Homework, the great debate. It’s quite ironic that @steemiteducation set this as their “homework” task for the week, since it has been a hot topic among many parents and teachers I have come in to contact with lately. Steemiteducation raises the following debate:

Some teachers believe that homework is not important, and that children must do all work at school because parents are too involved in completing the projects for their children.  What is your feeling about this. Do you give out homework or not? - https://steemit.com/education/@steemiteducation/day-209-homework-inside-please-make-sure-to-read-the-rules-for-criteria-of-posts-let-the-fun-begin

It has been a while since I have headed a classroom as a teacher, so please excuse me if I am writing this more from a parent’s perspective. Now, some argue that we are currently babying our younger generations, while others say we expect too much of them by filling their schedules with extra curricular activities and mountains of homework. I tend to agree more with the latter.

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My son has the privilege of attending a Waldorf school, where they do things more than a little differently. They keep worksheets and textbooks to the bare minimum and focus more on practical aspects of learning. They also ask the students what they would like to learn, over and above the set curriculum, and if they show enough interest, they open up the subject to them (they go as far as hiring a new teacher to assist with this alternative subject). Again, my son is very privileged.

Here’s the catch though. If they want to learn something that is different or strays from their current school work, they need to put in the extra hours at home. This is possible since there is NO homework for the general subjects. If a child does not complete his work in class, then yes, he is asked to finish it home, since the work must get done. But after school hours, while at home, Waldorf children are encouraged to study information and try new and different things, beyond what the Grade 12 certificate requires. 

I think this is awesome and is an excellent way of encouraging kids to actually enjoy learning! Not only that, they also broaden their knowledge and become what I like to call “street smart”. To ensure that each child does in fact pursue a study in something that interests them, in their 12th year of school (Waldorf education is completed in 13 years), they are asked to write and illustrate a book on their favourite interest! Call it a thesis if you must! 

To add to this, parents are EXPECTED to get involved. Yup, like it or not parents, you are a part of the education process and there’s no “the dog ate my homework” excuse for you. Parents are an integral part of the learning process and without their support, encouragement and input, the whole learning process is likely to be null and void. 

Homework is in fact, work that must be done at home. I don’t believe however that it is “school” work that should be done at home. By all means, if your student does not finish his lesson material or work in class, send it home with him, since it has to be done! BUT, are additional worksheets and tasks necessary? Why not encourage the students to use this extra time at home to delve deeper than their school books. Ask them to look out into the big wide world and find something that really grabs their interest, something they can claim as their own and then ask them to put every effort in to learn more about it.

While we need schools and the educations they offer, there is so much more out there to discover, something that one might miss if they are constantly tackling mountains of worksheets or practicing maths equations over and over again. But that’s just me.

If you are not familiar with the Waldorf education as an alternative learning method for your kids, I strongly advise that you give them a Google. They are the fastest growing alternative education in the world, and I believe there is good reason for this. 

Much love - @sweetpea

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