Every time we turn around, there’s a new educational reform, whether it be a new quota to reach for the standardized test, or the new RAMS system at TCHS. Yet two things so crucial and important to our educational career have remained untouched for as long as anyone can remember: homework and tests.
Before your imagination runs wild about how we can eliminate homework and never take another test, one teacher and a few students have already composed a coherent Homework Covenant that can possibly revolutionize and streamline the way we work at the high school.
The main sections of the covenant include agreement and participation from the teachers and the students, and parent involvement is encouraged. It reads: “Teachers Will: Post weekly homework assignments, in advance, on Edline; Ensure that homework provides relevant preparation or practice for standards based content; Provide assignments that average no more than 30 minutes per night (Monday to Thursday) for an ‘average’ student; Adhere to a testing schedule that insures that no student will be subject to more than two major tests on the same day.” At the same time, students will agree to: “Keep an up-to-date weekly planner and will be prepared for class; Practice healthy eating, exercise and sleep habits; Prioritize homework over social media, gaming and television.” (The parent section basically just encourages healthy habits and behaviors of their children.)
I know, that’s a lot to take in and probably seems sort of radical, but agreeing on a covenant like this is what we as a school need to do. Let’s face it, students have way too much homework as it is. It’s no secret, ask around; heck, even ask yourself. Many of your classmates (and you) go to bed at 1, maybe 2 in the morning after working for hours and hours on homework, sometimes even doing just busy work. Teenagers require a good amount of sleep each night to function coherently. Inadequate sleep can lead to reduced test scores and performance, let alone a nearly-zombie state of being.
And I know this covenant won’t be perfect, nor am I saying that if and when we implement this teachers should cut down on homework assignments, but the main goal behind the homework section is to make teachers more conscious about what they assign.
Posting homework assignments on Edline in advance is a big point too. I could not tell you how many times I had two days with nearly no homework only to be slammed with hours and hours the next, with no advance, only a “by the way, this is due tomorrow” at the end of class, not to mention on how many of those days I had extra-curricular responsibilities. Each individual student knows his or her schedule the best, and, we honestly deserve a larger notice than 24 hours.
And perhaps my favorite part is the section about tests. Ask yourself, how many times have you had four or five huge tests, all on the same day, and, equally important, how many nights did you get only one or two hours of sleep because you were up all night, studying for those tests? To be honest, it’s really no one’s fault, and teachers are usually very receptive to concerns and flexible with test dates. But instead of bargaining from class to class and trying to figure out when would be best, why don’t we just standardize it? Languages get one day, math gets another and science and history take the last (leaving out Monday and Wednesday of course).
And keep in mind, if we implement this, it won’t be strict. In all honesty, there really would be no “punishment” or “consequence” if a teacher doesn’t follow these guidelines (except a legitimate reason for the class to complain). It’s all about working together, students and teachers, to provide the best experience possible for students. It’s about making sure we don’t stay up until 2 a.m. each night, losing sleep, to only doze off in class.