My thoughts on homework...

I recently wrote a blog post titled "5 conversations to improve your school right now!" The 5 topics I recommend each school to discuss are:

1) - Homework in schools
2) - Cell phones and technology in schools
3) - School public relations
4) - Teacher and administrator relationships
5) - Meetings

http://goo.gl/PhCqr

John Spencer (@johntspencer) is an Educator I have a lot of respect for, and after reading my post he challenged me to share what I really believe about homework. I have some very strong feelings about homework, and I honestly believe each and every school should take the time to evaluate their homework policy, as well as the way students are assessed. Here are my thoughts:

- More times than not homework adds little value when it comes to student learning...

- There is pressure from society to continue giving homework because that is the way it has always been done...

- Assigned homework rarely has any true relevancy or purpose for students, thus completion rates are negatively affected...

- When a student receives a zero for not completing homework, he/she is NOT learning about responsibility and "the real world."

- Grading homework on completion typically inflates grades and ultimately distorts overall content mastery...

- Homework should be an extension of the learning environment that provides students the opportunity to explore and discover...

- Homework can be a valuable tool in schools, but I believe too often homework is misused and ultimately detracts from the learning environment.

- More homework does NOT equal more learning...

- Students should not spend all night every night doing homework... I don't know many Educators who work 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.... why should students be subjected to that...?

- The natural love and curiosity of learning are destroyed by too much irrelevant and unproductive homework...

- A school without homework and grades would be a school where student learning and success increased...

- Not enough Educators are having this difficult conversation about the role of homework in schools...

What are your thoughts...? Let's keep this conversation going in an effort to move the homework discussion forward.

Let's keep our focus...

I recently read a blog post by @johntspencer titled "Techno-Shame." John eloquently explains why he has removed most 21st century technology blogs from his feeder. I will be taking a line directly from John's post because I don't believe I could say it any better...."Over time, I've dropped most of those blogs from my feed, realizing that the utopian dream is a powerful hallucinogen that will prevent me from seeing the often humble reality of my own classroom."

I believe John is making an excellent point here, and if I was to be 100% honest with you, I would say I have definitely fallen into the trap of over excitement when it comes to technology integration. Educators across the world are finding new and innovative ways to increase educational effectiveness, and for the most part this is a good thing. There are the obvious advantages to using technology, but the not so obvious dangers still linger. Technology is not a silver bullet and will not guarantee student engagement and academic achievement...but it can help.

If you knew me or have read my blog you would know I really enjoy technology and I am always looking for new ways to use technology in my classroom. Technology has allowed me to do some awesome things with my German students this year, but technology has in no way replaced the foundation of my classroom... technology has become a tool I use to enhance my classroom. A normal day for me includes pencils and paper, students sitting in desks either alone or in groups, and most days do not include any fancy or neat pieces of technology.

By no means am I saying technology is a bad thing...I would argue that it is a fantastic thing, but I agree with John that there are some concepts that might be better without the use of technology, and for the educators who aren't using technology every day in class, it's okay! There is no rule that says if you don't use technology every day there is no way to teach and prepare students for the 21st century. If technology can be used to improve and enhance the learning environment it should be used, but it should not be forced for the sake of using technology. Our focus as educators should and must remain on doing what is right for our students, not what new cool gadget or technology program we can use...

I can only hope that my thoughts and ramblings came out as eloquently and as clear as John's "Techno-Shame" post...

I would love to hear your thoughts on technology integration and how technology should be included...