Getting the most out of students, teachers

By Max Rouzier

Children of today are being exposed to the world at earlier ages and growing up fast. Meanwhile adults want to be, look and act younger. If this trend continues children may pass their parents in mental age.

All this could become a probable future as school districts nationwide burden elementary students with more homework at younger ages.

Kindergartners are the new victims of homework that most students dread at any age. Here in the Plattsburgh City School District young developing minds are able to grow and act their age with little fear of homework.

“Children learn best through play,” says Kristine Lutters, Momot Elementary Child Advocate.

For nearly 25 years, Lutters has pushed for effective school curricula in the Plattsburgh City School District that are influential to the whole development of students at any age.

“Play is important for healthy social skills, self-awareness, cognitive development and how well kids retain what they learn,” Lutters says.

The Plattsburgh City School District wants to reach the federal mandates of the former Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, and newer initiatives of the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top program. Toward that goal, the school district is allowed to implement its own protocols to fulfill federally established assessment standards.

Lutters researches and practices methods of engaging students through play instead of lecture-based curricula, which many school districts are adopting nationwide.

Her system of curriculum development goes against other districts that feel they have to teach through lectures and give homework regularly for students to be prepared for state assessments.

“I advocate for broad-based, contextualized teaching for students,” Lutters says.

Her system is micromanaged and begins with shared experiences among a diverse group of students who see the world in different ways because of their socioeconomic status.

She tours a pre-kindergarten class, funded by the state, at Momot Elementary, the children sit around their teacher as she reads about dinosaurs. These students are learning about archaeology and paleontology and their classroom setting immerses them in the experience. They have several learning stations-- one is a sand box filled with “archaeological digs” (toy dinosaurs, bones and artifacts) and another is a campsite with a fort complete with canopy, dining utensils, notebooks and everything necessary to be comfortable as they discover a foreign prehistoric world. Lutters calls this, “building an authentic context through play,” where children learn together and at the same pace.

NCLB and Race to the Top place pressures on administrators and teachers to reach standards and maintain them at the risk of losing federal funding. That pressure becomes more testing and lecturing in schools even at the elementary level. That pressure trickles down to children and parents who are now dealing with homework, sleepless nights and family conflict because of it.

Sara Bennett, an education reform activist and concerned parent living in Brooklyn, N.Y., that began her steps toward improving the American education system with her own children. Her first son was in first grade when he started coming home regularly with a significant amount of homework. She immediately discussed the issue with the teacher and resolved the matter. The teacher gave less assignments, but Bennett had similar conversation again with other teachers in consecutive years.

“Most of the time teachers wouldn’t know parents cared about homework or how long it took, and when I told them, then they reduce the homework,” Bennett says. “A lot of times, they [teachers] forget or do not know what it’s like to deal with a child coming home with homework, especially when these teachers are younger and don’t have their own children.”

Events like these motivated Bennett to learn more about the current state of homework in America. She researched the topic further and eventually wrote, The Case Against Homework: How homework Is Hurting Our Children and What we Can Do About It. Her conclusion is most homework is “busy-work” that does not engage students of any age to think critically about an idea or the world.

At Keeseville Elementary students are tested every 10 days, and some students are tested weekly. This is part of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment, playfully titled, Dibles, which measures the literacy skills of students.

Heather Brault teaches at Keeseville elementary. She used to be a full-time teacher and has since become an academic intervention services (AIS) math teacher. Brault works with students individually to better handle their academic needs.

Stephanie Petro, a teacher at Peru Intermediate School, says, “Our goal as teachers is to challenge students at their particular rate of learning.”

“Basically, state assessments identify students I need to work with,” Brault says. “I try to reinforce concepts through games and activities, but sometimes there are time constraints.”

Educators cite standard assessment as a problem for children students nationwide, not because it creates pressure for them to learn material, rather assessments tend to be limited in their measurements.

I am not opposed to standardized assessment, but I think for the millions of students they give them too, it is a narrow way to assess critical thinking and enthusiasm for learning,” Lutters says. “To only have a skill-based assessment is too narrow.”

Bennett says, “Every kid is creative, interesting and loves to learn. And homework ruins that.”

For Margaret Felty, Momot Elementary speech therapist, homework is not on the agenda either.

“My teaching style is well-backed through research,” Felty says. “I teach through unstructured lessons, creative art projects, I read to them and we have discussions together for listening.”

Petro, has a son in kindergarten at Peru Intermediate School, appreciates this learning style and technique.

“My child recently learned about Antarctica, and had an exercise to plan an imaginary trip to Antarctica by packing a suitcase with things necessary for a trip like that,” says Petro. “I think he learned a lot and retained more because it was more fun.”

Some teachers send homework home to ensure parents spend time with their children and be aware of the current lessons taking place in the classroom.
Lori Walters-Kramers, a parent, says, “Every so often he [her son in kindergarten] brings home assignments from a workbook or a vocabulary list. She [the teacher] doesn’t ask for proof of completion, but she makes it clear that she encourages shared time for the parent(s) and child.”