SEELEY LAKE - Prior to winter break, Seeley-Swan High School (SSHS) seniors engaged in a debate about whether there should be homework assigned or not. Following the debate, the student body in attendance agreed that the side debating to eliminate homework won the debate with Angus Batchelder being the best debater. This is the start of more conversations with the students, staff and parents to help SSHS refine their homework practices.
The conversation about amount of homework started last year with SSHS parents and students while discussing the four-plus day school week. Parents were concerned about how more time in class would affect their child’s workload after school.
SSHS Principal Dr. Kathleen Pecora said that this was not an issue the staff initially considered when proposing the switch to the four-plus day week. They decided to do more research on the issue and read the book “Rethinking Homework” by Cathy Vatterott over the summer. After much discussion this fall, they agreed to implement the 10 minutes per grade per night rule for homework. This would give seniors a maximum of two hours of homework per night and the other grades less.
The staff also saw Fridays as an excellent opportunity for students to receive help on homework, retake tests and complete homework if they had fallen behind during the week. Dr. Pecora said that an average of 25-40 students are taking advantage of the Friday morning opportunity.
Since the topic of homework is also becoming a nationwide issue, the senior English class, taught by Dr. Pecora, decided it would be a relevant topic for their class debate. Students were assigned to either the side in support of homework or the side against homework and instructed to focus on the high school level. They had several discussions in class and did research prior to debating the topic in front of the student body.
The main arguments presented in the debate for assigning homework included:
• The best way to learn is through repetition and association which is achieved through homework.
• Homework is not meant to teach new concepts, it is meant to practice concepts taught.
• In math there is a correlation between those who do their homework and those who do not. Homework gives a student proficiency that they get from doing their homework.
• Homework teaches self-regulation strategies including time management, learning to get rid of distractions, setting goals, maintaining motivation.
• Homework teaches responsibility.
• Homework teaches independence.
• Homework allows teachers the ability to evaluate academic progress prior to a test. It helps teachers assess what concepts are not being understood.
• Homework teaches students to set priorities.
• Homework teaches problem solving.
• Teachers should discuss their homework philosophy with each other and their students to ensure students are only receiving 10 minutes of homework per day per grade level. This allows students the ability to prioritize time.
The main arguments presented against assigning homework included:
• Homework is practice and should be the student’s responsibility if they need more practice.
• Homework was designed to master math, vocabulary and other forms of rote memorization and stress automatic knowledge of mathematic formulas.
• Homework overburdens children, disrupts families and limits creativity.
• Homework is ineffective and more trouble than it is worth.
• If a child cannot learn what they need to learn in a seven and a half hour day, then too much is being expected.
• Homework creates an unequal situation for those who cannot get help at home from their parents, are required to babysit young siblings because their parents work or do not have electricity or access to technology to complete the assignment at home.
• Homework creates adversarial roles. When it is used as a practitioner of someone’s pre-planned learning situation it becomes issues of management.
• Homework demotivates when it is mandatory.
• Homework has not been proven to raise achievement.
• Homework teaches bad work habits. It teaches students to study because they have to rather than need to.
• Homework does not teach students to be hard workers because the work is not self-directed.
• Homework has the wrong focus, it teaches achievement over learning. Homework kills the desire to learn.
Following the presentation of ideas, each side had the opportunity for a rebuttal. In the end, the student body was most convinced by the side arguing to eliminate homework because they presented better arguments including family time in the evening and not being a good learning tool.
“I think the students did well for their first time being involved in a debate,” said Dr. Pecora. “They had to speak in front of the school and I think they all learned a lot.”
SSHS intends to send home a survey to parents at the end of the year asking for their opinion on the amount of homework given this past year. Dr. Pecora said SSHS does not anticipate changing their practices this year but are open to revisit the 10 minute per grade per night guideline depending on the feedback.
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