What's In Your Desk Drawer? Day 14

Well, that's a strange ruler...

When I was in elementary and middle school, I would not have characterized myself as a "math guy." It's not that I was horrible at math. In fact, I must have been pretty good at math, because our school had a tracked math program. Somewhere early in our school career (grade 2?) we had a formal assessment that put us into one of three tracks. As kids, we called them the "smart class," the "normal class," and the "dumb class." Our teachers never named them that way for us, of course (but you get the idea...and they may have thought of it in those terms too.)

I was placed into the "smart class," and we were generally moving a bit faster through the curriculum, so that by the time I was in 6th grade, I was taking "7th grade math." And thus, by 8th grade, I was taking Algebra 1, which normally would have been a freshman math course.

Here's the catch: I was, I think, one of the "dumbest" kids in the smart class. If I had been in the "normal class," I probably would have been one of the "smartest" kids.

Why share this story?

Regarding Homework...

Why do teachers give homework?

I was a middle school classroom teacher for the first eleven years of my teaching practice. The longer I taught, the less homework I assigned. That's not to say I didn't give students assignments--but they rarely had to do them at home. I'm curious about how teachers use homework, and what role it really plays in students' learning.

It seems to me that teachers generally assign homework because they feel some pressure to do so. They may put that pressure on themselves; they believe that assigning homework for their students will afford the practice they need to master certain content or skills. Others feel pressure from colleagues: "The other 6th grade teachers are assigning homework...so I guess I should too!" Others may feel pressure from parents who don't want their kids left behind somehow. Still others may feel pressure from their school or district; there may be school- or district-wide policies in place requiring a certain amount of homework at different grade levels.

The argument often goes that homework will improve achievement--that students will learn more if they have homework.

Rethinking Math Class

Just came across this one via Twitter. (Thanks, @grantwiggins!) I had to watch it twice. You might too.

Whoa, right? Makes me wonder what else we should rethink from math class? As a former middle school math teacher, I'm a little shaken up. (Though I hope I would be a much better math teacher today--I sometimes feel bad for the kids I taught way back when...)