A Lesson from the Two Sisters

This was written by The 2 Sisters in their weekly email, which I receive, and it struck a chord with me because I have certainly done this to my students.  What a wonderful opportunity for me to reflect on my own reading program.

Are Our Tasks Related to Reading Worthy of the Treasure Tub?

All three of our girls were home for a few days during the holidays.  What a special time we had reconnecting, playing games, cooking, eating and even cleaning out their old bedroom closets.  Old clothes were tossed, traded and made fun of.   Books and music were sorted through.  Then each girl pulled out their large plastic treasure tub filled with sacred mementos from grades K-12. 

Our oldest daughter fished out a stack of worksheets that caught my eye.  When she passed them over I discovered they were supplementary ditto's to be used in conjunction with reading The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.  It was an impressive little tome of comprehension questions, word searches, vocabulary to be defined, crossword puzzles, etc....and a note on top in her teacher's neat handwriting that said, "I hope your work on this packet will encourage you to read more Boxcar Books." 

So I had to ask, "Did you read more of that series?"  Her immediate reply was an enhanced grimace, "Never read another one!"  The worksheets were tossed in the recycle bin...and the work, which she didn't value then or now, had the exact opposite effect of the one her teacher had intended. 

My friend's children read every book in the series and had many adventures with neighbors in the backyard playing Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny.  They endeavored to solve mystery after mystery, whether in text or in play. Of course, they were never asked to do a "packet".  

My poor girl had to look up furious, handkerchief, and clothespin and use them all in a sentence. She had to unscramble words like railroad, merchant and clues.  No wonder she never read another one. 

If we want the next generation to love reading for gaining knowledge and providing entertainment, we have to be careful about the tasks we demand they do around books.  Do we have well intentioned supplementary materials that are robbing our students of the joy of books?

What will your students...and ours....find in their treasure tubs 20 years from now? 

But We Worked so Hard On It...

Those words, uttered by a parent disagreeing with their child's grade has made my hair bristle more than once. You worked hard on it, meaning you and your child? Wait a minute, this was not meant to be a parent and child homework assignment but rather a well thought out learning experience for your 4th grader. And yet, parents decide to help. At first, I thought it was because they were helicopter parents, obviously not having severed the proverbial umbilical chord, marching their child toward a successful life always monitored by the parent like a shadow. Then I thought the parents were suckers, after all, nothing can ruin a weekend more than a child whining that they don't want to do their homework. Maybe these parents lacked self-control, discipline, dreams, a life? Maybe they just really wanted to re-do 4th grade curriculum because it was so much fun. Oh, those illusions kept me and my irritation going for two years.

This summer, on my twitter revolution I started reading more about parent involvement, grades and their effect on classrooms, all posted by the formidable force that is Alfie Kohn. And yes, I had an epiphany, an ugly one; one that I hoped not to have, and yet it was so necessary. These parents, who obviously had to do the work with their children, did it because my assignment was too hard, too all-involving, too removed from learning and not based in real-life. So all that frustration should have been directed toward another source; myself. After all, the puppet-master of the homework strings is me.  So this year I am making a change:

• I will not assign homework because I need something to add to my grades so that I can do a bigger average.
• I will not assign homework because I was long winded and didn't get to the point, leaving no work time.
• I will not assign homework just because the book tells me that I should.
• I will not assign homework because my team members assign this piece or someone else who has taught the same unit.
• I will not assign homework because it is a long vacation and who knows what sort of trouble student's need to be kept out of.
• I will not assign homework because the learning did not happen in my classroom.

Instead, homework will be limited.  It will be re-evaluated and contained within my room as much as possible.  I am changing my grading system, more on that in another blog, and no longer feel the burden of needing enough things to grade so that I can fall back on it for my report cards.  My mantra for the year is "Authentic Learning" and with that comes the responsibility of teaching students within my room, within my time, within the standards, but also within their capabilities.  Learning has to be relatable for them for it to stick.  No more dull repetitious packets, no more book report dioramas, but rather conversation, blogging, hands on experience.  Maybe then those parents will find something else to do, something that they want to spend time on, and maybe I will finally get a clue.

So why do you assign homework?  How do you not assign homework?