In his blog, “No More Crappy Homework,” David Mulder poses a question to his readers wondering if homework is worthwhile. He concludes:
In some cases, yes. But in other cases…I would say it’s probably crappy homework, the kind I assigned to my middle school students 15 years ago. I am embarrassed of the quality of homework I used to assign, honestly. And rather than trying to improve the homework, I just stopped assigning so much.
This was the first time I became aware of Dr. Mulder, and we’ve become great friends since and have talked quite a bit about our profession. However, this podcast conversation revolves around the ineffectiveness and ‘crappyness’ of a significant majority of homework that I, he, and most teachers have assigned in our careers.
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Over the years, I’ve come to the conviction that homework is a greater test of socio-economic status and the quality of home/family life. Likewise, as David suggests, there are so many other things that are effective in promoting student learning that we waste too much time with an outdated practice. Finally, I would encourage anyone who is bold enough to take the #NoMoreCrappyHomework challenge and begin the process of change.
