Homework and Comments
I’ve been trying to basically respond to comments via email. However, I decided that this comment deserved its very own posts…for several reasons. One of those reasons is just what I’ve been discussing here which is, it isn’t good enough to say “Homework should be banned” or “Homework is Necessary”. You must be able to back up what you are saying.
And, thus far, I’ve been won by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish’s The Case Against Homework. I’ve given you plenty of examples and for those of you who remember, this entire conversation about homework started when I blurted out about how much I hate homework. I was expecting teachers everywhere to slam me for it and instead I received multiple comments of support.
However, the time has come, the following comment was issued,
Dr. Sanford Aranoff Says:
September 17th, 2008 at 7:45 PM eHomework is necessary, as it gives students the opportunity to think about the work and to use examples. See “Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better” on amazon.
Before I say anything about this, I’m not sure how the title of this book relays any information about homework, but stick with me, ok?
So, upon finding the book on Amazon, I read the description. It reads like this:
These are things I said teaching high school to help clarify the ideas to the students. This will help students to think better and clearer, to enjoy school and to be happy, to do better on tests and to get better grades, and to be more successful in life. Teachers can read this to get ideas how to better teach and to relate to the students. There is nothing as exciting as working with young minds! It is organized like a Help file, with table of contents, topics and subtopics, and index. One can jump to any topic and read it. It is not like a heavy book that one must read everything.
I can see no where in the description that the book has anything to do with homework. Instructional time? Yes, but that’s not homework. I think we all agree here that instructional time is optimized and the manner in which instructional time is used, then of course the product of education is greater. But, thus far I can see no way that this book has anything to do with homework which is the claim made in the comment. I will not be buying this book. If Dr. Aranoff feels strongly enough that the book will change my mind, I will willingly read it, but he will have to send it to me. The description just doesn’t equal his comment thus I’m not buying it.
So, stay tuned and let’s see how it plays out….
September 21st, 2008 at 6:07 pm
There are several parts of Teaching and Helping Students” dealing with homework. Here are some quotes:
Feelings are very important in mathematics and science. When I go to a seminar, I often hear statements like “I do not feel good about this,” or ”I feel good about this.” You too should examine your feelings during class and when doing homework.
There are entire sections devoted to homework. E.g., classroom management has a section on homework. Here are some quotes:
It is important to give homework, because then they have to review the material.
Homework is practice in applying the math concepts and learning how to think clearly about the math. It must also be exercises in how to do math, namely, to write neatly, to clearly state the assumptions and reasoning, and to check the work.
Homework can be viewed as public work. We like to keep tests private, out of respect for the students, but this is not the case for homework. The goal is the effort, the correct understanding of the mathematics, and the proper approach. The activities of one student, successes and failures, can be shown as examples to enhance the learning of all.
It is good if students collaborate (as long as they simply do not copy from each other) doing homework. It is good if they teach each other. This should be encouraged. Collaboration is not acceptable on tests, of course, most of the time, although there may be exceptions.
The homework review in the class can be utilized as encouragement for working together, by discussing aloud with the students nearby work that was very good or contained errors.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:52 am
[...] by Jerri Ann If you remember, Dr. Sanford Aranoff left a comment back on my post entitled “Homework and Comments”. He left a book recommendation that I looked up on Amazon but the description didn’t [...]