How Much Homework Should Students Have

Parents have been questioning the excessive amount of homework given in schools, both public and private for years, and believe it or not, there is evidence that supports limiting the amount of homework children have can actually be beneficial. The National Education Association (NEA) has released guidelines about the right amount of homework--the amount that helps kids learn without getting in the way of their developing other parts of their life. Many experts believe that students should receive roughly 10 minutes per night of homework in the first grade and an additional 10 minutes per grade for each following year. By this standard, high school seniors should have about 120 minutes or two hours of homework a night, but some students have two hours of work in middle school and many more hours than that in high school, particularly if they are enrolled in Advanced or AP classes. However, schools are starting to change their policies on homework. While some schools equate excessive homework with excellence, and it is true that students benefit from some work at home to learn new material or to practice what they have learned in school, thats not the case with all schools. Flipped classrooms, real-world learning projects and changes in our understanding of how children and teenagers learn best has all forced schools to evaluate levels of homework. Homework Needs to be Purposeful Fortunately, most teachers today recognize that homework isnt always necessary, and the stigma that many teachers once faced if they didnt assign what was simply perceived as enough is gone. The pressures placed on teachers to assign homework eventually lead to teachers assigning busy work to students rather than true learning assignments. As we better understand how students learn, we have come to determine that for many students, they can get just as much benefit, if not more, from smaller amounts of work than larger homework loads. This knowledge has helped teachers create more effective assignments that can be completed is shorter amounts of time.   Too Much Homework Prevents Play Experts believe that playtime is more than just a fun way to pass the time—it actually helps kids learn. Play, particularly for younger kids, is vital to developing creativity, imagination, and even social skills. While many educators and parents believe that young children are ready for direct instruction, studies have shown that kids learn more when they are simply allowed to play. For example, young children who were showed how to make a toy squeak only learned this one function of the toy, while kids who were allowed to experiment on their own discovered many flexible uses of the toy. Older kids also need time to run, play, and simply experiment, and parents and teachers must realize that this independent time allows kids to discover their environment. For example, kids who run in a park learn rules about physics and the environment intuitively, and they cannot take in this knowledge through direct instruction. Too Much Pressure Backfires With regard to kids’ learning, less is often more. For example, it’s natural for kids to learn to read by about age 7, though there is a variability in the time individual kids learn to read; kids can learn at any time from 3-7. Later development does not in any way correlate with advancement at a later age, and when kids who are not ready for certain tasks are pushed into doing them, they may not learn properly. They may feel more stressed and turned off to learning, which is, after all, a life-long pursuit. Too much homework turns kids off to learning and makes them less—rather than more—invested in school and learning. Homework Does Not Develop Emotional Intelligence Recent research has demonstrated the importance of emotional intelligence, which involves understanding one’s own and others’ emotions. In fact, after people reach a certain base level of intelligence, the rest of their success in life and in their careers can be attributed, researchers believe, largely to differences in people’s levels of emotional intelligence. Doing endless amounts of homework does not leave children the proper amount of time to interact socially with family members and peers in a way that will develop their emotional intelligence. Fortunately, many schools are trying to reduce students’ stress after realizing that too much work has a deleterious effect on kids’ health. For example, many schools are instituting no-homework weekends to provide kids with a much-needed break and time to spend with family and friends. Article edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

African Americans And Black Crime - 1462 Words

A challenge I think African Americans families face in the 21st century is black on black crime. Just recently in the Brown vs Ferguson case African Americans properties were destroyed, vandalize, and burned after the verdict of officer Wilson not being indicted. I thought instead of the African Americans going against each other they should have showed more respect and honor for each other. The Micheal Brown case was a tragic loss to the black community, especially after the lost of Trayvon Martin having the same verdict. African Americans as a whole could have shown a little more of a positive response to each other. Black on black crime that occurs when the poorest, weakest members of a population turn on each other out of desperation. African Americans come against peers and neighborhoods who are black. African Americans are the number one race in America by a percentage of 49% of crime within each other, followed by American Indians. Today African Americans are about 13 perce nt of the population and continue to be responsible for an inordinate amount of crime. The black arrest rate for most offenses; include robbery, aggravated assault and property crimes as you seen in recent justice cases such as Brown and Trayvon. Black on black crime has been a part of the American lexicon for years(Bain Friends, 2000). The willingness of so many black Americans to kill and hurt one another by not being able to see each other as a family, despite common past and present. TheShow MoreRelatedRace And Punishment : Racial Perceptions Of Crime And Support For Punitive Policies1308 Words   |  6 Pagesof Crime and Support for Punitive Policies, which is about her study of police shootings disproportionately affecting African American and how media coverage shows racial bias against African American. 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What Is Rotaract Free Essays

Rotaract clubs are part of a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world. This effort starts at the community level but knows no limits in its outreach. Rotaractors have access to the many resources of Rotary International (RI) and The Rotary Foundation. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Rotaract or any similar topic only for you Order Now Rotary International provides the administrative support that helps Rotaract clubs thrive. History Rotaract has evolved quickly in its short but dynamic history. In the early 1960s, Rotary clubs around the world began to sponsor university youth groups as community service projects. The 1967-68 RI president, Luther H. Hodges, and the RI Board of Directors considered this club activity to have international relevance, and Rotaract was approved in 1968 as an official program for Rotary clubs. The first club chartered was the Rotaract Club of North Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, on 13 March 1968. Several decades later, the Rotaract program has grown into a strong, international network of 7,300 clubs in more than 150 countries and geographical areas. Rotaract’s 145,000 members are young men and women (ages 18 to 30) who serve the needs of their communities, widen their personal and professional contacts, and increase their understanding of the world. Goals Rotaract has the following goals: ? To develop professional and leadership skills ? To emphasize respect for the rights of others, based on recognition of the worth of each individual ? To recognize the dignity and value of all useful occupations as opportunities to serve ? To recognize, practice, and promote ethical standards as leadership qualities and vocational responsibilities ? To develop knowledge and understanding of the needs, problems, and opportunities in the community and worldwide To provide opportunities for personal and group activities to serve the community and promote international understanding and goodwill toward all people How does Rotaract fit into the Rotary family? Rotary International is a worldwide service organization for leading business and professional men and women, with more than 1. 2 million members in over 31,000 Rotary clubs. Each Rotaract club is sponsored by a local Rotary club. This sponsorship is a result of Rotary’s belief that you ng people, or New Generations, should take an active interest in community life and have the opportunity for professional development. Organizing a Rotaract club is one of the most rewarding activities a Rotary club can undertake in its community. The Rotaract program gives Rotarians the opportunity to mentor dynamic young women and men interested in providing service to their own communities as well as the global community. In turn, a Rotaract club can bring new energy to a Rotary club, inspire fresh ideas for service, increase support for projects, and help develop future Rotary club members. Rotaract clubs are self-governed and largely self-financedat the local level. Working in cooperation with their sponsoring Rotary clubs as partners in service, Rotaractors are an importantpart of Rotary’s extended family. What does a Rotaract club do? Rotaract clubs organize a variety of projects and activities, depending primarily on the interests of the club members. However, within the Rotaract program, all clubs undertake three types of activities in varying degrees: professional development, leadership development, and service projects. Together, these three areas ensure a balanced club program and provide important experience and opportunities for the personal development of each Rotaractor. Professional Development A club’s professional development activities should expand the members’ understanding of the work environment and business opportunities within their community. These activities should highlight the Rotaractor’s role in the community’s economic development and illustrate how skills developed through service activities can help in resolving problems in the workplace. Each Rotaract club should provide professional development opportunities to its members through activities such as: ? Professional and vocational forums Business technology updates ? Management and marketing seminars ? Conferences on business and professional ethics ? Presentations on finance and credit options for business start-up Sponsoring Rotarians can enhance the professional development of Rotaractors by providing practical advice on entering the business world and tackling business, vocational, and professional challenges. Making the club’s professional d evelopment projects into joint Rotaract-Rotary projects can also help Rotaractors get better acquainted with sponsoring Rotarians. Leadership Development A club’s leadership development activities aim not only to make members more effective leaders in their personal lives, but also to teach them how to develop and sustain strong clubs with relevant projects. Important topics to address in training club leaders include: ? Improving public speaking skills ? Developing techniques for marketing the Rotaract program to potential members ? Building consensus among members ? Delegating project responsibilities and ensuring necessary follow-up ? Identifying channels for project publicity and promotion ? Finding financial resources for strengthening club development ? Assessing project success Service Projects Service Above Self is Rotary’s foremost guiding principle. A Rotaract club’s service projects are designed to improve the quality of life at home and abroad. These projects often address today’s most critical issues, such as violence, drug abuse, AIDS, hunger, the environment, and illiteracy. Each Rotaract club is required to complete at least two major service projects annually, one to serve the community and the other to promote international understanding. Each should involve all or most of the members of the club. How to cite What Is Rotaract, Papers