EDUCATION
What is your philosophy on homework and grading?
I believe in the need for homework. However homework should only be practice for students, and never introduce something new. Students who are struggling will become more disheartened and frustrated if they are expected to learn new things on their own. I also believe in giving students a break as well. In younger grades (and perhaps older if possible) I will make every attempt possible to not give homework on Fridays.
Grading is a needed thing in teaching. It provides knowledge to all students and helpers of the student in how the student is doing. It is not the most descriptive or exact way of describing how a student is doing, but it is universal. If a student changes schools, the new teacher can see exactly how the student was doing before coming to the school.
Grading has many problems of course. It is not very descriptive, it gives labels to students, and it creates limits to assignments because you need something solid to assess. Students work towards the grade instead of towards their own creativity and learning.
In an ideal world, students would be assessed based on their own needs and their own abilities. They would not need to fit into a predetermined level. Students would be given activities where creativity is stressed and are more open and free. However, a school system like that would only work on a small scale. For a provincial sized school system, grades are a necessity.   | | |
My philosophy on homework is that it is appropriate for students to be doing homework regularly but not for grades. Students need to get into a habit of doing homework and working on their learning skills before they get to high school. Doing homework is an important life skill for students to gain from school. That being said I do not believe in grading pieces of homework. This is mostly because a teacher cannot trust if the student did the homework completely by himself or herself. We all know that parents love to write their students projects so teachers need to be wary of this.
As far as grading goes I believe that it is important to mark all students on an equal level. Teachers need to be as objective as possible and treat each assignment individually, different from any previous work. But I also believe that accommodations need to be given to any students that need it. Differentiated learning can take place during a test to give students who are struggling the scaffolding they need to demonstrate what they know. These marks will not be treated the same as other students marks who didn’t get the help but they will still be assessed. | | |
. It was my understanding that some school boards switched to a policy that virtually eliminated due dates, meaning students could theoretically hand all their work on the last day of class and not be penalized. My first thought was something along the lines of “absurdity!” But then I realized how very wrong I was.
Due dates often reward the most organized and penalize those who are not. Knowledge is secondary as is creativity. Homework can also reward the most organized and penalize those who are not, but there are ways around this. I feel that there is nothing wrong with bringing work home. Certainly there are those who feel that home should be a time for “play” and “family time”. I would counter with the argument that “family time” can make time for school work, and play can occur anywhere, anytime – even at school!
Going back to rewards and organization – homework should never be marked, in my opinion, nor should there be points awarded for timeliness. But it has to get down, otherwise what is the point? For those students who are disorganized, have a bad home situation or just always “forget”, every effort should be made to allow them time to finish the homework. This could be in class, before the bell rings, during lunch, recess or after school.
Most of all the homework should be a logical progression from work done in class. It should be engaging, just as the teacher would design work for in class time. I understand that in subjects like math, when doing division problems or multiplication there sometimes is not a way around the lists of simple equations. However, that is where the classroom differentiation comes into play. If the teacher allows for student differentiation in that math class, allowing students to discern their own methods for solving equations, instead of insisting on one particular method, then students will be much more likely to do and complete their homework.
In terms of grading I believe students should be given every opportunity to receive good marks. School is not meant to teach students lessons. It is meant to build students up to give them the best start in life they can possibly have. That means second, third and fourth chances. It means extra time dedicated by the teacher before, during and after school to help struggling students. There is no satisfaction in handing back a unsatisfactory mark to the class disruptor. He probably is not being given an adequate number of chances, and if he does get those chances, would he still be the class disruptor? Maybe not.
Is it fair to give students so many chances? What about the students who don’t need those chances? It is the teacher’s job to emphasize that all student’s are in school to improve themselves and be the best they can be. It should be made clear to students who don’t need extra help that they are fortunate not to need it, and that once they leave school this will be to their benefit. Furthermore, those students should be given opportunity to extend their learning and not sit idly by as they wait for the struggling students to catch up. | | |
Our first duty is to get students to commit to doing their personal best--and recognizing when they make conscious choices because of life-situations (job, family commitments, health, etc.)to do less than their best and own that. I believe in credit/non credit marking. I don't want to see students competing with each other to be "better" than another person, but challenging themselves to be better individually. To achieve the highest standing in a class, I believe that students should make some sort of contributions to the learning community--or larger community.
Students usually need to practice outside of class. I'm not really grading anybody, so my philosophy is to give them homework but don't worry if they don't do it. The motivated students will do it and get something out of it, the less motivated students won't. It's their responsibility.
Be demanding and transparent.
Students should be given a limited amount of homework to review what is being taught in the classroom. The material should not include new items only what they have already been taught.
For homework, give the students something they can manage yet challenges them at the same time and as for grade, give them what they deserve.
I think homework should be used to support the students' preparation for next time and their practice, not as a means to overload and bore students. I really prefer to cover all textbook exercises in class and give creative homeworks - like writing, composition, etc. As for grading, it depends. As I am not working at an official school now, my approach towards grading is rather liberal, since I see it as a method of motivation. If grading is part of the educational path of the student, then it should be strict and just. There are other means for motivation. |
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