant distraction that is social media, I had something equally painful — AOL Instant Messaging. Yep, teens have been finding ways to avoid doing work since the dawn of time. I always figured if I could juggle all of that, why can’t other students do the same on the more humane block or modified block schedules? (I realize how unfair it is for me to even ask this question.)
In a perfect world, I wouldn’t assign homework. Is homework fair, equitable, and just? I am always wondering about how many of my students have to work to support their parents, take care of their younger siblings, take care of ailing parents or grandparents, spend several hours commuting (walk, to bus, to BART, to bus, to home), or anything else that teens are having to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Yet, for most of this year, I have assigned homework three times a week. And my syllabus states that late work incurs late penalties.
But how do I ensure that students are actually doing the homework themselves? Even in instances of recording themselves speaking French, how can I be sure they haven’t Google Translated an entire script, memorized, and then hit record? How do I know they aren’t sharing answers? How do I know someone else who speaks French isn’t doing it for them or helping them? How do I know they aren’t doing it because they’re pulled into too many directions? How do I know they aren’t doing it because they simply aren’t good at time management? How do I know they aren’t doing it because they frankly just don’t care?
In terms of collecting late work: is it fair to accept work nearly a month late and give the same grade as a student who did the work on their own and submitted it when it was due? Is it fair to me to continue grading homework all around the clock because students are turning work in when they get to it? Is it fair for a student’s grade to tank because, while they’re performing relatively well in class, they just aren’t keeping up with the homework? 
Is it fair for us to require students to be at school from 8-3 (or even 7-5 if students have 0 period and do after-school sports and extracurriculars), and also complete several more hours of homework per night? Are we as educators doing our jobs if we can’t fit everything we need into our class periods?
I don’t have an answer to any of these questions and the more I think about them, the more concerned I become!
So here are my (MANY) questions for you, fellow educators whom I deeply respect:

  • Do you assign homework? 
  • How much homework do you assign per week? 
  • How long do you expect students to work on your assignments per night? 
  • What kind of assignments do you have students do at home? 
  • Is homework a category in your grade book? 
  • Do you assign late penalties? 
  • What do you do if a student submits a major assignment a day, week, or even month late? 
  • Is it easy to spot if your students are cheating on these assignments or not? 
  • Have you noticed the students feverishly working in the halls before your classes comparing answers or trying to finish work? 
  • Are students complaining about homework when they enter your classrooms each day?
  • If you assign work in Schoology, how many of your students are submitting their assignments past midnight on any given day? 
  • What percentage of your students are actually doing all of their homework? 
  • If you’re not assigning homework, what does your grade book percentage breakdown look like?
I’ve dabbled in optional homework this month prior to Spring Break. I’m merely asking students to listen to French music and pick their favorites, which we sometimes discuss in class. To be honest: I even polled my students. They all told me they’re studying vocab or grammar on their own outside of class in addition to the homework I assign. I really haven’t even noticed a difference in their performance on classwork and assessments since removing the homework aspect from my classes this month. Instead, I am trusting that students are studying what they need when they need to. To be transparent, I’m counting performance on classwork and projects in the homework category instead of homework to ensure that my students still receive steady grading input and feedback each week. 
But… I can’t help but think there must be a better way to go about this. Thank you, in advance, for helping me think through this issue.

Is it Actually Schoolwork or Homework?

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Schoolwork at Home
Sometimes schoolwork outside of school is necessary.
We can’t get around it…but this made me stop to think about how much actual “homework”
our students get to do when they go home.


Do they get to eat at a dinner table free of distractions? Do they get to have real conversations with parents? Do they do their own laundry? Do they actually get to spend time, in person, with their friends outside of class and practice? My best afternoons of high school were when my best friend and I had no homework, no obligations, and could go shop or get froyo or go to the golf driving range. (to clarify I did not golf, my talent was placing the ball on the tee for my League MVP best friend). 
With that said…..guess what I am going to do? Assign “schoolwork at home”.
However, I am going to ask them to interview a parent, grandparent, teacher, or other relative that is
married. I want them to have a conversation with the adult about the ups and downs and true reality
of marriage since we have just learned about the Sacrament of Matrimony.
While the interview will have to be done at home I am giving them a block period to actually complete
the “schoolwork” part. After reading Miranda’s blog about her students vlogging during Thanksgiving
and hearing student feedback when I observed, I am inspired to figure out ways to facilitate
“schoolwork at home” that actually creates true “homework”.