So last night, after reflecting on my day and writing down a few thoughts that popped into my head I got tired and went to bed. I had an early vet appointment the following morning so getting tucking-in just before midnight was a good decision. Today is Saturday and I have accomplished a enough to call it a productive day. As I write this post, a loaf of sourdough is cooking in the oven. Bread making is a cathartic practice for me.

Last night I left my blog just before delving into the topic of homework. I was discussing a Freakanomics episode called: Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem

The episode of Freakanomics solidified in my mind how important a good teacher is. In law, lawyers have a fiduciary duty to always act in the best interest of their clients. In education, teachers owe it to their students. In some sense however, what constitutes “best for the students” is not well understood and is more complicated than one might think. In my inquiry, examining the role of homework is hotly contested. How do I approach this if I want the best for my students in the long term? In some cultures, homework is strongly valued. Children are expected to work at their studies constantly. In my mind, it seems quite possible that through self directed exploration of their environment students can learn a lot. Not everything can be learned in a book.

With this in mind, I took a look at this article:

This journal article, found in British Journal Of Social Education, was published in May of 2013. It asserts that homework is increasingly being assigned to students despite the fact that it is under-researched.  Little attention is placed on how young students think about homework. As this inquiry project does not meet the criteria necessary to allow research I was very excited when I found an academic journal which published child accounts of homework. One question I would love to ask my practicum class, but can not, is: what do YOU think about homework?

Farrell and Danby make three insights about homework:

First, homework is an adult-generated,institutional practice to which children comply (cf. Smith 2000). A second related aspect concerns children’s rights; that is, children’s rights being at odds with those of the adult/adults (Alderson 2002). Third, homework is a technical, instrumental practice of the school, enacted in the home, with its own suite of technical tools, strategies and resources (cf. Hutchison 2011). p. 259

By inviting children’s  own accounts of their everyday lives, rather than relying on adult accounts of children’s lives, the study makes a conceptual and methodological contribution to the field of parent involvement in homework. It shows children taking carriage of their homework, albeit with some evidence of ancillary roles played by parents. p.265