Homework: The Numb Factor

I had a conversation with my CT this very morning regarding homework, which has prompted me to expand on my thinking. My CT asked me when I would be giving homework on a daily basis. I responded by telling her I did not believe that homework should be assigned simply for the sake of assigning it. Homework needs to serve a specific purpose and be very meaningful. I just don’t believe in busy work. She disagrees.

I have read article upon article about the usefulness (or uselessness) of homework. In fact, the theme of November’s English Journal issue is homework. The question the issue asks is “Does Homework Help?” The literature consistently points to a resounding no, at least if it is just busy work. Furthermore, teachers have difficulty getting most students to do it. My students have been assigned so much homework, which accounts for only 10% of their grade, taking a zero for an assignment means nothing to them. Through the end of third quarter, they had racked up over 90 assignments. Yes, 90. You do the math; it barely affects their grade. So why would they do it? And yet some teachers persist.

Tonight I will be planning homework for the rest of the week to accommodate my CT’s request, but not without reservations and grunting, much like my students when I give them homework. I had been giving very little homework because I only assigned it when it was necessary, namely, when it would further student learning. Also, my students are required to read every night for the Accelerated Reader program, and usually I would assign extra reading. Reading every night is a perfectly viable and reasonable expectation for English homework.

If students are expected to do homework on a nightly basis, without rhyme or reason, they become numb to its benefits. I like to call this the “numb factor.” They are no longer learning but simply going through the motions. Homework becomes simply busy work, or, as students might say, it becomes torturous and meant only to inflict pain and agony. Plus, I prefer not to have students do anything unless I believe it serves a valuable, reasonably justifiable purpose. This includes every aspect of my planning and teaching, and homework in within that realm.

Because teachers assign so much homework, and because it accounts for so little of students’ grades, they do not benefit from it at all. Of course, the intrinsically motivated still do it. Others, however, just don’t care. I would much rather reserve the homework battle for moments when the homework really matters—not when it would be purposeless and deleterious to student learning.

Does Anyone Have Nancy Atwell’s Phone Number?

Lined paper: $3. No. 2 pencils: $2. Colorful pens for revision and editing: $6. Paycheck: $0. The experience of learning to teach writing: priceless.

Being an English teacher, naturally I was excited when I discovered that the first unit I would ever teach was persuasive writing. I love writing, and I love to help others find their voice in writing. The opportunity galvanized me into creating a unit rich with writing workshop activities: writing time, peer reviewing, conferences—the works. Now I know why teaching writing can be an uphill battle. Crashing and burning, and then quickly recovering, in the course of this unit was an invaluable learning experience. I could write extensively on this, but I’ll stick to only a few lessons I learned. Let’s just say I really wish I had Nancy Atwell’s phone number.

The greatest obstacle (not including classroom management) was time. Especially considering that students are not really taught to write these days, I did not anticipate just how much there was to elucidate. My unit of seven days quickly became a unit of ten days. Even then, another week would have done my students well. For example, they did not understand that they had to fully explicate their statements. It was very difficult to articulate to them how to present an idea and exhaust it fully. I finally discovered that telling them to pretend they were explaining their position to a two-year-old child works wonders. Of course, I had to tell them not to write like a two year old.

Also, conferencing always takes far longer than expected. With minimal writing experience, it takes a significant amount of time to help students correct their challenges, even if selecting only the most important aspects of the paper. They all needed a great deal of assistance with composing a good thesis statement, organizing their arguments, fully explaining each new idea, supporting their position, writing topic sentences, using transitions, and writing good introductions and conclusions. Please note: that list does not even begin to touch upon better word choice (they still think “good” and “bad” are acceptable!), spelling, punctuation (commas in particular), verb tense, pronouns, sentence structure (run-on sentences are especially popular), and innumerable other mechanics and usage challenges.

Another challenge in teaching writing was trying to get students to just write. They all wanted to sit and think of the perfect sentence before writing it down. It is as if they think that writing something down is setting it in stone. But then I had an idea… I brought in several of my papers: one revised and edited by a professor, a tenth draft that still had marks all over it, a very first draft, and one that was a first revision. The last was the messiest of them all. I projected them one by one with the document camera while explaining how messy writing is. All I heard was, “wow!” and “ooooooh!” and “geez!” Several students asked if I failed the paper that the professor had marked up, which made me giggle. They were shocked to find I had received an A. It seemed that everything was beginning to click. I highly recommend this strategy, and it would have been most valuable had I thought of it for the very first day.

All in all, I think the unit went very well. My students and I learned a great deal.

Flexibility: Plans? More Like Guidelines, Methinks! -- Amelia

Ah, yes—that stunning word we’ve heard since day one of our teacher preparation classes: flexibility, flexibility, flexibility! The extreme necessity for flexibility was my first rude awakening in the realm of teaching. Now I know why all the other teachers sweetly smile with shaking heads at my neatly organized and dated lesson plans nestled in their shiny page protectors. My poor naïve lesson plans, gleaming with expectation, structure, and punctuality.

While I was quite aware of the need for flexibility, the term was much more surreal and distant, like a tropical island—until now. You’ve heard that Jamaica has beautiful beaches, green luscious landscapes, and warm weather, all of which you can picture in your mind’s eye. However, you can’t quite fathom its impact until you experience it for yourself.

It all began with the rescheduling of Benchmark testing, which ended up being a month ahead of schedule. So I planned accordingly. Then came the rescheduling of the SOL practice Writing test. First, it was March 4th. I planned accordingly. Then it was March 11th. I planned accordingly. Then it was March 18th. I planned accordingly. Then it was back to March 11th. Yep, you guessed it. I planned accordingly. Then back to March 18th. Yes, it was finally given on March 11th.

I must admit: I’m a sucker for schedules. I plan and prefer that things go according to plan (at least the big things). So in the beginning of all this, I was having quite the panic attack. Somehow, I managed to rearrange my brain. I realized that I was viewing lesson planning as some sort of code of rules. Once planned, lessons are immutable procedures that have been set in stone, probably because I invested so much time in them. Then I heard a voice echoing in my head… It was Captain Barbossa. He was saying, “The code is more what you'd call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules. Arrrrrg. Matey!” Okay, I added that last part.

But I realized that I have to view my schedule and lesson plans as mutable, flexible guidelines. Perhaps teachers are more like pirates than you might think at first glance. (Not the pillaging and plundering aspect, of course.) As teacher, we must ride the waves, or go with the flow, or whatever cliché works for you. Just like pirates, there is a greater force guiding our sails. We can either work against that force or work with it. Personally, I’ve learned that working with it is much more sane.

Bios of Some Amazing Teachers

Sam is teaching math to sixth graders. He is looking forward to the chance to consistently be in the classroom and see his long term goals and units come to life during student teaching.




Kare is teaching two blocks of Intensified English for tenth graders and one block of eleventh grade Advanced American Studies. She is looking forward to seeing her students everyday and interacting with them in a more direct manner. She hopes that teaching them everyday as compared to once or twice a week will help her develop a better rapport with them and allow her to better see their academic progress.


Beth is teaching chemistry to grades ten through 12. She is looking forward to spending every day with the students because chemistry students are awesome. She also looks forward to not having anymore graduate classes.



Eric is teaching 12th grade English. He is most looking forward to developing a consistent professional relationship with his students. He also wants to be a fixture in the classroom and he wants a more panoramic view of their learning as compared to the spot-visit view he has been receiving.



Cati is teaching Spanish II to 9th and 10th graders and AP Spanish to 11th and 12th graders. She is most looking forward to having a regular schedule of interacting and working with her students. She is also excited to continue teaching so she can grow more confident in her skills and more trusting in the workability of the best practices for foreign language instruction that she has been learning about this year. She is excited to be in school every day and to be on the same schedule as the students so through that continuity and regular interaction her rapport with students can grow to the point where she can learn how to best teach those particular students



Raggs is teaching the social studies portion of eleventh grade American Studies. He is looking forward to putting into practice the skills he has learned in a more direct and constant way in order to develop better relationships with his students. He is also excited to see if he will in fact enjoy teaching and helping students learn as much as he thinks he will based on his past experiences.




Amelia is teaching three regular English and one intensified English for seventh graders. She is most looking forward to working with her students because they are delightful.