The Homework Myth

 

In our journey as educators, we constantly seek to refine our practices to best serve the needs of our students. One area that always receives much attention and discussion is the role of homework in the academic lives of our children. Today, I want to share with you some insights and considerations regarding our homework policy, drawing inspiration from the ideas presented in Alfie Kohn’s book, “The Homework Myth.”

Alfie Kohn’s work challenges conventional wisdom surrounding homework and prompts us to question its effectiveness, purpose, and impact on students’ learning and well-being. Here are some key points from his book that I would like to highlight!:

  • Questioning the Value of Homework: Kohn argues that much of the homework assigned to students lacks meaningful purpose and doesn’t necessarily contribute to deeper understanding or mastery of concepts. Instead, it often becomes a source of stress, frustration, and disengagement for both students and families.
  • Focus on Quality Over Quantity: Rather than assigning homework for the sake of it, we should prioritize quality over quantity. Meaningful learning experiences can occur both inside and outside the classroom, and homework should supplement, rather than replicate, what happens during instructional time.
  • Promoting Autonomy and Responsibility: Kohn suggests that students should have more autonomy in their learning, including the decision of whether or not to engage in homework. By empowering students to take ownership of their education, we foster intrinsic motivation and a deeper sense of responsibility for their learning journey.
  • Balancing Academic Demands and Well-being: It’s important to recognize the holistic needs of our students. While academic rigor is important, so too is their well-being. Our goal is to strike a balance between challenging kids academically and ensuring they have time for rest, play, and pursuing their interests outside of school.

Based on these insights, I’d like to remind you of some principles that have guided Plato Academy’s approach to homework:

  • Purposeful and Meaningful: Homework assignments are thoughtfully designed to reinforce learning objectives and provide opportunities for students to apply what they’ve learned in class.
  • Flexible and Individualized: We recognize that students have diverse learning styles, interests, and responsibilities outside of school. Therefore, much of the homework is flexible, allowing students to work on things weekly at their own pace, This includes Reading logs, Khan Academy for middle school math practice, MobyMax activities, etc. Teachers may also tailor a student’s homework expectations to their needs and preferences.
  • Minimalistic Approach:  Assignments are focused and concise, expecting that students can complete the assignments independently while still experiencing meaningful challenges. Our goal is to eliminate busy work at home.
  • Encouraging Communication: We value open communication between teachers, students, and parents. We encourage parents to extend childrens’ educational experiences by reading aloud daily to children of all ages, playing board and card games, and watching and discussing movies together as a family!

 

I invite you to join us in rethinking the role of homework in our children’s education. By embracing a more nuanced and thoughtful approach informed by research and reflective practice, we can create learning environments that empower our students to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

 

Thank you for your partnership in this journey. We always appreciate the trust you place in us for your child/childrens’ education!

Special Tribute…

As you all may already know, Plato Academy lost two champions earlier this month. Board of Directors member Stacey Sauvageau lost her fight with cancer… I’m pretty sure it’s the only fight she ever lost! I also lost a best friend, a partner in education, and a true intellectual who could discuss any topic for hours over a cup of coffee.

A few weeks later we lost another member of our founding Board, Dr. Catherine Antonopoulos, who was also a former Plato Academy principal in the 1980’s and also a force to be reckoned with. The three of us were an unbeatable team! We navigated the school through turbulent times, having to move into four different buildings until we finally found our amazing and forever home last year.

When Stacey, Catherine, and I incorporated Plato Academy as an independent progressive school in 1999, we had a very clear vision. We wanted to create a school that honored children and how they learn. We wanted to allow children to play, be curious, be problem solvers and ultimately become critical and analytical thinkers. We also wanted to be sure that our students maintained that love of learning that every toddler exhibits as they explore the world. We wanted to create a school where students were not defined by grades and standardized tests. In this way we would not be inclined to compare one child to the next. We wanted to create a school where students are honored for thinking “outside the box:”  We wanted to create a school where the most important lesson was that of philotimo. In our vision, there was to be no predetermined curriculum, but rather one that emerges from the interests of the learners themselves. Our hope was that the lessons our students learned during their time at Plato Academy would impact their lives in such a way that they themselves would become future champions of education and philotimo!  

Plato Academy has a dedicated and diligent School Board, a talented staff and an amazing director at the helm. We are all completely dedicated to the Plato Academy mission and ideals.

Stacey and Catherine, your spirit will continue to help guide the Plato Academy team as we continue our purpose of educating the citizens of tomorrow!

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.”

Philanthropy can be broadly defined as love for humankind. It is derived from the Greek words “philos,” which means loving and “anthropos,” which means humankind. A person who practices philanthropy is called a philanthropist . I am taking this opportunity to acknowledge the philanthropists of Plato Academy. Young children who see a need in the community and rise to the challenge of addressing that need in a very real way!
A number of years ago, I became familiar with the St. Baldrick’s organization through my daughter, who was an anesthesia resident at Rush Medical College at the time and became a chairperson of their event. I introduced the event to our middle school students and initially they held a bake sale to raise money for the cause. The following year, those same middle school students attended the St. Baldrick’s event sponsored by Notre Dame High School. They came back to school saying, “We could do that here!”  That is when The Plato St. Baldrick’s event was born! Since then, our event has raised tens of thousands of dollars for pediatric cancer research, and has also raised awareness and brought in young cancer survivors for us to meet, befriend, and honor. Each of these events starts with the passion of a single volunteer who is willing to shave their head or cut off their ponytail to provide wigs for children touched by cancer. The passion that these young Plato students have shown for compassion and caring is remarkable.
You may ask, “What does social justice have to do with education? Social justice education has the ability to help students develop their critical thinking and questioning skills while also developing soft skills such as empathy, compassion, as well as a desire to get involved in their communities. Social justice education is at the core of what we do at Plato. It is the highest level of curriculum theory…it is Praxis, which means informed, committed practice. What we learn in school, leads us to how we can use that knowledge to impact the world in some small way. It’s the Plato way!
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Philotimo

Philotimo!

This is a word that you have encountered on our website and on the walls of our classrooms.

We frame our curriculum around it.

We use it to drive our exploration of identity.

We consider it when we think about who we are and what we do that honors others.

We use it as a guide to help others simply because they need help.

We do the right thing because we believe it is our duty, even when nobody is looking.

 

The socioemotional health of our students is of utmost importance, especially in this time of a global pandemic and quarantine from our family, friends, neighbors, and loved ones. This is why we have stayed so committed to onsite learning at Plato and took the difficult steps needed to assure everyone’s  safety. We thank our staff, families and students for being diligent and caring. This has been a way for us all to demonstrate our commitment to philotimo. And even if we need to move to remote at some point, our responsibility to our students and families will not waver.


A wise person recently wrote, “If a child can do advanced math, speak 3 languages or receive top grades, but can’t manage their emotions, practice conflict resolution or handle stress, none of that other stuff is really going to matter”
Well, of course we want them to be mathematicians, of course we want them to be good communicators, of course we want them to be deep learners. But all of that must be done in the context of an environment that honors each and every person’s emotional well-being. Therefore, we spend as much time on helping our kids, teachers, and administration live up to the values of philotimo in our classrooms as we do focusing on their “academic” skills.
Along with our goals promoting the  21st century skills of Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking, we are guided by philotimo as we try to promote a healthy sense of self, empathy, and altruism.
There is strong scientific evidence to support this important relationship between social emotional learning and cognitive development.

Philotimo embraces all of the values that lead us to wisdom and integrity. A commitment to love and kindness, as well as a respect for family and community, is embedded into our curriculum across the disciplines. It is embedded in the novels we chose to read and explore. It is embedded in the many experiences that kids have to feel capable and competent. It is embedded in the moments kids have to be critical thinkers and see problems as opportunities to find creative solutions. This is what often sets Plato Academy apart!
          I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them” JFK

Multi age classrooms at Plato Academy

For the last twenty years, Plato Academy has framed our curriculum in a multi age philosophy and the academic and professional success of our graduates certainly seems to support that we are doing it right!
 
Grade level curriculum is an arbitrary construct. At Plato we have chosen to teach taking into account each student’s actual level of achievement. All students differ in abilities from subject to subject and mixed age grouping eliminates the standardization of curriculum and looks at the needs of each individual student.  We all work in settings where age is not a determinant of success, a younger person is often a mentor or an older person. Why would a classroom of kids be different? 
 
In a mixed age classroom, learning is not linear but rather holistic and it is supported by the needs of each student in the community. Various ages and ability levels in a classroom add complexity and richness to the kids’  learning explorations. Classrooms read and explore literature that is beyond “grade level” and we teach math concepts in ways that are relevant and make sense to kids regardless of how old they are.
 
In same age classrooms, kids are taught a standardized curriculum that assumes that because kids are the same age, they are developmentally, emotionally, and academically the same. So a small percentage excels, as defined by a grade (A or B) a percentage is average (C) and that’s good enough and the rest fail. A mixed age classroom avoids this. Students  are aware of each other’s talents and challenges but they are less likely to compare themselves by age.  All students are given the time they need to progress and excel.
 
As for the decisions made for grouping, we typically try to keep our learning communities together as they progress from teacher to teacher. This year due to pandemic constraints about group size, we needed to make decisions also based on other factors as we reduced group sizes to 10. Much care was made to keep parts of communities together as we also considered the social emotional development of our students.

Regarding content, as you know, each teacher explores different topics of study. Subject matter varies from year to year and is not standardized.  The indepth study of the topic is what is valued and the integrations of math, science , literacy and the arts so that the students’ understanding is deep.  It’s not at all about accommodating the learning of a 2nd grader vs a 3rd grader vs a 4th grader. We don’t at all consider curriculum in this way. Our goal is to graduate students that can walk confidently into any high school, including those with selective enrollment and be able to rise to any academic and social challenge. The journey at Plato from prek- 8th grade is what leads kids to that success.
  
For further reading:
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson
Free to Learn by Peter Gray