Rethinking Homework – A Faculty Discussion Series

This is such a coincidence. I just read a VERY interesting article about homework also. I am attaching part of it below. I would like to know what other teachers do when students don’t do reading assignments. I sometimes feel like not even assigning it because it frustrates me so much.

In answer to the questions above:
1. Most nights students have reading or a SHORT (5-10 questions) worksheet.
2. Points for worksheets vary from 10-30 points.
3. The penalty is a zero with NO MAKE UP allowed.
4. A majority of the students failing are doing so because of missed assignments. The same is true of passing. If a student completes the homework but fails the exams, he can still pass the class.
5. The purpose of homework in my class is to read independently and have a discussion or to increase vocabulary and reading comprehension.
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Published: March 17, 2010
When Students Don’t Prepare for Class
By John Norton

The assignment for Friday’s session in my three AP government classes of mainly 10th graders and a scattering of seniors was four pages in the textbook, which I wanted to use as the basis for a discussion and analysis.
In sixth period, I tried to start the discussion and got no response. So I bluntly asked who had read all four pages. Not a single student had. I was both furious and incredibly disappointed.
When I am angry, I talk very softly but intently. I told them if they were not prepared, I was not going to carry them, but they would still be responsible for what we would have covered in the discussion. I then told them I was going to leave the room so that I did not lose my temper. When I returned to the room, a student who is quite irregular about doing his work but is quite bright had organized the class, and they were proceeding with a discussion. I spoke only once.
Eighth is my final AP class. I told them up front what had happened in 6th and asked them to be honest—how many had done their work? It was under one-third. I then put them on the same notice and again left the room.
When I came back after 10 minutes, they were in small groups, each having one student who had read the material, going through the assignment together. Then with about 15 minutes left in the class one of the stronger students checked to see if everyone had gotten through the pages, and began to lead a discussion. (I often have students lead discussions…so they had some background in how to respond to the challenge with which I left them.)
Eighth was bad enough. But I admit I have NEVER encountered what I experienced in 6th, not even in my lowest level classes. They knew the assignments, and most of them did not have commitments of athletics or dramatics that would have prevented them from spending the 10-15 minutes maximum it would have taken to fully read and digest the four pages.
Renee, who teaches in a high poverty area of rural Mississippi, replied:
I wish I could say your experience was rare, but every English teacher (the folks I mostly hang out with) lives with this fairly regularly. How you handled it, though, was great and a testament to how much respect your students must have for you and the class.
One of the best literature discussions I ever witnessed among students in my high school classroom occurred when I refused to participate; sort of a modified Socratic seminar. Their first reaction was terror: “She’s REALLY not going to tell us what the story was about!” Then anger, “But that’s your job!” Finally, slowly, they began to organize and engage themselves in the task at hand. It was painful but satisfying to watch; sort of like the first time I let my kids clean the kitchen by themselves, instead of jumping in and doing it for them.
Marsha teaches in a suburban Kansas district:
I am amazed that this hasn’t happened to you more often. Maybe it’s because you teach AP kids and they are so motivated…but let me tell you that 6th grade science students most often don’t prepare for class. I also think it helps that in HS, your grade makes a difference. In middle school, even if you don’t pass, you still move onto the next grade. I hear your pain, share it very frequently, and am in a constant battle to find ways to motivate students to do their prep so our class can move forward.
GovTeach, who teaches in a bedroom community of Washington, D.C., replied:
Half of my six classes are AP, half are not. That has been my mix for the past five years. Even in my lowest level classes I have never had an entire class come in with no one having done their work. I remember once, when teaching 8th grade, I had about half the class come in without doing their homework. I asked the principal to come to my room. When she arrived, I explained the situation. She promptly marched the 13 to her office, made each of them call a parent and apologize for not doing the work. The word got around. I did not have that problem for the rest of the year, not in that class or in my other classes.
As far as AP, it is unusual for a class of 30 to not have done the work. I cannot remember another time in ANY AP class more than half had not done their work. A weird experience.

John Norton is co-founder of the Teacher Leaders Network. A former education journalist, he has served as director of the S.C. Center for Teacher Recruitment and vice president of the Southern Regional Education Board. He is currently a communications consultant for the Center for Teaching Quality and the Alabama Best Practices Center.