The second week of 7th grade, still no homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher attitude about HW on here is very Homer/Bart - Can't win, don't try!

HW should be 20% of the grade. And it should be enforced. Are the kids running the schools or is it the staff? Sure seems like the students.

1/5 of a grade should be based on work I am not even sure the student did independently? Or did at all? There are group text chains going around where one kid does the assignment, takes a picture, and sends it to 20 other kids. You’re saying a kid who gets 50% on all assessments should get at least a C because they turn in copied hw? That’s crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^when 80% of them can't participate.
Typo, sorry.

When there is no penalty and homework counts for nothing, of course they're not going to do it.

Another teacher. Doesn't matter. When homework was a decent part of the grade, still no one did it. When kids had to stay in during lunch to complete missing assignments, they'd just cheat and copy their friends' assignments before class. It really has never been more than 20% of a class who got anything out of homework, and those 4 or 5 kids are the same ones who go on their own to khan academy or have a private tutor anyway. They don't need worksheets.

Salvaging the 10 minutes of class dedicated to going over homework only 20% did + saving the 5 minutes at the end where I'd hand it out and let them start has recovered 15 minutes per day that we actually do meaningful things and everyone benefits. I've found it to be a lot more valuable this way.

This makes sense. I don't know why some people won't trust teachers and let them do their jobs.

because the ADHD students aren’t getting out of it what they should. It’s not sticking or they couldn’t concentrate. Homework is at their pace in a quiet home and is meaningful to different learners.

The adhd students get to finish any incomplete classwork practice at home. The kids who finished it in class don’t have to do extra.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher attitude about HW on here is very Homer/Bart - Can't win, don't try!

HW should be 20% of the grade. And it should be enforced. Are the kids running the schools or is it the staff? Sure seems like the students.

1/5 of a grade should be based on work I am not even sure the student did independently? Or did at all? There are group text chains going around where one kid does the assignment, takes a picture, and sends it to 20 other kids. You’re saying a kid who gets 50% on all assessments should get at least a C because they turn in copied hw? That’s crazy.

This is why you give pop quizzes to see who is doing their own work. If they copied it and don't know how to do it you will find out. Stop throwing up your hands and letting the kids win.

The 50% on all assessments you refer to, is that about not giving zeros? Aren't the zeros back? If not, then yes, all the homework and other work as far as I am concerned is useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher attitude about HW on here is very Homer/Bart - Can't win, don't try!

HW should be 20% of the grade. And it should be enforced. Are the kids running the schools or is it the staff? Sure seems like the students.

1/5 of a grade should be based on work I am not even sure the student did independently? Or did at all? There are group text chains going around where one kid does the assignment, takes a picture, and sends it to 20 other kids. You’re saying a kid who gets 50% on all assessments should get at least a C because they turn in copied hw? That’s crazy.

This is why you give pop quizzes to see who is doing their own work. If they copied it and don't know how to do it you will find out. Stop throwing up your hands and letting the kids win.

The 50% on all assessments you refer to, is that about not giving zeros? Aren't the zeros back? If not, then yes, all the homework and other work as far as I am concerned is useless.

0s are only for small, unattempted assignments. The lowest grade we can give for an attempt is a 50%. So yes, the floor for assessments is 50% even if the kid demonstrated 10% proficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher attitude about HW on here is very Homer/Bart - Can't win, don't try!

HW should be 20% of the grade. And it should be enforced. Are the kids running the schools or is it the staff? Sure seems like the students.

1/5 of a grade should be based on work I am not even sure the student did independently? Or did at all? There are group text chains going around where one kid does the assignment, takes a picture, and sends it to 20 other kids. You’re saying a kid who gets 50% on all assessments should get at least a C because they turn in copied hw? That’s crazy.

This is why you give pop quizzes to see who is doing their own work. If they copied it and don't know how to do it you will find out. Stop throwing up your hands and letting the kids win.

The 50% on all assessments you refer to, is that about not giving zeros? Aren't the zeros back? If not, then yes, all the homework and other work as far as I am concerned is useless.

0s are only for small, unattempted assignments. The lowest grade we can give for an attempt is a 50%. So yes, the floor for assessments is 50% even if the kid demonstrated 10% proficiency.

Well then , FCPS is f&$#@* and I highly recommend private school or homeschool. The inmates are running the FCPS asylum.

Certainly no hope of getting a school board that will fix this problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher attitude about HW on here is very Homer/Bart - Can't win, don't try!

HW should be 20% of the grade. And it should be enforced. Are the kids running the schools or is it the staff? Sure seems like the students.

I'd say it's the parents. as a HS teacher, I'm not fighting anything anymore. it's like asking you to parent without being able to enforce rules. you won't let me give 0's, you won't let me enforce deadlines, you won't let me have any consequences for students who skip or play on their phones all class ...

+1 it’s the parents who come into the office screaming who are running the show

100% parents are the barrier to all these things. We can’t do anything meaningful about the phones because the parents protest. Their kid just HAS to have his phone. We can’t fail them, we can’t do much at all because parents have created a situation where schools won’t act in fear of them.

The parents are kind of fun to deal with when their kids are at College. I have been called so many foul names by parents demanding to know why their kid flunked my class and all I can say is “Your child is an adult and I am not allowed to discuss his/her grade with you.” You can hear them foaming at the mouth. Of course the kid has told them that it is all me and not that they didn’t attend class or do their homework, or study for tests, or even take the test. I almost view the amount of money that the parents are wasting on their kids partying as pay back for probably behaving similarly when their kid was in HS.

My favorites are the parents who show up at the Department Chairs office demanding to discuss my grading with their adult child present. The kid always looks so embarrassed. I get to walk through the grading rubric, that was in the syllabus and on the assignment description page I hand out and on my website. I get to show them how their child ignored 90% of what was on said rubric. Watching the air get sucked out of the parents and seeing the realization dawn that all those Teachers and Professors that they have harassed for years on end were right and that their kid was not doing their work is strangely rewarding. I do wish that the Chairs would allow us to say “Maybe you should let your child be an adult and stop hovering over your 20 year olds education” but they won’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

I'd be curious if the kids who take extra classes outside of school where homework is assigned outperform the kids who don't get assigned work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a HS teacher at a super-well-regarded-on-DCUM school. What am I supposed to do? Give homework that half the kids don't do, and 30% don't do well, and 20% complete? What's the point? How do I have a class discussion when 70% of them really can't participate? (please don't say that they should all fail.. that's not today's reality). No more homework for my classes -- and I'm not sorry to see it go -- but more meaningful in-class activities. It works.

Not trying to be a jerk, but curious.

What do you do with all the additional time that is freed up by not having to grade it?

Do you find your lesson plans have improved?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

I'd be curious if the kids who take extra classes outside of school where homework is assigned outperform the kids who don't get assigned work.

I mean, if they do it's because they are taking extra classes, not because homework is assigned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a HS teacher at a super-well-regarded-on-DCUM school. What am I supposed to do? Give homework that half the kids don't do, and 30% don't do well, and 20% complete? What's the point? How do I have a class discussion when 70% of them really can't participate? (please don't say that they should all fail.. that's not today's reality). No more homework for my classes -- and I'm not sorry to see it go -- but more meaningful in-class activities. It works.

Not trying to be a jerk, but curious.

What do you do with all the additional time that is freed up by not having to grade it?

Do you find your lesson plans have improved?

Was your homework actually graded as a high schooler? Mine was always just glanced at for completion and then we went over it as a class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

I'd be curious if the kids who take extra classes outside of school where homework is assigned outperform the kids who don't get assigned work.

It depends on how you are evaluating performance. Schools/districts are very focused on SOL performance, so Id imagine you wouldnt see much difference there. Grades are very subjective these days with the various policies and approaches. Content and breadth of coverage is less important. Id probably put the enrichment kid up a notch in trivial pursuit, but as it comes to college admissions, you probably wont see much difference.

Personally, I want my kids to learn more and prefer large reading assignments and homework. Our goal is education first, grades/scores second and would gladly accept reduced grades reflected in poor performance in those preferences than no assignment or consideration of those things and therefore no impact on grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

I'd be curious if the kids who take extra classes outside of school where homework is assigned outperform the kids who don't get assigned work.

It depends on how you are evaluating performance. Schools/districts are very focused on SOL performance, so Id imagine you wouldnt see much difference there. Grades are very subjective these days with the various policies and approaches. Content and breadth of coverage is less important. Id probably put the enrichment kid up a notch in trivial pursuit, but as it comes to college admissions, you probably wont see much difference.

Personally, I want my kids to learn more and prefer large reading assignments and homework. Our goal is education first, grades/scores second and would gladly accept reduced grades reflected in poor performance in those preferences than no assignment or consideration of those things and therefore no impact on grades.

Well, hw wouldn't have that effect on your kids' grades. It would actually fluff up their grade by giving them completion points vs. proof of understanding. It can't be graded for correctness because the teacher has no idea if your child did it or you did it for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

I'd be curious if the kids who take extra classes outside of school where homework is assigned outperform the kids who don't get assigned work.

It depends on how you are evaluating performance. Schools/districts are very focused on SOL performance, so Id imagine you wouldnt see much difference there. Grades are very subjective these days with the various policies and approaches. Content and breadth of coverage is less important. Id probably put the enrichment kid up a notch in trivial pursuit, but as it comes to college admissions, you probably wont see much difference.

Personally, I want my kids to learn more and prefer large reading assignments and homework. Our goal is education first, grades/scores second and would gladly accept reduced grades reflected in poor performance in those preferences than no assignment or consideration of those things and therefore no impact on grades.

Well, hw wouldn't have that effect on your kids' grades. It would actually fluff up their grade by giving them completion points vs. proof of understanding. It can't be graded for correctness because the teacher has no idea if your child did it or you did it for them.

I dont care about graded homework. If it is graded I will gladly accept negative scores related to that responsibility. If isnt graded and just assigned as enrichment, that is good too. I want a larger and more complete curriculum that extends beyond the days schedule. I understand that is not the way of education now, but as i said, education first, so the comment about grades and this weird parents doing homework/fluff thing doesnt apply to my preferences in a curriculum. And that is why some families provide external enrichment. I guess some do it to get "ahead" on things like Math, but that is just a small component of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero vertical articulation between elementary and middle schools. 6th grade teachers are basing their view of 7th grade on who knows what—certainly not the input of the 7th grade teachers.

Research has shown homework to be relatively useless. Those who need more practice either don’t do it, or do it incorrectly. Those who do it don’t need it. Kids are stressed enough. Little/no homework is a good thing.

—MS teacher

I wouldn't call reading a novel at home for in-class analysis and discussion, useless. This kind of homework was fairly common 15 years ago in any middle school English class (7/8).

+1
I also recall working through math problems designed to have me practice what we learned that day for repetition/reinforcement. We'd then go over answers in class the next day.

I also had to do writing for HW, various things for science. I frankly do not believe the "research" that HW is pointless. It makes zero sense to me and doesn't square with my own experiences.

You've succinctly summarized why you are the worst type of person.

Are you the type of person who believes the results of every study done? HOW a study is done is pretty darn important and what the study's take-away's are can vary too. Simply because there's a study or two showing something counter intuitive does not mean that's gospel. (Now if it's consistently replicated across many with the appropriate controls then of course yes that's different.)