Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Homework

Some students have a very negative view about homework. They think that homework is boring, takes time and is not worth doing it. Some students do homework because is mandatory, but they do not see another reason beyond that. Yes, I had been in the position where I have felt stressed about doing homework, especially when I have many classes and each teacher assigns a different homework and all of them are due the same day. However, homework is more than a grade because it helps students remember the material covered in class. The purpose of doing homework is to learn, remember material, practice the skills learned, but also do mistakes and learn from them. I feel that homework is important and I can tell this from previous experiences. For me, mathematics and homework have a special link. In high school and in college, I took math classes that were challenging. The only way that I could tell whether or not I knew how to apply the material learned in class was by doing the homework. If I was able to do the math problems assigned for homework, it was a good sign that I understood what was going on in class. However, if I had too many difficulties then, I knew where the weaknesses were. Any class can become a challenge, however if students would practice what they learned everyday, life would be a lot easier for them especially when they have to take tests.

Homework is meaningful when students do it not when they copy it. Students who copy homework do not learn anything. Yes, some students see only the side of getting a grade for whatever assignment they have to do, but what about the knowledge they can get from doing it?

Homework is very important, but teachers also have to consider the amount of homework that they assign to their students. Some students hate doing homework because that is what they do all afternoon long after they leave school. Some teachers just give too much homework. Yes, students need to practice the new skills, but that does not mean spend all the free time after school doing homework. Then that is just like living in school. Students need to be constantly practicing what they learned, but they also need to rest in order to perform well in class the next day. Otherwise, the lack of rest has consequences in the classroom the next day. Some students go to class too tired, and they barely pay attention in class.

At the same time, teachers should go over the homework. If students do their homework, but teachers do not check it that is not meaningful. Teachers need to let the students know their mistakes because that is the only way students are going to learn.

Students need to remember that homework is just a practice of what they just learned in class and "Practice is the best of all instructors" (Publilius Syrus).

1 comment:

Dr. Luongo said...

Wendy,

You stated, "Homework is meaningful when students do it not when they copy it." This got me thinking...how do we create assignments where student's simply cannot "copy"? Is there a way?

Great thoughts!