Editorial Homework Essays - Education Reform, Home, Homework

Editorial Homework Is it not amazing that in todays society students must not only spend seven hours in school doing work, but then they must go home to spend another giver or six hours doing homework? Their grades are not improving enough to make a difference, and they are becoming extremely unhealthy. Not only does the average student suffer from sleep deprivation but many times malnutrition and emotional breakdowns. These are all caused by the over assigning of homework outside of school. How much homework is there really? Some say that for every hour spent in class a hi8gh school student should spend at least and hour doing homework and studying for that particular class. Well considering that a student would have to wake up by 6 a.m. and does not get home until around 2:30 p.m. there just are not enough hours in a day. Seven hours of school would be seven more hours out of school this would mean that if the students came home from school, they would have to works non stop from 2:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. every day. This may not seem bad until a person realizes that in todays world, the average student has at least one or two activities a week. The students may not be home until 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening, if not later and then would be required to stay up until 1:00 a.m. doing homework. This is ridiculous. This homework causes sleep deprivation; without sleep it is almost impossible for the body to function. A student could easily become ill. With only five hours of sleep, a student is less likely to wake up in the morning, causing many tardies in school. If the students become sick they will miss even more school and the makeup homework will begin to pile up. This makeup work adds hours to the regular work. Eventually the student will become so tired and ill that the stress will become unbearable. The average teenager in the year 2000 is already subject to extreme stress. This stress exemplifies with sleep deprivation and illness. Stress is an amazingly powerful thing. Any student can become stressed but with more and more homework begin added into everyday schedules, the stress factor can increase severely, causing students to become tired, irritable, ill, depressed, and even to have emotional breakdowns. This is not only unhealthy, but also harmful to the development of the student in society. This stress could be cut down tr4emendously if only less homework were given. The added work given in American schools causes stress on the students and therefore the students do not perform well in school. Their performance is the basis of college admittance and without a high-grade performance, the student will not attend a challenging and scholarly college. The need for a reduction in homework is imperative. Education Essays

Outlining Simple Homework Guidelines for K-8 Teachers

Outlining Simple Homework Guidelines for K-8 Teachers Homework; the term elicits a myriad of responses. Students are naturally opposed to the idea of homework. No student ever says, â€Å"I wish my teacher would assign me more homework.†Ã‚  Most students begrudge homework and find any opportunity or possible excuse to avoid doing it. Educators themselves are split on the issue. Many teachers assign daily homework seeing it as a way to further develop and reinforce core academic skills, while also teaching students responsibility.  Other educators refrain from assigning daily homework. They view it as unnecessary overkill that often leads to frustration and causes students to resent school and learning altogether.   Parents are also divided on whether or not they welcome homework.  Those who welcome it see it as an opportunity for their children to reinforce critical learning skills. Those who loathe it see it as an infringement of their child’s time.  They say it takes away from extra-curricular activities, play time, family time, and also adds unnecessary stress. Research on the topic is also inconclusive. You can find research that strongly supports the benefits of assigning regular homework, some that denounce it as having zero benefits, with most reporting that assigning homework offers some positive benefits, but also can be detrimental in some areas. The Effects of Homework Since opinions vary so drastically, coming to a consensus on homework is nearly impossible.  We sent a survey out to parents of a school regarding the topic, asking parents these two basic questions: How much time is your child spending working on homework each night?Is this amount of time too much, too little, or just right? The responses varied significantly. In one 3rd grade class with 22 students, the responses regarding how much time their child spends on homework each night had an alarming disparity.  The lowest amount of time spent was 15 minutes, while the largest amount of time spent was 4 hours.  Everyone else fell somewhere in between.  When discussing this with the teacher, she told me that she sent home the same homework for every child and was blown away by the vastly different ranges in time spent completing it.  The answers to the second question aligned with the first.  Almost every class had similar, varying results making it really difficult to gauge where we should go as a school regarding homework. While reviewing and studying my school’s homework policy and the results of the aforementioned survey, I discovered a few important revelations about homework that I think anyone looking at the topic would benefit from: 1. Homework should be clearly defined. Homework is not unfinished classwork that the student is required to take home and complete. Homework is â€Å"extra practice† given to take home to reinforce concepts that they have been learning in class.  It is important to note that teachers should always give students time in class under their supervision to complete class work. Failing to give them an appropriate amount of class time increases their workload at home.  More importantly, it does not allow the teacher to give immediate feedback to the student as to whether or not they are doing the assignment correctly.  What good does it do if a student completes an assignment if they are doing it all incorrectly?  Teachers must find a way to let parents know what assignments are homework and which ones are classwork that they did not complete. 2. The amount of time required to complete the same homework assignment varies significantly from student to student.  This speaks to personalization. I have always been a big fan of customizing homework to fit each individual student.  Blanket homework is more challenging for some students than it is for others. Some fly through it, while others spend excessive amounts of time completing it.  Differentiating homework will take some additional time for teachers in regards to preparation, but it will ultimately be more beneficial for students. The National Education Association recommends that students be given 10-20 minutes of homework each night and an additional 10 minutes per advancing grade level. The following chart adapted from the National Education Associations recommendations can be used as a resource for teachers in Kindergarten through the 8th grade. Grade Level Recommended Amount of Homework Per Night Kindergarten 5 – 15 minutes 1st Grade 10 – 20 minutes 2nd Grade 20 – 30 minutes 3rd Grade 30 – 40 minutes 4th Grade 40 – 50 minutes 5th Grade 50 – 60 minutes 6th Grade 60 – 70 minutes 7th Grade 70 – 80 minutes 8th Grade 80 – 90 minutes It can be difficult for teachers to gauge how much time students need to complete an assignment. The following charts serve to streamline this process as it breaks down the average time it takes for students to complete a single problem in a variety of subject matter for common assignment types. Teachers should consider this information when assigning homework. While it may not be accurate for every student or assignment, it can serve as a starting point when calculating how much time students need to complete an assignment. It is important to note that in grades where classes are departmentalized it is important that all teachers are on the same page as the totals in the chart above is the recommended amount of total homework per night and not just for a single class. Kindergarten – 4th Grade (Elementary Recommendations) Assignment Estimated Completion Time Per Problem Single Math Problem 2 minutes English Problem 2 minutes Research Style Questions (i.e. Science) 4 minutes Spelling Words – 3x each 2 minutes per word Writing a Story 45 minutes for 1-page Reading a Story 3 minutes per page Answering Story Questions 2 minutes per question Vocabulary Definitions 3 minutes per definition *If students are required to write the questions, then you will need to add 2 additional minutes per problem. (i.e. 1-English problem requires 4 minutes if students are required to write the sentence/question.) 5th – 8th Grade (Middle School Recommendations) Assignment Estimated Completion Time Per Problem Single-Step Math Problem 2 minutes Multi-Step Math Problem 4 minutes English Problem 3 minutes Research Style Questions (i.e. Science) 5 minutes Spelling Words – 3x each 1 minutes per word 1 Page Essay 45 minutes for 1-page Reading a Story 5 minutes per page Answering Story Questions 2 minutes per question Vocabulary Definitions 3 minutes per definition *If students are required to write the questions, then you will need to add 2 additional minutes per problem. (i.e. 1-English problem requires 5 minutes if students are required to write the sentence/question.) Assigning Homework Example It is recommended that 5th graders have 50-60 minutes of homework per night. In a self-contained class, a teacher assigns 5 multi-step math problems, 5 English problems, 10 spelling words to be written 3x each, and 10 science definitions on a particular night. Assignment Average Time Per Problem # of Problems Total Time Multi-Step Math 4 minutes 5 20 minutes English Problems 3 minutes 5 15 minutes Spelling Words – 3x 1 minute 10 10 minutes Science Definitions 3 minutes 5 15 minutes Total Time on Homework: 60 minutes 3. There are a few critical academic skill builders that students should be expected to do every night or as needed. Teachers should also consider these things. However, they may or may not, be factored into the total time to complete homework. Teachers should use their best judgment to make that determination: Independent Reading – 20-30 minutes per dayStudy for Test/Quiz - variesMultiplication Math Fact Practice (3-4) – varies - until facts are masteredSight Word Practice (K-2) – varies - until all lists are mastered 4. Coming to a general consensus regarding homework is almost impossible.  School leaders must bring everyone to the table, solicit feedback, and come up with a plan that works best for the majority.  This plan should be reevaluated and adjusted continuously. What works well for one school may not necessarily be the best solution for another.

Professional Nursing Organization Research Paper

Professional Nursing Organization - Research Paper Example Just like any other profession, a professional body that encompasses human care, nursing interests, governs the nursing profession. The nursing organizations ensure their future survival by determining how to carry out present actions with a view of being professional and maintaining their global relevance (Corcoran, 2000). Among the many professional nursing organizations, this paper will review the American Nurses Association. . The American Nurses Association operates under the Mission Statement: Nurses advancing our profession to improve health for all. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a full-service professional organization that represents the interests of America’s nurses. About 3.1 million registered nurses benefit from The American Nurses Association (ANA through its constituent and state nurses associations and its organizational affiliates (ANA, 2012). The ANA collaborates with the Congress to pass legislation that protects the interests of nurses and patien ts. Additionally, The ANA fosters high standards of nursing practice, projects a positive and realistic view of nursing, and promotes the rights of nurses in the workplace, and lobby the Congress and other regulatory agencies on issues affecting the health care of nurses and the public. In doing this, it relevantly advances the nursing profession. ... efines nursing as the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations (ANA, 2012). The American Nurses Association (ANA) has number of priorities that govern its operations. The ANA advocates for the provision of a caring relationship that facilitates health and healing and seeks attention to the wide range of human experiences and responses to health and illness within the physical and social environments. It seeks adherence to the set code of ethics in the nursing profession and healthcare reforms. The ANA equally promotes the integration of objective data with knowledge gained from an appreciation of the patient or group's subjective experience in the field of nursing. Similarly, the ANA prioritize safety and quality health care accorded in professional standards. Additiona lly, the ANA calls for the application of scientific knowledge to the processes of diagnosis and treatment with judgment and critical thinking. The ANA considerably prioritize the advancement of professional nursing knowledge through scholarly inquiry, and influence on social and public policy to promote social justice. In addition, the ANA aims at conserving the environment for a safer working place as well as seeking various benefits for its members (ANA, 2012). The priorities of the American Nurses Association (ANA) have significant contributions to the discipline of nursing. The priorities and the mission statement of the ANA ensure that nurses confine themselves to informative, scientific, and professional decisions while handling patients. They also ensure that patients and nurses