Having a challenge that makes the brain work and continue on a steady stream is vital to the students commitment. Challenges provide a source of interest for students that captures their full attention. Annie Murphy Paul author of ‘Should Learning be Easier or Harder for Kids? Both.’ says, “But once the learner has attained some degree of mastery, ratcheting up the difficulty will help her stay in her “sweet spot” of engagement, where the task is not too hard as to be frustrating and not so easy as to be boring.” Students that have too many challenges will not perform at their highest levels and students that lack engagement will lose interest in their work. A disinterested student won't apply themselves and achieve all that they are capable …show more content…
Giving more homework to elementary students will improve their learning and time management skills, that are necessary when going into the higher grades. Elementary kids are very active and homework provides a time where they take a break. Homework allows the children to sit down and talk with their parents about school or learn from their parents. Most schools say, homework can be beneficial to elementary students, but it causes unnecessary stress and frustration at an early age. Gary Stager, author of the article ‘The Homework Myth: senior editor Gary Stager talks with Alfie Kohn about his new book, The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing’, interviewed Alfie Kohn. Kohn said, “We're saying homework may do nothing to help kids become better learners or better people; it's literally busywork, which we give because we don't trust children to decide what to do with their time--or educators don't trust families to make such decisions.” At this young age, students are asking for more help as they haven’t learned how to research or how to solve the problem on their own. Students ask their parents for help and if their parents can’t help, it causes strain on both the parent and the child. Elementary students are very active and spend time with friends. This is the age where kids start …show more content…
The student is choosing their workload and is to blame if it’s too much, but the school is also to blame in that it’s impossible to make a schedule of all the classes wanted, without receiving an enormous workload along with it. Schools say, that having homework will help you attain the skills you need to get higher scores on the tests. By focusing on homework, schools overlook the deeper problem that students use homework as a crutch when it comes time to take the test. The grade students get from homework cushions it, so that the grade won't suffer after failing the test. Matt Zalaznick, author of ‘Homework Overhaul:Along with reducing stress, districts seek to give more purposeful assignments based on students' needs and interests’ says, “We believe that a student's grade should be based on what they learned, not a combination of how much they've learned and how much they've done.” Common sense seems to dictate that, practicing what you already know will make you better at it and show the teacher that you know how to do it. Where the schools are right that the homework can help improve students skills, it’s the homework that takes high schoolers hours to do that decreases their chance of success. High schoolers lead busy lives that can get them up early in the morning and come home later in the evening. They have all these extracurricular activities,
By incorporating the theories of Piaget and Maslow into lesson planning, I can choose realistic and meaningful instructional strategies and designate assignments at the appropriate challenge level. My goal is to motivate my students to strive for their best and provide them an environment where they can successfully prepare for college and life. Mary Kay Ash was phenomenal at motivation and said it best: “Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” (Ash). Knowing that each class will be different and that what works for one class may not work for another will aid me in being an effective, efficient
This student-centered approach to teaching allows students flexibility, freedom in choices, relevant learning experiences, deeper understanding of content, and with more meaningful connections (Contardi et al., n.d.). Little (2012) affirms that when teachers focus on authentic choices, student interest, and communicating support and feedback to students, students will be better engaged and motivated to partake in the learning process. Moreover, through utilizing integrated curriculum, providing themed units, big ideas essential questions, as well as meaning concepts (Contardi et al., n.d.), the “task focus boredom” or “self-focus boredom ” will not be apparent in the classroom (Little, 2012). Not to mention, curriculum that is meaningful allows students to relate and make connections to their own experiences, which in turn provide personal relevance and growth (Little, 2012). These personal connections are important not only for student growth, but also for student engagement.
Many parents are also bothered over the force of homework on the connection between their kids and teens.... ... middle of paper ... ... Think about how much homework we’ve done since we were in kindergarten, how many times we’ve stayed up and woke up half-awake, how many times we’ve kept others awake, and how much paper we’ve wasted. If you think that is a lot, think of all of the students around the world doing the same.
Homework creates stress not only for the students, but for the parents as well. The article “Down with Homework,” stated “Many mothers and fathers spend every evening serving as a homework monitor, a position which they never applied”(Kohn). Kohn argues that many parents have to help their child with their homework and making sure that they do it which is stressful for the parents. In the
K. Patricia Cross, Higher Education Professor Emeritus, writes, "What we know about student learning is that students who are actively engaged in learning for deeper understanding are likely to learn more than students not so engaged." So student learning results from student engagement—the combination of time and energy committed. Therefore, if we are to stimulate student learning, we have to persuade our students to commit their time and energy. We must try to help them learn effective time management techniques (by encouraging them to keep on task during in-class workshops and by helping them break down large assignments into manageable pieces), and we must attempt to present issues in a meaningful way.
...th mounds of work to be completed at home. It is unfair to expect students to pick up the slack for teachers who are not doing their jobs. Although homework can be used as a tool to reinforce, more often than not teachers are not using it this way, and in fact they are abusing this tool and it should be banned all together.
Schools in the United States should eliminate homework in every grade because it negatively affects student health and time. Schools across the US are pushing kids too far with homework. First, Homework reduces the amount of free time for students. Second, it creates stress for students. Finally, no study has ever shown that homework helps prepare students for any standardized tests.
Having too much can be tiresome for students. Although homework certainly has its benefits, it may be the cause for stress among other things. Schools may think that by giving out homework, kids will be more likely to succeed later in life. However, homework overload is causing students harm. Even though homework has its bad side, it is not a secret that it has benefits such as better grades.
In elementary school children should be worried about who can cross the monkey bars the fastest, not finish all their homework. Elementary school students should not have homework because it will stress not only the child out but, the parents and teachers. It will take a toll on the physical health of the children and may ruin the childhood experience. Kids having too much responsibility at their age could burn images in their brain, which could decay what their childhood was like.
In today’s era, students are faced with the tug-of-war situation of too much stress. Should students really be subject to this kind of stress due to tremendous homework hours? Students go to school between six and seven hours a day. Should they really be given homework that takes them all night to finish? Dr. Michael Nagel says that too much stimulation can be bad for a student’s brain. If the brain doesn’t fully mature until the third decade of life, then do we really want put the amount of stress and stimulation on the brain that homework causes? Do we really want to potentially harm our brain?
Although homework may seem like drudgery, the hard work that is put into homework may pay off in the long run. In the article, “Does homework really work for students?” Jacqueline Carey, the mother of seventh grade student Micah Carey, stated that “homework gives [students] a good foundation for when they move on further in school” (Johnson). Not only that, but according to Donyall Dickey, principal at Murray Hill Middle School, “if students do not acquire things in class, they will acquire them through homework” (Johnson). As we can see, homework helps and prepares us for higher grade levels while in primary school that can possibly prepare us for college.
When Parent and Child magazine asked author and educational critic Alfie Kohn about the argument that claims homework promotes academic achievement and helps children get ahead and why he is against homework, Alfie Kohn said
Homework offers multiple benefits for real life. One benefit of homework is that it helps the student develop essential skills. While homework may seem like a tedious task, it can help a student comprehend the material. Homework is necessary for more than just a grade; it is an assignment that teaches you valuable life skills. According to “Do students have too much homework?”, homework should lead students to be better at taking what they know and applying it to a certain task. Students tend to portray homework as something that they have to get done without knowing the value that lies behind it. Homework enables the student to recall a certain problem and apply it to another distinctive situation. According to “Do students have too much homework?”, applying knowledge is the most important. Learning is definitely important but what students do with the facts that they learned is essential as well. Applying knowledge allows the students to take a simple fact and relate it to a grander scheme of things. Relating what they know will enhance their creativity and let them see behind the lines of how everything connects.
In many cases, it has become very complex to keep students interested in their education. So the teacher must be creative and find ways to keep pushing the student onward as well as upward. In order to devise the ultimate plan for educating students, a teacher must acknowledge that the “students” are what teaching is all about. The most important factor in the equation is unequivocally the STUDENT! All humans are different in some sort or fashion. But the fact still exists that we all have only this place to function in. So help by putting forth an effort to make it a better place for us all.
We all know the downfall of homework: the frustration and exhaustion, family conflict, time loss, and decreasing interest in learning. No study has ever demonstrated any academic achievement linked to assigning homework. There is also no support to the fact that homework provides nonacademic benefits at any age. Here are a few examples: building character, promoting self-discipline, or teaching good work habits. All teachers who assign homework want to believe that the gain outweighs the pain. Although, there is no evidence of that and they must rely on faith (“Homework: No Proven Benefits”, pg. 1). Michellea, a mother of a middle school student, says that some work can reinforce certain skills, but hours of homework are unhealthy and unproductive. Mominseattle agrees. She contemplates that such a heavy load can result in potential drawbacks to the students. Hours of homework a night plus a full day of school can be just as much work as an adult at a full-time job. She believes students should enjoy their childhood, as short as it already is. MagnetMom complains about how her daughter’s homework takes away her beneficial sleep. With busy families, like hers, they have many after school activities, so when they get home, they do not have time for too much homework. She says ...