The greatest source of tears and heartbreak in our family, over all of our child-raising years, was homework. Like by far. Like 90%. Those unbidden, meaningless assignments, the mechanical worksheets, and odd-numbered math problems constantly led to friction, battles, resistance, weeping, and regret. It felt like the school was sending little hand grenades home with our kids, timed to explode just before a peaceful, playful, or relaxing evening could break out. That relentless assault on our family life still feels fresh, even though our kids are now 39 and 33.

        During this time, Elaine and I were both teaching, researching, and writing about progressive classroom practices – one of which was not worksheets. Nick and Marny knew very well what our professional principles were, so they could have called out our hypocrisy whenever we tried to enforce the evening’s dosage of drivel. But they didn’t often use that leverage; they knew we would marinate in our complicity. And we pretty much quit supporting school homework when they reached high school.

        And then there was the perennial pinch of being teacher-parents. You want to be a loyal employee of the district. You don’t want to accuse your colleagues of doing dumb or harmful things to children. And you recognize (or you should) that teachers get even fewer opportunities than normal parents to complain about things at school. When you are an educator, you simply can’t afford to be labeled, “One of Those Crank Parents.”

        If you resonate with these concerns, you may be fondly recalling Alfie Kohn’s entirely excellent book The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing (2006). Kohn likens homework for kids to the Second Shift for workers at the factory. You come home after eight hard hours and surprise – you have to go back to work! Kohn skillfully deconstructs every official rationale for homework. Decades of careful research studies have shown only negative outcomes for elementary kids and glancing, temporary ones for certain high schoolers. Then he runs through the more likely reasons that homework has been sustained against all evidence: upholding tradition, fostering obedience, providing ritual hazing (we had to go through it, now it’s your turn), developing a tolerance for toxic tasks, keeping kids off the streets, and finally, the redoubt of all scoundrels, the notion that homework “builds character.”

      For all the good work our friend Alfie did a decade ago, unexamined homework is still with us, in arguably more toxic forms. It’s bad enough when homework is menial, meaningless, and repetitive–a mere compliance ritual. But the content of homework-sheets can be even more corrupting than the process. We have just lived through another “Black History Month,” during which millions of kids came home with worksheets, mostly focused on Martin Luther King, (apparently the only African American leader of whom worksheet makers are aware.) This year’s assortment included MLK word-finds, matching exercises, fill in the blanks, word searches, and many more. Among the tasks:

1. Crossword puzzle clue for #7 Across:

Martin Luther King was assassinated during the month of __________.

2. A short historical text about MLK, followed by these instructions:

“Circle ten proper nouns and underline ten verbs.”

3. Freedom, peace, march, speech, Atlanta, minister, equal, dream, boycott, leader.
4. “Read these words and place them in alphabetical order.”
5. True-False: “Martin Luther King was a farmer.”
6. For those ready to further explore black heroes, another worksheet confides that Rosa Parks was “a tired seamstress who politely declined to give up her seat on the bus” because of her fatigue. Needless to say, the profile doesn’t mention that Parks had been an activist and leader of the NAACP for two decades and that she was tired of racism, not sewing.

Just in case you’re wondering, I am not making this up. These and hundreds more worksheets are available on the web for teachers to use, and reuse, and reuse. And these are not just time-wasters: they are desecrations of history and a pretty good example of how ignorance is engineered.

Just last week, a suburban Chicago teacher whom I follow on Twitter bravely began tweeting out photographs of her own young children suffering over the daily load of second-shift misery.

This is the face of my five-year-old doing useless homework when she would rather be playing. Five-year-olds don’t need homework. #ditchthehw

Tonight’s useless homework: track how many words you can read in 1-minute #ditchthehw

Things my kids could be doing right now instead of useless homework:

-reading

-playing with each other

-drawing

-talking to me about their day

-playing with their toys

-relaxing after 8 hours in school

#ditchthehw

So let’s get real. Let’s say you may work in a district where there is a serious Homework Policy dictating how many after-school minutes or hours kids are supposed to labor after school. So, let’s start by changing the categories of what counts as homework. Then, let’s design a time that’s stress-free, that invites kids’ curiosity and choice, and that doesn’t start battles between parents and kids, ruin whole evenings, and sell more Kleenex. Possible ideas for kids:

–Spend some time reading a book or magazine you have chosen.

–Go online to investigate a question that popped up in your life today.

–Interview family members about their work, interests, family-history.

–If you are in a literature circle at school, e-connect with classmates to discuss the book.

–Work on an ongoing “passion project,” something you have decided to look into long-term (animal extinction, volcanoes, the Cold War).

–Watch TV shows with family and talk about them.

–Free write in your personal journal (or work on your novel/poems).

–Pick an adult in the community you want to learn from and apprentice yourself.

Let’s grow this list together. Meet me at #DitchTheHW.

Learn more about Smokey!

Sometimes I have challenges getting people to agree.  I have never had a problem finding agreement when it comes to what students deserve.  Every educator I have ever known would agree that students deserve the best we can give them. But is our best always the best for students?  

 

Technology and more opportunities for educators to learn about best practice are exciting, but at times they can cause principals new leadership challenges.  Challenges such as managing change, and the disparity between staff who embrace change and those who do not.

 

This brings me to the topic of my post.  The gulf that can exist between staff who embrace professional development and technology integration to those who resist can be profound.  Gaps in professional learning can result in very dissimilar classrooms–those that are student-centered and use technology to enhance learning, and those that continue with lectures, completing worksheets, and copying notes from the board. Teachers might think they are providing the best for students because what they are doing served them well, but unfortunately, the ways they learned are not appropriate for students in the 21st century.

 

I worked in schools years ago where many esteemed staff members taught in a traditional manner.  Back then, schools were just beginning to integrate technology into classrooms. My school spent a year trying to learn how to use email.  Of course, many staff would proudly mumble, “This too shall pass.”  It did not.  I would ask staff to try new methods; they resisted.  At times some would communicate they could not change because I didn’t send them to conferences.  Today, we live in a world where anyone can seek out information on their own and take charge of their learning if they are motivated to do so.  The web and social media provide unimagined opportunities to learn and connect.

 

The methods and practice of many teachers who were iconic in the past have become obsolete today. Teach like those who taught you, and you might become an anachronism, totally out of touch with the digital natives in your class.  If we principals believe in teaching students for their future, then we must not overtly or tacitly approve of teaching methods which don’t involve, engage and motivate students to learn.  

 

Growth can no longer be invitational.  Invitational growth creates a bimodal staff.  When educators lead by offering invitational growth, those who are excited seek out opportunities to grow pedagogically and to use technology to transform. Those who choose not to partake fall further behind.  If your leadership style is invitational, you give some permission not to change and grow which is not fair to students.

 

In some schools staff lecture, students copy notes from a board, and take tests every Friday based on recall of facts.  Often, staff in these schools receive great evaluations. In all schools, educators earn more money each year even though what they do might harm kids.  Some believe it was good enough for me, some staff are community icons, and some leaders compromise to protect their job. Kids lose and deserve much more from teachers and administrators.  Clinging to what worked in the past is unfair to students learning in the present.

 

Often, in the same schools are staff who are actively learning and creating personalized learning opportunities for students, differentiating, and using projects to build on the skills we have called 21st- century skills for several decades: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, choice, and creativity  As leaders, we have two difficult questions to ponder: What does it say about us if we perpetuate bad teaching?  Who is most harmed by bad teaching? I’ll answer that one; it is always kids who come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Kids who rarely have advocates to make sure they are learning and moving forward.

 

The ability for a motivated educator to learn is greater now than ever before. Leaders who are willing to make growth and learning invitational are hurting kids.  On the other hand, leaders who communicate and cultivate a learning organization will be best positioned for change.  Staff who are committed to learning don’t opt out of growth. The time to change is now. Do it!

Check out The Robb Review Podcast for more thoughts and opinions on education!

 

Also, my book- The Principal’s Leadership Sourcebook, Scholastic

 

 

Recently, I met with a group of teachers who brought their documented conferences to our after-school meeting. Fifth-grade teacher, Beverly Walters shared a conference she had with one of her fifth-grade students. The focus of the conference was to see how much the student recalled about the mini-lessons on finding the main idea. Beverly asked the student, “What do you remember about finding main ideas?”

“Nothing and I’m tired,” was the immediate response.  It’s obvious that the student wanted to close any discussion of identifying main ideas. Instead of reacting negatively to that comment or taking it personally, Beverly went into the coaching mode. She presented a think aloud with a short text, modeled, and then invited the student to practice. The conference ended with all the positives Beverly noticed. Coaching students in reading is similar to coaching a sport.

Coaching and Sports

The word “coach” is usually associated with individual sports like tennis and team sports like basketball. The primary job of a sports coach is to provide practice and offer models to improve players’ technical skills, develop automaticity of moves and plays, and nurture an enjoyment of the sport. Coaches are critical to the success of their team or individual players. Coaching also involves attending to the emotions individuals feel during practice and competition. A coach’s ability to communicate to a team or individuals is key to their success. Like the sports coach, the teacher who wears the mantle of coach can improve students’ learning through practice and by meeting their emotional needs.

Coaching in a Reading Workshop

Workshop is ideal for coaching students. Each day, during workshop, students read silently and/or work on writing. Such independent work times allow you to have focused 5-minute, one-on-one coaching sessions. If students require more than five minutes, schedule a few consecutive sessions. Limiting coaching to five-minute time bursts means you can coach two to four students during a twenty-minute independent work time.

What Can You Coach?

Topics for coaching are everywhere. They emerge from your mini-lessons, from your observations of students working, from reading their written work, from their questions, level of participation, their behavior and comments, their self-evaluations, and reflections on their work. Let students lead the way; they will give you more coaching topics than you want. Responding to students’ needs sends the message that you care deeply about their progress and want to help them move to independence.

Coaching-On-The-Go

When students practice a mini-lesson, circulate among them to see how things are going. To coach-on-the-go, bend down next to the student, make eye contact, and support the student for two minutes max. Frequently, during that brief encounter, you can clarify a misunderstanding or review a process and prevent a small confusion from becoming an obstacle. If you need more time with a student, schedule a five-minute conference to explore what the student’s needs are.

Side-by-Side Coaching

During a scheduled coaching meeting always sit side-by-side the student because it puts teacher and student on an equal plane. It also allows you to observe the student at work, to make eye contact, and to think aloud and model in close proximity, allowing you to determine whether the student “gets it.” The messages you send by sitting side-by-side are you care, this time belongs to the student, and the practice is important. And all the time you’re building trust together—trust that gives a student the inner strength to risk making mistakes in order to understand and learn.

Self-Reflection and Coaching

Reflection allows you and a student to take a deep breath and think about the coaching session.  Take an extra minute when a session ends to debrief together and discuss what was working, to create the agenda for the next coaching session, or to set a small goal.  Invite students to self-reflect in their notebooks after three to four coaching sessions. Use questions to stimulate their thoughts: How did the coaching help you? What did you learn? Why can you work independently? Why are raising questions helpful and important? Why can you work on your own now?

Benefits of Coaching

Coaching builds a positive relationship between you and students you coach. It offers students opportunities to ask questions out of the “public eye of the rest of the class.” It’s personal and attends to students’ academic and emotional needs. The time you reserve for coaching is precious because it always holds out the potential to each student for deeper understanding of a topic, skill, strategy, or concept and moving to independence.   

A great book by Laura! Read-Talk-Write 

 

I really must have messed up during the spring when I was in 8th grade. I can recall my teacher drawing a circle on the blackboard and telling me to put my nose in the circle and to stand in the same place for ten minutes. Also, I have vivid memories of the school administrator giving me a small shovel and making me dig up dandelions for a half an hour as a punishment to a long forgotten mistake I made. Unbeknownst to me, I was experiencing consequences that were probably used over and over again, for no real reason other than it’s the way we do things.

Do things such as what I recall still happen? They very well may. My journey into administration gave me opportunities to see and help to change some practices carried out for no real reason, practices not good for students. As leaders, teachers or administrators, we need to have honest conversations to bring about positive change.

Many of the practices I am highlighting you, and I both experienced when we were in school. Some may even bring back fond memories, but this does not mean they are good for today’s students. “Disrupt the Status Quo” is my exploration of some classroom practices educators need to explore further and change.

How we grade: Grading is a challenging conversation to have. Fortunately, there is much research on best practice and how grading can inform what a student knows in comparison to the curriculum. My experience is few teachers come out of school with a deep understanding of best grading practices. To be honest, for me, when I was a teacher I graded based off my recollections on how my favorite teachers graded me. In some instances this was fine, others not so much. Use of zero’s, averaging, point systems, failure, punishment using grades are a few quick topics that come to the mind. These and other grading topics should be discussed and compared to best educational practices.

Extra Credit: Bringing a box of tissues to class is a nice thing to do, counting it as a test grade will create an inaccuracy about a student’s knowledge of the curriculum. Grades should reflect what students have mastered; they should not be influenced by extra credit. Most readers grew up with extra credit, and many parents will ask for ways to earn extra credit. But this does not mean extra credit should continue.

Notebook checks for grades: Do students need to learn how to organize for class and school? Absolutely! Notebook checks can be valuable, but they don’t need to be graded– and that’s okay. Everything a teacher assesses does not need to be recorded in a grade book. An organized notebook communicates very little about a student’s knowledge of the curriculum.

Changeover: Grading, extra credit, notebook checks are all great topics for faculty study groups. Book studies, article sharing, coupled with courageous conversations in person or online can lead to effective change. An open mind and a willingness to do what is best for students–these are the prerequisites needed to start a process towards change.

Planning is needed for teachers to do great work with their students. I am sure all readers would agree with that simple statement. However, sometimes planning can go in the wrong direction, a direction we need to question.

Two types of planning come to my mind when I question the status quo.

No planning at all: Throughout my career, I have encountered a few educators who did not plan at all; they winged it. I am sure no person can be an effective teacher if they wing it. Kids deserve better. Does this exist in your school? Is it being addressed or is it allowed?

Teachers who plan for every day a year in advance: Great teachers plan and have larger outlines of where their curriculum is going over the course of the year. But each class is different. Well designed formative assessment can serve as an indicator of which groups can move forward and which groups need reteaching. Such assessment, coupled with other types of feedback, help a teacher plan. Planning each day for the entire year makes no sense; it negates and rejects the value of using student learning to guide the planning of the teacher. This type of rigidity can be harmful and often allows a staff member to say, “ I taught it; they didn’t learn it.” Great teachers can say they taught it and provide evidence to show whether students learned it.

Changeover: Empower staff to have conversations about how they plan and assist staff to create a professional standard for what effective planning is and equally important, what it is not.

Closing Thoughts:
Sometimes we continue methods that are harmful. The punishments I received in school were harmful. Anything harmful to students should stop immediately. But some, as I have reviewed in this post may not appear that harmful, but they still need to change. Take an honest look at practices and disrupt them. Work as a team, ask hard questions, and make adjustments for the best interest of students. Be willing to let go.

Check out some of my other articles on reading at Edu@Scholastic

Or, my book, The Principal’s Leadership Sourcebook, Scholastic- Evan Robb