It’s a necessary writing strategy: know your audience and purpose.  Well, in my latest educontemplation about homework, I’ve been thinking more and more about audience and purpose when it comes to homework.

Purpose -

Purpose is what drives a writer.  Are you entertaining, informing, persuading or expressing an idea?  (Your basic 4th grade lesson on author’s purpose.)  Well, I guess my purpose in giving homework is to continue students’ learning at home, but it doesn’t always feel successful.  I have a feeling students would think the purpose of HW is to bore and annoy them.  Well, I asked my students what they thought about homework yesterday. It was the topic of a lesson in main idea and through their development of main idea and details, I was able to get a sense of what they thought of homework.

While some students will tell me that they like homework, stating they think it’s “fun”, many are honest and say that homework isn’t always fun. Now, please realize that I don’t think homework should necessarily be fun – it should be work. But the work should be engaging, challenging and even enjoyable if not fun.

Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher) is one of MANY teachers blogging about homework and in a September post, he stated reasons why not to assign homework.  These lines resonated with me, “We can make a safe assumption that a majority of kids do not find homework pleasurable. With that in mind, we will turn kids off to learning if we attempt to connect homework to learning. In my experience, homework does not instill a love of learning, it does quite the opposite.”

I believe that is what traditional homework can do, especially to the students we need to reach the most, and that brings me to audience.

Audience -

When you write, you need to know your audience, and part of that is knowing where they are coming from.

I’m sure that no matter where you teach, you have the whole range of students: the ones with little support at home or those who go home to lives that are emotionally draining as well as the the ones with educated, supportive parents.   I know that many parents who are well-intended find homework to be a power struggle with their child.  Let’s face it, when students get home, they would rather (or in actuality NEED) to do things that excite and motivate them.  Could that be the key to what type of homework we assign?

But if you think about the real purpose for homework (or at least mine): to extend learning in an engaging, challenging and enjoyable way, ALL students can lose a love of learning if the work they consitently have is based in drill and practice or busy work.  Homework should be such a natrual extention of learning from school that students should, dare I say feel motivated to do the work.

As a teacher, I must know my students’ needs, and capabilities in order to develop the right homework.  So, what do my students need?  I know they need to find the self-motivation to practice some basic skills (like reading and math facts), they need to have fun being a kid, time with their families, and to work on things that interest them such as drawing, practicing piano, building legos, etc.

So where does this lead me?  Do I have my answer yet to what is the perfect homework?  Well, no, not yet, but I’m working on it.  Please remember that this is just the beginning of my own journey in revising homework.  I don’t have the answers, but I hope to get somewhere with this homework struggle this school year. I’m happy to say that a conversation has begun recently school-wide about how we can revise homework for our students.  As for me, I believe keeping audience in purpose in the forefront of our minds is the key to success.

I welcome your comments!

~EMP

Related posts:

1. Revising Homework

Over the last few, well, years, I have been really contemplating homework: Why do we give it?  What good is it doing?  What level of quality are we getting back?  Who is taking it seriously?

In short, I have come to this sad realization that homework seems to be a more of a hassle than a help.  Kids want to be kids when they get  home, families have many activities to do, and let’s face it, I don’t want to correct papers that come in with poor quality when I know students are capable of better.  This is not to mention all the homework that is NOT passed in.  Talk about hassle!

This has become a frequent topic of conversation among my teacher-friends both in person and online.  In just the last couple of weeks, I have read from some teachers in my PLN how they have revised their method of homework, I’ve spoken with teachers in my school who are giving homework an overhaul and I’ve met with my own fourth grade team of teachers on countless occasions to discuss the effectiveness of homework and alternatives to the traditional method.

So what do we do now?  Traditionally, students have a page in math (an EveryDay Math Study Link) and a paper in spelling or grammar.  (And considering this teacher is not too fond of worksheets, that puts things on a negative side.)  Students are also expected to read for at least 15 minutes and practice their math facts.  Now that is the only part of homework that I think is consistently beneficial to students.

With all the options and alternatives that are available, I’ve decided to get started and revise how I “do” homework.  This, in and of itself, is going to be a process and I will have to just do it and trust it!

This week I took a big plunge and decided to get students working 100% online at home.  They have been introduced since the beginning of the year to three websites I plan to use throughout the year: Big Universe for literacy, Study Island for math, and Spelling City for, well, spelling.   We’ve looked at all three “places”, practiced logging on and playing around and now, they are responsible for some online assignments.  I sent home a letter today outlining for parents some of my expectations and visions for the use of these tools at home.  I’m excited to get this to be part of students’ nightly routine and am looking forward to see how and where this all goes.

Tomorrow I’ll be attending an interesting meeting with my school principal.  She has invited teachers to meet with her to discuss homework.  Just last week, I shared with my principal a letter written to parents by @looksforsun on her approach to homework this year.  I love this letter and it was what has lit a fire under me to look into revising the way I do homework.  Things are happening…

There are three things I know about homework:

1)  I want homework to be a natural extension of a student’s learning in school.  That will make it meaningful

2)  At the core of work done at home, I want students to read material they enjoy and practice their math facts.

3) I want homework to be, dare I say, enjoyable.  It should instill a sense of responsibility in the students without stressing out the parents or teacher.

It will be interesting to see how my thought process unfolds on this journey.   No more dragging my feet, I am diving in feet first.   I invite you to join me.  Please comment here and let me know what your thoughts are on homework.  What works for you?  What doesn’t?  What have you revised?  What do  you wish you could?

And after you leave a comment, be sure to visit this post about Richard Lakin’s approach to homework that was driven by Guts and Love.  Richard’s (@Thanks2Teachers) story from his book Teaching as an Act of Love truly inspired me and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

~EMP

Click one of the tags from this post to find related posts.

I was first introduced to this phrase when I was getting my masters in Arts and Learning from Endicott College.  My inspiring professor, Stephanie Grenadier, put these words (from Shaun McNiff’s book) into motion for me.  She showed me what they meant by allowing me to follow my own creative process through my classes with her.

I, the academia nut I can be, (that’s another name for “geek” )  was ready to embark on a fantastic qualitative research project involving music, my 2nd grade class and listening skills.  I was getting all my ducks in a row to start my field work and research, when something struck me way off guard – my grandfather’s passing.

Now there’s something you should know about my grandfather – I loved him, REALLY loved him.  He instilled in me a love of music that no other could have.  And his passion for Beethoven and, well, overall passion for the good things in life like family and work and integrity seemed to infiltrate the entire family.  When he died there was a rip in our family fabric that, well, I wasn’t sure how to handle.

I cried in private.  Looked at pictures.  Was really sad.

But life moved on, and there I was – attending another weekend of classes, ready to meet with Stephanie about my research project.  That morning, when I walked in, music was playing.  That was nothing out of the norm for Stephanie.  She liked setting the mood as students congregated.  But that morning, Beethoven was playing.  I sat down and not far into our morning, I had to excuse myself to be alone.

When I returned, Stephanie called for a break and she came to talk with me.  That’s when I told her about what had happened.  It was weeks ago – but still I was not done mourning.  I tried to change the subject so I could run my research ideas by her, but my words fumbled in my mouth.  I couldn’t quite get where I was going anymore in terms of this project.  Stephanie looked at me and said, “Maybe what you need to do is dig deeper into this event in your life.”

I tried to refuse, but Stephanie insisted it would be ok, it would make a great qualitative research project as well.  “Trust the process,”  she reminded me.

And so that afternoon, I wasted no time.  I went straight to my grandmother’s house and asked her if I could borrow Grampa’s books on Beethoven for a “school project.”  She was happy to give them to me.  These were the books my grandfather always wanted me to read.  In my head, I could see him sitting forward in his chair holding a book tightly in his hands, looking into my eyes with such intensity.  “Elizabeth, take this book.  You will love to read it.”

“Ok, Grandpa,” I’d say, “I’ll read it someday, but I have so mamy other things to read for school.”  He’d nod slowly and sit back in his chair.  I never read them.

That night I started reading and with every page I felt I as I was learning more and more about Beethoven, I was learning about my grandfather.

I continued my research through listening to music and reflecting, reading and writing.  Whatever one step led to, I took it.  I even took a personal day off from teaching so that I could go back to my parents house, be alone and play my piano.  I trusted the process and I felt my grandfather’s presence with me.  And with this – I found the light, the peace I had been missing.

Yikes – Well, I didn’t expect to type that entire story up to illustrate my understanding of trusting the process.  But my fingertips, just kept on moving and well, you guessed it, I was forced to Trust the Process once more.  I was expecting to elaborate on something like giving students the time to work through their own problems and mistakes so that they can own their own learning.  I figured I would give you an example of how teachers need to trust the process of trying something new in their classroom before giving up on themselves and the program they thought would work well in their classroom.  But, sometimes you just need to experience the process in a very personal way to understand the power it can have to bring you into a good place.

If the desire is there to go in one direction, try it, trust your instincts – trust the process.

No matter what it is in life or work, as long as you are not hurting yourself or others, trust the process.  It may bring you from mourning to light.  It did once for me.

Enjoy your day.

~EMP

Related posts:

1. You Just Can't Skip the Process
2. Imitation – It's Part of the Process
3. The Creative Process is a Learning Process

When you think of the creative process – a learning process – you may think that the person involved needs to be inspired by something and that they are constantly coming up with creative original material.  But that is not always the case, nor should it be.  In fact, I am a firm believer that, as you begin or continue your own process in creation, you may start with or find need for imitation.  To some, imitation is necessary, to others, it can help them through a tough patch.  Sure, there are those who can skip it altogether, but it’s important NOT to devalue imitation and modeling for those who need it.

What is imitation?  It’s  not simply copying.  It’s not copying someone’s paper to get the right answers on a test.  It’s deeper than that.  Imitation happens when someone sees something that inspires them, inspires them enough to want to do something just as great.  (And imitation IS flattery!)

I remember when I was taking my first (and only) post-high school art course.  I had some of my own ideas, but I also liked walking around and observing what others were doing.  I’d see my buddy Steve using some technique with paint and a butter knife, or my friend Cathy putting colors together I’d never tried, or my girl, Erin swirling cray-pas like nobody’s business.  And I’d rush back to my spot and try something new, making it my own.  (Yes those are real people who did really inspire me! )  And what was happening to me?  I was growing as an artist, as a learner.

I see this with my students.  They NEED to imitate others sometime.  It’s a good thing.  And when that smartie girl gets frustrated because one of the boys was copying her, we have a chat to discuss what’s really going on: he saw something she did that was cool and he wanted to try it out.  Just the other day one boy was working to design his small poster depicting the different types of sentences and he saw a girl doing it a certain way.  He took the girl’s idea, but made it his own.  The girl was using the varying end marks for declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences in her boarder designs.  He took the idea of end marks and started to create small logos using them for his own poster.  It was a perfectly legitimate way to imitate in an appropriate manner.

Some teachers encourage a type of imitation through modeling.  For example, teachers write a sentence and then the students do their own, teachers write a poem and then the students, teachers create a project followed by the students.  Teachers should model, as long as students are given more than one opportunity to try out the procedure.  Here’s what I mean.  Take writing sentences: teachers need to model this process, but as time goes on, they slowly release the responsibility to the students, and students create sentences (and paragraphs and essays) all on their own.

In the beginning of the process, students may need to imitate exactly what the teacher has.  I think that’s ok – as long as students are then given the chance to try things out over and over again, eventually creating their own work.  When a colleague was teaching me how to create a cartoon character, I needed to copy the eyes she made on hers.  For whatever reason, I just couldn’t think of any other way to draw them in the face.  I made my own nose and ears, but the eyes, I just couldn’t figure out.  The thing is, after that when I made my next character, I experimented with different eyes.

Again, I’m going to go back to writing as an example in the classroom.  As I matured as a student and was expected to do more and more writing, I always asked my parents to look over my work.  In high school, and even in college, both my mom and dad would read over my papers.  My mom was great for editing conventions and my dad was great for fine tuning content.  They took this job seriously.  I would get papers back from them all marked up and full of suggestions.  Many of the wording suggestions my dad would write in, I’d take, sometimes word for word.  I’d always feel kind of devious about that.  After all, I was kind of using someone else’s words to enrich a sentence or flush out a paragraph.  But in hindsight, I realize that’s was what I needed to become a better writer.  Slowly, the need for me to ask them for assistance died down and when I did, I often challenged some of the things my dad would put in, explaining to myself or to him, that I meant something different.  I was learning.  I was growing.  (And that was when I was in my early 20s!)

Now, I’m at a point where I feel confident enough in my writing to look it over myself and ask for another set of eyes only from time to time when something of importance is going out to parents or to the state ed departments.  My growth in writing was directly affected by my level of imitation.

Imitation is an important part of the process.  We need to make sure we do not devalue it or cut it short.  We need to be aware of the role imitation plays in the process so that it can positively affect our own journeys and that of our students.

~EMP

Related posts:

1. You Just Can't Skip the Process
2. The Creative Process and Revision
3. The Creative Process is a Learning Process

Original Artwork by AJ LaGasse

A windy road,
A straight shot.
Hills and valleys,
Easy peasy…

Regardless of how we get there – it’s a process!

Have you ever been in a situation where you knew where you wanted to go, you just had to get there?  Maybe you needed to complete a task and there were a dozen things to do in order to complete it.   Or maybe you had a destination, but the road to get there was long and winding.

I was just talking with a colleague the other day who was trying to decide what school she was going to send her Kindergarten aged son next year: the school at which we work or their hometown school.  She knew where they would end up sending him, but she still needed to inquire about what my thoughts were (since I had just made that decision this past year with my son) as well as ask others’ opinions.   She still needed to hem and haw about it, think things through and even do a little research.  It’s a process she can’t avoid.

Then there are those times when you aren’t sure what you need yet, you’re discovering your path every step of the way.  Maybe you are trying out a new way to cook an old favorite.  Or you are creating something from scratch, learning as you go.  Maybe you’re bringing up a child.

This whole new world I have created for myself online has been and is a process.   From the first community focused site I built using SocialGo.com to my present-day WordPress blogging site to whatever may come in the future… through Twitter and Facebook, Grooveshark and feed burners… everything is new territory that I need to learn and use as I continue this journey.  It’s a learning process for sure.  With every new idea, I find myself searching for more information, picking up hints and tricks.  This is a process that may never end!

To every thing of value there is a process and we just can’t avoid it!

You just can’t skip the process!

So instead – embrace it, trust it, know that it’s what you need at this moment.  If you need to do research into the night, then do it.  If you need to snuggle with your child, then do it.  If you need to give your students silent reading time in order to meet one-on-one with a student, then do it.  Take a moment to talk it out, write about it, create something, go somewhere – it’s all part of the process you need to take in order to get to where you want to go.

Enjoy the journey and don’t rush your process.

~EMP

Photo info and credits: ‘THE JOURNEY’ – Original Abstract Painting by AJ LaGasse -

Words from the artist about his painting, The Journey:

The title of this abstract art is a gentle reminder to try to be in the moment, and enjoy it — all the while trying to stay positive for the future. Of course this sounds very challenging while juggling life’s responsibilities – but you can do it!

Some day we’ll think back and wonder how we did it, but one thing is for sure — being optimistic can only help; it surely can’t hurt your progress, right?

A P.S. from me: Isn’t it amazing how when you trust the process, things just fit into place?  When looking for an image, I came across this piece of artwork – an abstract depicting The Journey.  ( I LOVE abstract art!)  But even after I decided to use this painting to accompany my post, I was intrigued to read about the artwork some more and heard the message of my post echoed in the painter’s own words about his piece.

Related posts:

1. Learning through the Creative Process
2. The Creative Process and Revision
3. The Creative Process is a Learning Process

My experience with the creative process is quite personal.  I started to experience it when I was getting my master’s degree in Arts and Learning from Endicott College.  It was during those courses in the various art forms that I was able to take the time to work through projects, persevere through mistakes and rough patches and come out with something that was satisfying, yet not quite finished.  (Nothing ever really is.)

When given the opportunity to experience the creative process, I was learning so much and because I was cognitive of my journey, it made all the more sense to apply these newly discovered ideals to my teaching.

The creative process isn’t something that happens every so often and only with art, it happens all the time and with everything.  Writing is a creative process, working is a creative process, constructing is a creative process, learning is a creative process.  When I cook, I often go through the creative process.  Whether following a recipe or trying to create a meal from what is in the kitchen I am working through stages of planning, exploring, refining, and sharing.  And all the while, I am learning: discovering what flavors work with what, what temperatures cook the best for which foods and how to best present the food on the plate.

The same is true in the classroom.  The creative process is everywhere in schools, the trick is allowing yourself and your students to recognize it in their writing, their working and their completing of projects.  It is also important to allow students to purposefully go through the creative process with certain specific tasks which can be anything including art projects and group work.  When they go through this process, they are learning so much at two different levels.

One level is the academic.  Students are deepening their knowledge of the content whether that be in art, science, math or language.  When my students work on their science illustrations to show the meanings and differences among the three states of matter, they are working on artistic skills (media, design, color) and science content (states of matter, molecular structure).

The other level of learning is that which builds character.  We learn how to plan, how to revise, how to persevere, how to work with others, how to work independently, how to communicate, and how to present our ideas.  With the same science assignment, students are planning out their illustrations, learning how to best communicate the concepts of the states of matter, learning how to budget their time and space as well as work through problems that may arise throughout the process of completing the product in an attractive manner.

The creative process is a very powerful tool that can be utilized by teachers to help students understand the importance of learning and working hard.  And by bringing these ideas to the students’ attention, they will get even more out of their experiences.

~EMP

Related posts:

1. The Creative Process Series
2. What's So Scary about Creative?
3. PLaiC – Process, Play and Balance