Fantastic Insight re: Homework...And an Offer of a FREE Book!

Spread in front of me are 25 lovely final projects I need to grade for my MSU class...

Across the room is a giant Crock Pot that must be wrapped...

On the counter, not one, but THREE, to-do lists...

Yet I just absolutely needed to write about this...

Today in Ed Week online, there's an interview w/ Cathy Vatterott, known as the "homework lady." She began her own investigation into how homework affects kids and learning after witnessing her son's struggles with the it. Since then, she's written and spoken extensively about her research. (And her son's a successful college student, to boot.)

She has a new book, Rethinking Homework: Practices That Support Diverse Needs. I am going to make it a New Year's revolution---I mean, resolution--to read it and quote it often to the powers that be. (I am already planning to print and distribute the articles to my son's teachers.)

Dear fellow parent or person interested in the future of our nation, if you would like me to send me this book as a Christmas present, email me, and I will. Or, rather, I'll email a free copy to the first ten emailers.


I can't link the article, as it's subscription only, but here are a few excerpts from the EW's interview:

The biggest parent misconception is that a lot of homework is a sign of rigor. A lot of times, parents are like, “If they don’t do all of this work, they’re not going to get into Harvard.” Actually, the research doesn’t support that a lot of homework does any good.

And:

Students may not be able to do homework because of home conditions or family responsibilities, not because they are lazy or irresponsible. When teachers fail to understand how poverty or other circumstances can interfere with homework, there can be a tendency to make moral judgments about the student and the parent.

And:

When students are repeatedly given homework tasks that are too hard for them, frustrations build and students can start to hate learning. When kids are that frustrated, they basically just shut down. We’ve learned about that from brain research. We’ve known that frustration shuts down kids’ learning. And we know psychologically that’s what they do to protect themselves.

Amen, Ms. Homework Lady.

My Educationally-Inclined Christmas Wish List

Besides tix to see The Capitol Steps at Town Hall in February, an Ooo La La pedicure from Nails and Body Works, and the good health of my friends & family, I've got my educationally-oriented list working, too.

So Santa, please bring:

1. ...democracy to the educational process!

Children must have a voice in curriculum development and topic study, not to mention classroom governance.

Like parents helping children make a wish list for the holidays, educators
can and should lead youngsters in figuring out how they will pursue educational goals.

Kids are the biggest stakeholders. So let's give them a really large pointy stake in the whole thing!


2. ...better fundraising ideas, tied to clearly-described goals and rationales.

I'm not a big fan of the holiday bazaar going on in my kids' school right now. I understand that sometimes schools have to raise money, but this sort of thing leaves me cold. (And this is a big improvement over past fundraising efforts, which have included recruiting five-year-olds to sell candy!).

With something like the holiday bazaar, kids are encouraged to spend money on low-quality items without parental supervision. I just don't think this is a good use of school time, and it raises many issues.

I also don't understand why there IS so much fundraising (and it goes on at all schools in Montclair). Perhaps this is just lack of information for my part, but I think this aspect of school finance needs to be made more clear to all parents. Then, I think we have to figure out how to get more value from the taxpayer dollars we already contribute, where that money is going, and how we can get more of it directly to our kids, teachers, and classrooms.

(A problem with voicing dissatisfaction with this problem is that it makes one look Grinchy! But if the alternative is to sing "YaHoo Doray" while prancing around the tree of frenzied retailism that threatens to invade our schools, I've gotta say, "Bah Humbug." )

3. ... a realistic plan for abolishing or modifying tenure that will bring new vitality to our schools without alienating the many hardworking teachers in the system.


4. ...smaller classes.

5. ...better assessment.

Montclair needs to revisit its grading and instructional assessment system.

There's a lot of research out there that clearly points to the benefits of assessment tools like rubrics--when they are properly used!

And the grading system needs to be more clearly tied to learning, across grade levels.


So, Santa, if you bring me (our kids, our nation, our future) these things, I promise to be a good, though sometimes annoyingly outspoken, girl in 2010.

I will continue to constructively question educational practice.

I will advocate even more for my own children, whilst also considering the needs of children for whom no one advocates.

And I will continue to keep in mind the day-to-day stresses facing teachers in our classrooms.

Thank you in advance.