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Ask for help > I cannot get my students to do their homework, no matter what I do...!
I cannot get my students to do their homework, no matter what I do...!
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ariana07307
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I cannot get my students to do their homework, no matter what I do...!
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Well, I work in a pretty small school, don�t have that many students... they work just fine in class, but whe it comes to doing their homework, just a bunch of them do it.... like 4 out of 26 or so. The thing is... I cannot count on their parents... they work a lot and "don�t want to be bothered", most of them expect the school to do all the job... I�d like to know if anyone has any idea?
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18 Sep 2011
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Zora
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Have you talked to their other teachers? It might be that they have a lot of homework from others as well as from you and they do what they consider to be "important". I know that some of my students had 2 to 3 hours of homework every day after school. So I often wonder if this might not be the same problem elsewhere. Everybody thinks, "Oh, it �ll only take 15 minutes or so..." but if every teacher gives homework, those 15 minutes translates to up to 2 or more hours of extra school work every day.
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18 Sep 2011
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swissprof
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Why don �t you let start or do their homework in class ?
They can work in pairs or ask questions each other , and when the quickest have finished they are rewarded with a drawing or a crossword or something fun !
when I can do it, I give time to my students in class |
18 Sep 2011
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blizzard1
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I agree
with Zora and Mariethe�s comments.
What works
for me is to give them their homework 5-10 minutes before the end of the lesson
so they can start working on it in the classroom and can finish it at home.
Since I started doing that almost always all students have done their homework.
Some even use their breaks to finish it.
I hope this
helps.
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18 Sep 2011
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manonski (f)
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I don �t give homework anymore. I get to control what they do, how they do it and who really does it when it �s done in my class.
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18 Sep 2011
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LILIAAMALIA
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Well, I always give them homework-sometimes a lot.What I �ve noticed is that when they have a lot of homework they do it but when they �ve got only one or two things to deal with they don �t.They told me that when they know they need to spend time on their homework they do it and when they know it �s not that much they neglect it. So, I know that if homework is enough they �ll do the 80% of it at least. |
18 Sep 2011
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lizsantiago
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this is what i think... i dont believe in homework any more over the past 12 years since i began teaching, i noticed that student didnt do their homework because they had lots of homework from other classes to do as well, and the ones who brought the homework done the HW was done by their parents and i mean students who couldnt put three words together came with perfect sentences in a HW, then when i became a mom i understood why the student hated school... my kid came home after 8 hours studing at school then he spent 3-4 hrs doing homework and studing for tests so he didnt have time to be a kid, play, socialize and watch tv. to make things worse when i got divorced, his dad never wanted to do HW with him because he said that the little time he spent with him was going to be used to play, talk to him, go out.. so i started thinking that many of my students were problably in the same situation. I knew what was to have your kid return on a sunday night and try to put him to study or make HW, so i realized that if my HW was going to be made by the parents and not the kid and they had to suffer 3 or more hours of pain after coming home from school i wouldnt give HW unless it was completly necessary. so i made a deal with them if they do all the work at class and copy everything i woulnt give them HW. If i give them HW and only IF i give it is because i want to help them with their grade and give them points to increase their average. another thing is that many teachers believe that a HW should have hundreds of exercises, or use it to punish students for poor behavior so no wonder they hate it. HW should only be given to help students who need extra practice, to check if they are mastering a skill, so no every child should be sent home with hw if you as a teacher know that a specific kid already master the skill. If you want a stu. to practice 5-10 exercises are more than enough. I had to do an investigation for college that had to do with this issue and i discovered that as an ESL teacher giving HW was a waste of time because most of the time the student was helped by a parent to do it and i mean by helped is to have the parent telling the stu. what to write, translating, or simply giving him the answer so he can move on to the next HW as soon as possible. Anyway my suggestion for you is to re-think why are you giving them HW what do you expect and what is the studnt really going to gain from it. is it just to have points for your grades? is the student really doing it and learning from it? if you came to a conclusion that it is worth the time then try to talk to your stu, and negociate with them. in my class i have different kind of task because i believe in differentiating the instruction, so the 2 or 3 times i give studnts HW i let them choose what kind of task they want to do, and i present them with a list of options from where they choose. To give you an example... if i give them HW to practice writing i let them choose from different worksheets that i have since i have been teaching for 13 years and i have my own work and thousands of worksheets from here. another things if yu give them HW always correct them as soon as possible and give them feedback, discuss it with them, so that they know it is important for you as well for them. after i give a HW i ALWAYS sit down with them and give them individual feedback. this are a few good books/investigations about this topic try to research them. and good luck Cooper, Harris. �Kids Get Too Much Homework?� Time for Kids. Oct. 2006: 6. Corno, Lyn. �Looking at Homework Differently.� The Elementary School Journal. 100.5 (2000): 530 Kohn, Alfie: �Down with Homework.� Instructor Sept. 2006: 68 Kohn, Alfie: �Rethinking Homework.� Principal Jan. 2007: 1 |
19 Sep 2011
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joy2bill
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I have to agree with Lizsantiago...how can children have time to do extra-curricular activities such as Scouts, piano, athletics, drama, etc if they are doing 3 hours homework? I rarely gave homework when I was teaching elementary school. However as a teacher of adults I do give my students a small booklet with phrasal verbs, prepositions, vocab, etc plus an assignment for an essay or a presentation. These are things that need constant practice over and above what we do in class. They have a full week to complete it so they can schedule it accordingly...usually the night before it �s due, of course! Students seem to love these and will ask for copies of the new work even after they have graduated from my class. BUT do they all do their homework? No way. I tell them it is up to them and if they want to progress they know what to do. My philosophy is I provide it for those who want it and for those who don �t, well, it �s up to them. Incidentally I don �t mark it but give them the answers to self-correct. |
19 Sep 2011
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Little Miss Lady
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I surely agree with Liz. I don �t like sending hw to my students, they only take home with them whatever has not been finished in class because they have been spending their time talkin, daydreaming, etc. Some of them like doing their hw at recess or when they have finished a lesson and have time left. |
19 Sep 2011
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ariana07307
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Zora, Mariethe House, swissprof, blizzard1, manonski (f), LILIAAMALIA, lizsantiago, joy2bill, Little Miss Lady Thanks very much for your answers! you see... I really want to get my students to learn! But as it seems... I was giving HW "A LITTLE" too much importance, and had lots of expectations about it. Well, I guess I�ll give them some time to work on it in class, and finish it at home, making sure it�s an either fun or interesting activity. By the way, loved the booklet idea. |
23 Sep 2011
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