I do not always have the urge to give
my pupils homework. Nevertheless, homework is an integral part of
learning, and leaving it is like breaking away from a culture that
has been practiced a long time ago. As
this article suggests, is
homework effective in developing our children? There is a few
questions that needs to be considered such as children's dependency,
difficulty level and time allocation.
Homework, if done right, may stimulate
children's interest in a particular subject. It may also drive
children to feel excited to go to school. Just like learning in the
classroom, we need to have a clear objective with the homework. We
could also use SMART approach to plan the task, too.
Can the children work independently on
the homework? Homework is supposed to teach children to become
responsible of their learning. So, children should be able to do the
homework anytime and anywhere, even without their parents monitoring.
However, when it is said that children can do the task independently,
it does not mean that parents should not take part in the homework.
Homework should bridge the gap between parents and school, and gets
them even closer with their children. This would include tasks such
as interviewing parents and simple write out about what they do at
home.
Is the homework difficult? Homework
should reinforce what children have learned previously in school.
Thus, they should not be burndened with a task that they cannot do.
Furthermore, some of the children may have working parents who may
not have the ample time to provide assistance and guidance to their
work. Some parents might even just do the homework for their
children. This would ultimately defeat the purpose of having homework
itself.
What is the time allocated for each
homework? In some education system, homeworks are divided into
subjects. Thus, it is important to make sure that the homework is not
to lenghty and taking too much of the children's time. One subject
may have a task that take only 10minutes to complete, but if the
children have 4 other subjects to be taken account, they will have to
finish all in 50 minutes. A homework can be as quick as a minute
reading or solving a quick math problem.
In a nutshell, homework should probably
be short and achievable with little or no guidance. However, it would
depend greatly on the subjects and the type of task provided. It
should also be remembered that children have other homework to do
such as chores and helping out in the kitchen and the garden.
What do you think of giving out
homework?
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