Back to school doesn't have to mean back to homework

When I suggested to Chris Anderson, the creator of TED Talks and now TED-Ed, that he might want to reconsider using the term "Flip" for all his teacher-created videos, he looked puzzled. Flipped classroom, or flipped video in this case, refers to the practice of doing homework in class and watching the instruction at home. I explained, that the power of video doesn't have to be relegated solely to work that happens at home. Instead, these videos can be powerful in school learning tools as well. 

He asked why teachers and parents wouldn't want to watch these great videos for homework. I explained that there is a growing movement against homework among parents, educators, and students. Kids already spend about 6 hours a day with academic pursuits chosen by other people. More and more people feel time at home should be chosen by the child and his/her family. 

When we do this we empower and trust families to decide what they want to do when they leave school. Instead of homework, they may want to:

Play outside. 
Be with friends. 
Have dinner.
Talk and laugh.
Play games with friends or family. 
Read a book. 
Write a book.
Make a video. 
Draw. 
Chill out. 
Be bored. 
Sleep.

We need to take the work out of the home and give time back to students and their families. 

As I shared with Chris Anderson, this is a growing movement led by some of my favorite experts to do just that.  Here’s the video they’re using to make their case.

The below video is another anti-work at home video created for viewers to share and discuss with friends, colleagues and any PTA members or leadership officials

You have read this article Alfie Kohn / Chris Anderson / homework / TED Talks / TED-Ed with the title Alfie Kohn. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2012/08/back-to-school-doesn-have-to-mean-back.html. Thanks!

Are Report Cards Really the Best Tool for Capturing Student Learning?

I recently become a fan of Joe Bower's blog, "For the Love of Learning" where he spends a lot of time explaining why he despises grades and wants to abolish homework. He shares the reasons for his sentiment as well as many alternatives.  You can read about his dislike of grades here and his dislike of homework here.  He's also a fan of Alfie Kohn who has provided the foundation for many of his beliefs and in his Museum of Education post, he shares a collection of his poignant articles like grades provide little to no information for students to use in order to actually improve. 


As I reflected upon my own experience as a learner I realized that my report card had summed up my whole year or entire college experience with a few computer-generated numbers or letters that made me easy to quantify for school report cards and district report cards and state report cards and maybe federal report cards, but they didn't really say much about who I was as a learner.  


I then took a look at how many unschooling and homeschooling families report on student learning collected at askpauline.com at this link where you'll find samples like K's 3rd grade summary/log, A's 7th grade unschooling summary, and many more.  When you read these ungraded reports of how children spent their year, you get such a deep insight into who these children are, what their passions are, and how they spent their year.

Compare that to typical report cards our students get today and you'll easily be able to tell who's got it right when looking at "The No Child Left Behind" accountability lead system of better ed = more tests and harder tests OR the Joe Bowers and Alfie Kohns of the world. 

You have read this article Alfie Kohn / assessment / grading / Joe Bower / personalized assessments / portfolio assessment with the title Alfie Kohn. You can bookmark this page URL https://benncam.blogspot.com/2011/02/are-report-cards-really-best-tool-for.html. Thanks!