Are you the teacher who assigns the homework from Hell; the one the parents all gripe about on facebook or at ballgames? In case you haven’t had kids yet, let me tell you about the homework parents hate the most.
The Elaborate Multi-Step Project
If it has a multi-page grading rubric (or really, any grading rubric at all) parents see it as a source of misery. Any project with the word “fair” in the description probably falls into this category. Believe it or not, most pre-high school students are not able to conceptualize, plan and execute these projects without substantial parental involvement and most parents have things they would rather do in the evening than those projects.
If you think these projects have value, then teach the necessary skills, break the project down into manageable parts and assign each part separately. Yes, it is easier for you if parents to do this one-on-one than it is if you have to do with twenty-five students, but after working all day, parents either don’t want to have to teach their child how to do a project, or else love it so much they do it for the child, and make the rest of the kids look like slackers.
The On-going Assignment
At first blush assignments like reading logs or class diaries seem easy for both sides. You don’t have to think up new assignments daily and students don’t have to worry about wrong answers. If you only collect them once a week, or even better, only once or twice during a grading period, it is less grading for you. However, these assignments can be a nightmare for parents, especially the parents of disorganized children.
First, they rarely make it onto the online homework calendar to which parents have access, or into the students’ homework agendas, so parents have to remember what the students are supposed to do and how often they are supposed to do it–or they don’t realize they aren’t being done until the bad grade hits the portal. Second, since they aren’t due the next day, they are easy to put off if other homework is overwhelming or if other activities crowd the day’s schedule–and once put off, forgotten. Finally, the longer the time period between completing the assignment, or any part thereof, and turning it in, the greater the chance that the child will lose it, the computer will eat it or that it will, in some other way, not make it to you when due.
Anything that Requires a Trip to the Store
Yes, I know you said it was extra credit but my child wants (needs) the extra credit so I am scouring the dollar store for toy dinosaurs. Yes, you gave plenty of notice, but the assignment means I have to buy some craft supply, office supply or food I would not have otherwise purchased. Not only did it cost money (and I’m lucky, I can afford it) but meant that I had to go to the store and get the right kind of whatever. If it wasn’t on the school supply list sent home when school started, think twice about assigning homework that requires it.
Anything My Child Can’t Do Independently
I agree that it is important for parents and children to spend time together, but I don’t want the majority of my interaction with my child to involve homework. Students should be able to complete homework assignments with little or no parental assistance. After all, parents are finished with school; presumably we already know the concepts you are trying to teach our child via homework. If you must assign homework to the kids (even though the research seriously calls into question its effectiveness), then limit it to what the students can do independently.
While most parents care deeply about education and want their children to be successful in school, many parents, particularly those whose children struggle with school, feel that homework is overwhelming their children and swallowing already limited family time. If you must assign homework, make the assignments short and relevant to the day’s lesson and collect them promptly.
If you are a teacher, have you ever received parental complaints about a homework assignment? Tell us about the assignment and the complaints. If you are a parent, are there types of assignments you hate to see?
Ruth CURCURU — Classloom Blog Writer
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Originally published at blog.classloom.com on May 24, 2016.
