With the new school year beginning everywhere last week and this next week. I have been hearing the word "homework" uttered on many occasions - and usually not with love. Homework seems to be universally disliked by students, parents, and even teachers. It makes one wonder why it is so univerally practiced.
My own grandchildren seem to be of opposite opinions when it comes to homework. Taylor dislikes it to the extreme. His mother tries to assist him, and fitting that into her busy schedule requires heroic effort. Avery can hardly wait for her classes to begin tomorrow. Of course, more than anything, she loves to read and to write. Obviously both talents are strengths with her, so school work fits her like a glove. However, even she has sometimes complained when too much work is assigned.
I hope that her experiences at college will not find her so overworked that she cannot enjoy the excitement of learning.
I must admit that homework has never been on my list of favorites. I don't think I was ever required to do much of it in elementary or even high school. I know that I went to college not owning a typewriter, or the knowledge and experience of writing research papers. I remember that my first paper in college was a struggle, and I wrote it out in long hand. Could today's student even imagine such a thing!
Oh, and doing research was such a hit and miss affair. I can remember trying to find resources at the Ball State library, only to find most materials already checked out. And then, of course, I commuted from Anderson to Muncie, and held down a job besides. So I often was left to search out some out of date material at the
Anderson Public Library. I think my bull shit writing allowed me to make a passing grade. I remember one professor wrote a comment on my paper, "Your writing ability indicates more intelligence that the content of this paper." Well, I can only hope that that statement was true. I was trying to make some point out of a very meager supply of resources.
As a parent I disliked homework, too. I was so tired from teaching all day, that I really didn't want to monitor home work all evening. Fortunately our children were a pretty independent lot most of the time. I do recall falling asleep while listening to my own children read aloud. Isn't that a terrible sin to admit?
Once I stayed up until about 3 AM typing a research paper that Randy had written. I tried to untangle a very hard to understand paragraph. His teacher didn't care for the revisions. She actually visited the library and checked out his resources. It seems I altered the meaning tooooo much! I'm sorry, Randy. I'm glad you graduated in spite of your mother's assistance.
As an elementary teacher I HATED homework. The kids disliked it, their parents expected it but disliked it at the same time, and I hated grading it, trying to get all of it turned in, and explaining it to parents. But all the other parties seemed to feel that fifth grade students needed to develop this discipline. I did my best, even sending home a weekly newsletter to explain what we were doing and when things should be turned in. It did some good. I simply didn't give home work grades as much weight as that work done in class. After all, the parents probably did a lot of it, anyway. Even my beautician complained about homework the other day. Her grandson just entered fifth grade in a departmentalized situation. It seems all his teachers had assigned homework on the same day. He had spent hours, according to Dorothy, the night before finishing his work. That often happens where several teachers are involved.
Amd then, I think about how much I enjoy my computer. I can spend hours digging out information that I really want to know. I can type up ideas like this blog, or notes, or letters in a jiffy, proofread the same, and print them out in a whiz. Oh, how lucky are the scholars of today! How lucky are their teachers! The work turned in must surely be of a higher standard.
And I think how I love to start a project, when I am really interested in some subject, how I will work into the night, how I resent taking time out for meals. Oh, if students could just find where their passion lies, homework could be a joy.
I guess that is my wish, my prayer for today's teachers and students. Put the effort into finding meaningful subjects so that the work can become a joy. Plan, so that work doesn't feel like overload. Try to feel the excitement and joy in really learning about something that you love. And, Eureaka! Education has happened!
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