Unhomework E-Book

Mark Creasy

• Herausgeber: Independent Thinking Press
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

In a dynamic and ever changing education climate it is important to re-evaluate practice in schools on a regular basis in order to ensure that we are doing the right thing for our children. With questions being raised over the value of homework, Mark Creasy advises teachers and parents on how to get the most out of homework without letting it get in the way of their lives. This book questions the necessity of homework while recognising that most teachers have a statutory duty to provide it. The author provides suggestions for how teachers can make homework more effective, applicable and less pointless; organising classroom learning to allow children to set their own homework and creating opportunities for learning out of everyday situations.

Leseprobe

PRAISE FOR

UNHOMEWORK

This book offers an inspiring alternative to the setting of homework for homework’s sake. Mark shows us how to turn the sometimes dubious exercise of ritual homework-setting into a genuinely useful and positive experience. He demonstrates how homework can play a significant role in pupil progress, so that it is no longer seen as a bolt-on activity by learners or their teachers.

Written in a lively and accessible way, Mark’s theory of Unhomework makes differentiating for every learner both simple and tactful. His innovative approach is sensitive to all three faces of the homework experience – learner, teacher and parent.

Isabella Wallace, education consultant, author and presenter, founder and managing trustee of Reach Out 2 Schools

Unhomework furnishes a philosophy for all primary and secondary teachers with a reliable array of homework tactics, resilience and thought. This book re-kindles the value of home-learning and fosters the process from a creative-curricular experience. This completes the perfect homework utopia. Using project-based learning, Creasy shuns the traditional homework-setting and chasing methods and shares his epiphany millisecond (which you may also have experienced) that transformed his thinking about homework altogether! Unhomework promotes inspiring, well-thought-out and differentiated homework that has stirred my own practice. This will add value for all individual teachers and students alike in any school and, in reading this book, you will secure a classroom experience that lowers teacher-workload, yet heightens student grit and independence.

Creasy showcases ‘enquiry within a context’; learning beyond the classroom and equipping students to think, in order to take responsibility for themselves to increase rewards both emotionally and intellectually. He quite rightly berates the worksheet and advocates self-selecting timeframes and missions. Unhomework, full of intrinsic values to shift school policy, has thoughtful analogies: ‘When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad!’ In a nutshell, Unhomework is the passport to ‘free children from the straightjacket of standardised homework’. I cannot wait to get back into the classroom to mutate my plans from homework to Unhomework. A brilliant read that I want to devour all over again!

Ross Morrison McGill, teacher and author of 100 Ideas: Outstanding Lessons

I was hooked from the off, as the book was inspired by a child’s comments, not dreamt up due to government reform or an Ofsted checklist – although I am sure it would satisfy both. Mark draws on many sources, from Pablo Picasso to Vicky Pollard, yet it is children who have clearly been his defining teachers and inspiration throughout.

I continued with a wry smile as another savvy pupil exposed the flaws in setting traditional homework, only completing it when he thought it was for his benefit not the teacher’s – ‘Sneaky!’ Like any good educational book, this held up a mirror to my own practice and made me question whether I was merely obeying the homework policy, checking that task off and moving on the learning, without allocating quality time for children to reflect. Am I allowing opportunities for them to develop and show off their strengths as they complete homework, or just confirming what I already know?

Mark continually reinforces the need for consistency and trust in the children, with his philosophy of the 5Rs at the heart. The students can then take responsibility for their own learning with the teacher as the trusted ‘guide at the side’; ‘unGoogleable’ tasks are set but the teacher is there to support children as they wrestle with their own insecurities or fear of failure.

I loved reading the personal and shared successes through scripted anecdotes, particularly where children had surprised themselves, their teachers and/or their parents. Also, the wonderfully moving tales of pupils empowering each other through praise and constructive criticism, modelled by their ‘guide at the side’: children hailing their peers as the motivation to challenge themselves further, ‘I didn’t know what I could do until I saw others doing it – they inspired me.’ It is child-led learning at its most powerful, as they set the timeframe and success criteria, which they can then use to assess against. And it will be completed because they want to – they understand the responsibility that this freedom brings.

Now is the perfect time to reflect on your own practice as educational policy puts homework back into the hands of head teachers. Unhomework is purposeful and stimulating, a chance for children to develop their learning skills whilst exploring the new knowledge-heavy curriculum: this is truly a platform for children to prepare socially and emotionally for the unknown challenges of the twenty-first century.

Unhomework addresses how to involve everyone – I will be sending out Mark’s list of how parents can help develop their child’s learning skills at home and adding my own. There are even examples and resources to help practitioners, from NQTs to head teachers, get started. Again I was moved at how the children had inspired colleagues and convinced parents, as a unit, using the 5Rs; a personal reminder to share my own and my class’s successes, not by preaching but ensuring I don’t become an ‘educational Gollum’.

Ruth Saxton, primary teacher, AST in creativity and chair of the National Association for the Teaching of Drama

Avoiding stagnation at all costs, and maintaining an enviable passion for children and the learning process, Mark Creasy is a teacher who thinks outside the box, outside the classroom and outside the norm. He transcends the perimeters of the classroom walls and takes his students with him! Fanatical about teaching and learning, he endeavours to make learning exciting, meaningful and memorable for the students. He seeks strategies that give his students opportunities to investigate real-world knowledge, taking learning to the next action-packed level. Think maverick innovation, the unexpected, movement-oriented and a little bit crazy … then you’ll be on the right track.

Both as a teacher and a parent in daily contact with adolescents, I believe the ability of young people to engage in rigorous analytical thinking, creativity and problem-solving has been eroded. It would seem to me that Mark’s Unhomework addresses all of these skills. Unhomework stresses that the role of a teacher is crucial in not only guiding young learners in their search for information, but also in providing the tools to evaluate the usefulness and veracity of that information and to formulate their own thoughts and arguments on the basis of it. At a time when a curriculum and exam-driven education system straitjackets even the most dynamic teacher, so that schemes of work and lessons often become stifling and not stimulating, Unhomework inspires the practitioner not only to facilitate thinking skills and PLTS but also to build in opportunities for young learners to become creative, critical thinkers: room to make lots of mistakes, to build resilience and to know how to learn anything they choose to. Unhomework emphasises the need to give all young people a huge ‘toolbox’ of thinking skills – a toolbox they can dip into at the most appropriate moments. Mark Creasy reminds us that it doesn’t mean we don’t teach the basic skills of literacy and numeracy, but that we can choose skills-driven methods to allow children to see the different ways there might be to learning things.

Sarah Noble, head of department, modern foreign languages

With this book, Mark Creasy has tackled an area of education (homework) which has long needed addressing. As a Year 4 teacher, I can readily connect with his ideas and the thinking behind Unhomework. I am sure that other teachers will do the same.

The book’s informal style makes it enjoyable to read whilst dealing with what can sometimes be a ‘touchy’ subject between teachers, children and parents.

Mark has used some catchy chapter headings to engage the reader and in each chapter he ‘says it how it is’, in real-life situations. Interspersed with the theory are snippets of Mark’s humour and wit. Each chapter leads effortlessly on to the next.

Not only will this book appeal to teachers but it will also interest parents. As I am sure Mark will agree, when it comes to homework, getting parents on board is half the battle.

Davina Suggett, Year 4 teacher

Mark Creasy expertly steers you away from the trials and tribulations of homework and into the realms of Unhomework! This book is not just about making the most of lost opportunities for additional learning; it really gets to grips with how and why children learn and how the traditional concept of homework does not necessarily do what it is supposed to. As a teacher or school leader there is much to consider here. Be prepared to read this book, reflect on your own experiences of homework, be convinced there is a better way of doing things and then go to school and make some changes!

Allow Mark to help you with ideas and inspiration for making a difference to your children’s learning. Allow him to inspire whole school policy on learning and explore the true benefits of Unhomework. When you read this book, and you should, you will see how important it is to make the most of learning opportunities in school and at home.

As a parent, I often get frustrated with the standard and relevance of the homework my own children receive. Maybe at the next parents’ evening I should casually leave a copy of Unhomework on the desk and see what transpires!

Unhomework will give you the inspiration and practical guidance you need to break free from the ‘curse of the worksheet’.

Dave Whitaker, executive principal, Springwell Community Special School and Barnsley PRU

Unhomework is an interesting concept and one which may strike fear into a few colleagues who cling on to the security blanket of the worksheet-style approach to homework – after all, it is a rare constant in this ever-changing educational landscape! At a time when a new curriculum is being introduced, this book suggests how we may grasp the chance to try something new and ‘dovetail’ it into a creative approach to all that we do in school. This is a golden opportunity to truly let pupils lead their own learning and follow trails of enquiry that will motivate and engage them. Not only that, it will also increase the chances of getting parents on board. This is a book with plenty of ideas for teachers and practical ways for parents to support their children.

Beverley Dandy, head teacher, Outwoods Primary School

Whenever I run a parents’ session about homework, the results are almost always the same. Some parents believe that schools should be chastised for setting second-rate homework, such as ‘finish off what you were doing in class’ or, just as bad, MOTS (more of the same) and so miss an opportunity to stimulate additional learning in their children. On the other hand, some parents question the value and purpose of homework as a substitute for the many exciting things they could be doing with their family instead. Still others believe the school is trying to turn them into teachers, at best, or dictators, at worst, who police the quality and quantity of their child’s homework. For any child caught in the middle, this can be extremely frustrating, but for a highly able child it can be nothing short of torture. Imagine having all those ideas going round in your head and being told to do something far more boring and meaningless! I was therefore delighted when I was asked to read and review Mark’s book about Unhomework. The structure it suggests for challenging children so that they go as far as their potential allows is so interesting that I would recommend it to every teacher and challenge them, whether they are in primary or secondary school, to implement it for just one term and evaluate the results. I will certainly be including references to his approach in our future workshops on homework.

Denise Yates, chief executive, Potential plus UK (formerly the National Association for Gifted Children)

For Deryn, Jessica and Thomas, thank you for your inspiration

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book wouldn’t have been possible were it not for a huge cast of people. Firstly, Deryn and Jessica, you are the reason I do everything I do. You inspire me every day to try to be better than I was the day before; thank you for your love, support and unstinting encouragement. Also, to my mum and dad, who’ d have thought a council estate boy from Hayes (correctly pronounced ’ayes) would have a book? Thanks to you I do!

I can’t name every colleague I’ve ever worked with, but I have to give special thanks to Daryll, Shirley and Rhett – you made such an impact at the key times in my professional career – and to Andrew B for your encouragement and guidance when I needed it most. Similarly, it’s impossible to list every child I have ever taught who has inspired, challenged, provoked, spurred and taught me, but this book is for you all and those who follow.

Finally a huge thank you to Ian Gilbert, Caroline Lenton and Peter Young for seeing potential in the idea of ‘Unhomework’ and supporting me through the entire process; without you the book wouldn’t have been written. To anyone else who thinks they should have been mentioned, I apologise; it wasn’t done on purpose – well, probably not!

INTRODUCTION

This book began life as an idea that grew out of a chance conversation and follow-up email discussion with Ian Gilbert following the Independent Thinking ‘Big Day Out’ in Nottingham. Two years later, this book is the expression of over ten years’ practical work in classrooms across four schools. During this time I have achieved the position of head teacher and have taught a range of subjects to children from Year 4 to Year 13. This will hopefully continue for a long time to come.

I qualified as a physical education teacher at Exeter in the late 1990s. Then, as now, PE didn’t require homework as such, so in the earlier days of my teaching career I didn’t need to worry about it. However, as I moved away from the gym and into the classroom, initially teaching my second subject of English, I realised more and more that homework was pretty much a waste of time – not just the children’s time, but the teacher’s time as well. Apart from the hours, effort and paper which went into such work, most of the homework I set until that time simply confirmed what I already knew: that it didn’t really take the children any further or deeper into their understanding. It was just homework for homework’s sake. I have to admit that I just copied the pattern I saw colleagues using, arguing that I was simply ‘following the scheme’. But this was not how I taught. Simply following a lesson scheme wasn’t how I worked inside the classroom and it wasn’t how I wanted my classes to perform outside of it either. Yes, I was one of those (annoying) colleagues who could set the work and the children would bring it in, which was something that my homework-chasing colleagues would often complain about. They either had to ask repeatedly, or they didn’t get it in at all.

I couldn’t help thinking that traditional homework was putting us on some sort of educational hamster’s wheel. I used to put a lot of time and effort into preparing the copies of the work for each child, which they went away and completed for me to mark, but neither of us were really enjoying the process. This kind of learning was neither exciting nor rewarding – for me or for them. However, as a ‘maverick in the classroom’ (as one of my head teachers put it), following the same ritual as everyone else didn’t sit comfortably. I spoke to other colleagues, but at that time none of us felt empowered enough to challenge the status quo, and sadly, as the children expected or knew no different, so it continued.

Ironically, given the perspective some people have about certain types of schools, it was when I was working in a Special Measures school in Luton in 2003 that my homework epiphany came. Although many people believe Special Measures to be constraining and about box ticking, one of the wonderful things about Special Measures is the freedom it gives you if you’re prepared to take it. The clue is in the name: you’re working together on doing something different, because whatever it was before, it didn’t work. It was Dale who was instrumental in my change of mind. Dale, a Year 10 boy, would have been described as a loveable rogue by those who knew him. The middle child of a large family, he had the charm and smile to compensate for his usual lack of work and effort and was one of those children whom you just wished would recognise how talented he really was. However, football and girls were more his focus! I was teaching him GCSE English when he burst one of the great educational myths. He said, ‘So, I have to spend at least an hour every night doing my homework, yet I’m supposed to be developing myself into a rounded young man – whatever that means.’ He continued, ‘Then, you spend even longer marking it all. But you have a family you must want to be with. Surely there’s a better way than all this, isn’t there? Why do we both put ourselves through this, when we could be doing other, more enjoyable and fun things instead?’

I thought about what he’d said and realised that Dale was right: it was time to break the pattern. There really was no point to homework; well, certainly not in the ritualistic way in which I had been setting it up to then. In fact, for the first time ever I began to look at the very nature of homework in a more holistic manner, in terms of how it was getting in the way of having a good life for me and my classes. This was with special regard to the buzz phrase ‘lifelong learning’ with which I was being bombarded at work, in the TES and at every course I went on at that time. I had to reconsider whether I was truly doing my bit to ensure and cement this philosophy. I came to the conclusion that, unfortunately and somewhat depressingly, I wasn’t. It was at that moment that I resolved to do something different. However, despite my personal revelation, I worked in a school with a clear homework policy and expectations.