Lesson six was about us reading two articles and answering questions from each article. There were two discussions made for each article but I am going to attach one for you to get the jist of this discussion. We discussed issues in regard to education, here is my responses.

 

Question 1: Article 1: Discussion 6: Why did you select this article to read? In other words, what compelled you to read this article?

            I chose my second article called “Rethinking Homework” because it is another topic that I have always been interested in. A common joke that I used to hear all the time was “school work is for school, not the home so why do we always have homework?” and because of that widespread joke I have always wondered just what is the point of homework? I have never really thought a lot of students really did their homework anyway, and I found this to be very insightful. This article really gave me a new look on homework on top of all of my other assumptions in regard to homework.

 

Question 2: Article 1: Discussion 6: Describe the primary points that were made by the author.

            The primary points that were made by Kohn were the negative affects of homework are well known, the positive affects of homework are largely mythical, and more homework is being piled onto children despite its absence of value. The negative affects of homework are the fact that homework often tires children out and turns them off from learning, and parents often feel bad if they cannot help their child with homework and worry they will be judged based on whatever reasoning there is behind them not helping such as work or lack of understanding. The positive affects of homework are largely mythical because research shows there is no correlation between homework and benefits that students are supposed to reap if they do their homework. More homework is being piled onto students despite the absence of its value because well, because teachers can. After all of these points were made and explained Kohn continues this article by offering ways to make homework meaningful and actually worth something.

           

Question 3: Article 1: Discussion 6: Indicate if you agree or disagree with the author's points. Why or why not?

            Kohn’s points made a lot of sense and I cannot help but to agree. It is true that homework is a serious issue when trying to get students engaged in school. Often times homework is being procrastinated and most children don’t even do it. I especially agree with the fact that students are piled with a lot of homework because almost in every one of my previous classes there have been syllabi that explicitly state that homework will be a regular thing and even if the assignments have not been decided it is still clear that there will be a lot of homework assignments. A lot of homework really does turn students away from their interest in school and I agree with Kohn’s article about homework because I have experienced these things to be true in my own experience.

           

Summary:

            Kohn’s article was pretty insightful. As an aspiring teacher I did not really put much thought into homework and how it can negatively affect a student’s motivation to continue school and learn. If anything I always thought homework positively reinforced what they learned in the classroom that day, and after reading Kohn’s article I see that too much homework can actually be detrimental and as a teacher you have to monitor how much homework you give and what kind. I knew that students never really liked homework but I had no idea the truths behind the effects of homework. In short the entire article basically summed up the negative effects of homework and effective ways to make homework a positive aspect by limiting the amount assigned, decide if it is something worth needing to be covered extra, and what type of assignment it is.

Research Question:

            Is homework really important?

Research References:

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/parents/why-is-homework-important

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/99/the-value-of-homework-is-homework-an-important-tool-for-learning-in-the-classroom

 

 

 

Research Analysis:

            According to the research homework is important because it helps to aid students later in the classroom. Homework helps students to becoming independent learners by seeking information for themselves from reference materials such as encyclopedias, books, CD’s and by doing so, are helped along the path to becoming independent learners because they are actually having to do the research themselves in order to get the information they need to complete their homework. Homework also helps students to learn self-discipline. They learn self-discipline by knowing there are due dates on their homework assignments and making sure they are done in adequate time in order to get good grades and complete their homework.

            According to the research homework has actually been a controversial topic for a very long time. Homework is seen as a valuable component of education because it gives the students more practice and they become more capable of mastering their subjects. The study that was conducted about the value of homework have decided that some type of homework policy should be required by schools because homework does benefit students and is an important factor in education.

Research Summary:

            The results from the research were actually what I was expecting. I had the feeling that homework was important and I knew that it benefited students in some ways. In all honesty what really shocked me was the article that I read, I had no idea that there was so much controversy over the topic of homework. I always figured that homework was a complete positive thing and there should not be any debate about it at all. After researching and reading on this topic I have come to the conclusion that homework is important just as I have always thought, and it should be monitored by teachers, but it should not be completely done away with.