Action, Reaction, No Action?

Why students don’t do their homework and how we should continue to assign it

Another day in the life of a student!

Students are supposed to do their homework. And why wouldn’t they? For many, this is the first thing they think about when they get home. Often, daily math homework is simply free points in the grade book, and daily reading should be a natural and automatic occurrence. In a perfect world, everyone has enough time to complete everything, and does it to the best of their ability and hand it in on time. We don’t live in a perfect world. Students miss class and lose instruction, forget about assignments, and simply ignore homework until it’s piled so high it’s ready to overflow.

I struggled for a long time to find a perfect solution to an impossible problem. How could I motivate myself to complete my homework. It didn’t matter to me, so why would I go out of my way to make myself do busywork? More importantly, how could I change my attitude and begin to change? I now have some ideas. Some claim that students lack understanding, and experience constant disruptions. Others say that students think homework is too time consuming, or it doesn’t offer any physical rewards. I disagree. I believe that everyone understand the value of homework. I think we just don’t care enough. It’s obvious to most that when your grades are slipping and you see missing and late assignments in the grade book, you know exactly what you need to do to fix it. When the last test went badly, and you needed to ask for a retake. When the essay you had weeks to write is suddenly due next period. When the book you had an entire summer to read is just remembered on the day before school starts.

If some students do homework, and others put it off until the last minute, what can we do? There is no easy answer to this question. The larger issue lies within the students teacher have in their class and the nature of one size fits all homework assignments. If I choose to do all of my online Consumer Economics quizzes, and my friend doesn’t, then I’m the better student, right? Well, yes, until we start math homework and while my friend grabs his notebook and calculator, I just don’t want to reach for my math book, as the effort involved just seems to much for math. Why don’t I just grab the book and get started? Why can’t I just put down my phone for ten minutes and start it?

Cell phones and homework don’t mix!

It all comes down to attitude. I want the instant gratification of having fun on my phone, but don’t want to deal with the consequences of not having my math homework finished. I ignore it. Tell myself I’ll deal with it later. It’s not my problem now. This issue closely ties one major cultural problem, one I plan on addressing in brief here. Abigail Hess, a Careers Reported for CNBC Make It says “But while researchers maintain that cell phones, along with other forms of technology, have the potential to be distracting, others say that banning cell phones is an over-adjustment, and many claim that having phones in schools can be helpful for students who need to stay in touch with their parents.” This is an issue for a later blog, but the important takeaways are this. First, students with phones tend to get distracted even during school hours. Second, after school time is always free time. Third, homework is done in students free time. With all of this being true, and the fact that students need time to develop a good homework-doing mindset, students are encouraged to use their phone or any other thing as a distraction. It’s a lot for students to deal with. It’s a lot for me to do. I cannot fix homework, although I am assigned homework regularly, I personally have no experience giving homework to a child. So what if we did the unthinkable? Can educators change the minds of students around the world? Can we all fix homework?

Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford thinks we can. One of her most important points in her research was “In preparing kids for what will happen in class, homework should concentrate on tasks that can’t be done effectively during the school day.” By doing things uniquely tailored to the students home, students are able to focus on interesting concepts and are tasked with completing assignments that might not be fun, but are easier to focus on. This encourages creative homework assignments and raises students to use their time wisely. Pope also says “Just because a lot of homework is assigned doesn’t necessarily mean it is intellectually demanding.” She goes on to say that she advises teachers to always ask themselves a list of questions before assigning homework: What is the purpose of the assignment? How long will it take an average student to do it? Is it clear? Is the homework valuable and meaningful to students? What is the quality of the homework being assigned? In other words, does it serve to engage students more deeply with the material—or is it just busy work?

So the next time you or your child complains about being assigned homework, talk to your teacher and see what you can do to make homework better for yourself. I appreciate when my teachers tell me the focus on the homework and make it enjoyable for the entire class, but just remember there will always be times when homework is just that. Homework. And sometimes, although not perfect, the best way to do it is just to get it done.