Shame
Is it any wonder that our students who don’t have a history of academic success feel intimidated and/or lack confidence when they return to school?
My daughter is in first grade this year and will be having homework four nights a week. If she doesn’t do her homework, the teacher will write her name on the board as a reminder. If she doesn’t have her homework the next day (including the homework from the night before), she gets detention (during recess). If it goes on another day, she has to go to the principal.
While I understand the importance of doing homework, this idea of writing student names on the board bothers me. I think this is really about shaming students into doing their work. We have a home that values education, but what about kids who come from homes that don’t? Are we really encouraging them to join the school community when we use this scheme? I’m thinking of a real boy whose name will likely be on the board a lot, and will be missing recess.
What if we did this in the workplace? Todd did not finish his task by the deadline, let’s send an email to all employees to remind him to get his work done on time. Ugh.
I also have a slight problem with homework in the first grade. I only see my kids for about three hours a day. I’d rather spend part of that time reading books we choose to read, playing games, making music, creating art, talking about our day… We talk about the decline of the family and yet here is the school system enroaching on our family time!
Anyway, we need to rethink how we try to motivate young kids. I’d wager our school isn’t the only one that uses shame.
