Note
to Students and Parents about Homework
12/14/2006
The purpose of homework is to
give the student practice using the concepts we discuss in class. I don’t
believe it’s possible to really understand mathematics without doing some on your
own. Listening to my class presentation or reading the book are not substitutes
for actually working through the concepts and problems on your own.
Typically I will answer
questions about a homework assignment at the beginning of class on the day the
assignment is due. My intent is that students will attempt the homework outside
of class and come armed with questions about the problems they did not
understand. Many times a number of students will have difficulty with the same
problem, and they can all benefit by hearing each others’ experiences with the
homework concepts.
I don’t give homework just
for the sake of giving homework and my assignments are seldom extremely long.
Unfortunately, a number of my students have become quite lazy about homework in
recent weeks. I’ve observed more than a
few cases of homework being done during class while I’m taking questions about
the assignment. That isn’t the purpose of that class time. Too many of you are also coming to class with
no homework at all or a minimal effort on the assignment. This isn’t
acceptable.
For this reason I’m going to
be grading the homework much more carefully the rest of the year than I did
during Fall Trimester. I’ll also be routinely checking over papers at the
beginning of each class prior to the question session. A student without a paper will receive a
zero; a paper with only part of the assignment or little evidence of effort
will receive a reduced grade.
Here’s what I would like to
see on a typical homework paper:
The problems should be worked out on the homework
page.
Don’t just put the answers down. Just
putting answers from the back of the book is not evidence of effort.
Don’t recopy your homework to make it neat. I’m much more interested in your process of
working the problems than I am in the answers.
Complete all of the problems assigned. Make notes on
your homework about any problems you were unable to complete. Show what you did
to attempt the problem. What made it hard? What kept you from completing it? I
don’t penalize homework grades for students who make an honest effort but
aren’t able to complete all the problems.
Above all students should not
allow themselves to give up easily if they don’t understand one or more
problems!!! Make sketches, notes to
yourself, etc. Show me your thinking process as much as you can. Read the
textbook and/or check the class notes file from my webpage. Call a friend or get help from a teacher or
another adult. It’s not supposed to be easy,
but neither is it impossible!!!
DRH dhanson@parishepiscopal.org