I believe in homework. I believe that children will go home and learn with their families, learn from reading books of their choice, and learn from experiences wherever they may be. I do not believe in worksheets or "busy work."
I believe that homework should be valuable. If I assign homework, I must believe it will benefit the student in some way. Therefore, if the student does not do the assignment, or receives a low grade (showing he/she hasn't learned the material), he/she will come back to me at some point and we will work together on it.
I believe in grades. I believe that students should know where they are in relation to where they could be with their learning. That being said, I am working on how to effectively grade students based on their performance of the standards we've set for them. I do not believe on giving grades of zero when a student has not turned in an assignment. How do I know what he knows if he does not turn it in? Does a late grade of 50% off show that he does NOT know the subject, or just that he is disorganized (or had a soccer game, or... etc.)? I will be giving students time in school to complete assignments I feel will help them learn. If an assignment is not completed, but I have conversed with that student over the learning connected with the assignment, I will not put a zero in the gradebook.
I believe in testing students. I believe in testing students throughout the year, and changing what I teach to them as a result of these assessments. I believe that students should show
me what they've learned in some way. I do not believe that it needs to
be on paper with a pencil. I believe students should be able to show me
what they've learned in many ways - through one-on-one conferences,
blogging, projects, presentations, and paper. Yes, students will be
taking standardized tests throughout their career. They will, most likely, have opportunities to practice that type of testing in other classes.
