Is Homework Redundant?

Is Homework Redundant? Grace gets distracted easily and abandons her work, symptoms of her ADHD and a mood disorder, records show. When remote learning began, she did not get those supports, her mother said. “It’s multitasking while learning that has the biggest potential downside,”she says. Across all grade levels, 80% of students reported that they switch between studying and technology somewhat often to very often. As you might expect, students who were the most distracted generally had the most windows open on their computers. Students who were less distracted had higher GPAs than students who switched back and forth fairly often and those who regularly check Facebook or text messages. Students who had strategies for studying also had higher GPAs according to Rosen’s findings. Whenever I have this task, I think about the consequences of not writing it. I tell my NYU Grad students all the time that homework doesn’t stop when they graduate. It’s what separates the successful from the mediocre. The initial days of remote school coincided with the start of Grace’s probation. Charisse was concerned that her daughter, who was a high school sophomore and had nearly perfect attendance, would have trouble without in-person support from teachers. It’s a sticking point that I just cannot find an answer to. My only question is, Linda, do you explain how this works to students? I found your balanced solution thought-provoking and convincing. When I gave completion grades for homework, what I found was that the students’ work just got worse and worse. Of course some students still did excellent work, but many of them just threw something down on the paper and said they were done. We’ve spent many a late night practicing spelling words and reading book assignments. As a single mom, I try my hardest to make her education a priority in my overfilled life because I know that education is one of just many things that will play a role in the foundation of her future. What are your thoughts on writing homework such as drafts of an essay? If the student has not completed the draft, he cannot work on revising and editing with peers. By the time Grace turned 13, the arguments had escalated to the point that Charisse turned to the police for help several times when Grace yelled at or pushed her. She said she didn’t know about other social services to call instead. In one incident, they argued over Grace taking her mother’s iPhone charger; when police arrived, they discovered she had taken an iPad from her middle school without permission. At her mother’s request, Grace entered a court diversion program in 2018 for “incorrigibility” and agreed to participate in counseling and not use electronic devices. She was released from the program early, her mother said. If a third grader has a difficult time writing her three paragraph essay, have her draw the topics she wants to discuss. Then have her arrange them in order of importance and write captions underneath. Find a starting place that does not generate a lot of stress and build from that foundation. Perhaps the most important step in making tasks feel less intimidating is breaking the task into smaller parts. For the student who seems to wait until 11pm the night before a big test to study, help him break down the unit into 15 minute study blocks for several nights. A world filled with distractions every where you turn. How is it even possible to get homework done at all, let alone focus on doing homework without being distracted by a wide variety of electronic gadgets. What might at first glance seem harmelss, doing homework or studying while watching TV, texting or checking social media can actually impair learning the material as well as lower test scores. Research has shown that it's one of the worst study habits a student can develop. Although I went into the meeting thinking I was going to need to defend my alternative lifestyle, I walked out feeling as thought my viewpoints were not only understood, but respected. I don’t have a problem with homework in and of itself because, obviously, I understand it’s an important part of our children’s development process. My daughter needs to learn responsibility, time management, and self-facilitated learning and I’m grateful that homework provides some of those lessons for her. I’ve spent hours helping her learn how to read, do mathematical equations, and understand the history of our country. Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study, warns parents about the dangers of media multitasking. This concern is distinct from worrying about how much kids are online or how much kids are media multitasking overall.