Ditch That Compliance

Ditch That Homework, by Miller and Keeler, is a direct guide for teachers that sought to make an impactful difference for their classrooms. The authors explore the idea of how teachers, veteran or new, can and should reanalyze the design of the classroom experience to guide the students to success. 

This is my review of one chapter: Ditch that Compliance. 

Some of my peers or contemporaries may differ in their opinion of this, but this statement resonates all the more for me after my practicum experience: “I didn’t get into teaching so I could distribute points” (119). It feels too much like aspiring to be the stern McGonagall from our childhood school fantasy series, “ten points to Gryffindor”. No, thank you. There must be more than this. I am not the only one whose goal is to reach their hand down to the next generation and help pull them up over the cliff edge of Ignorance.

            Throughout this book, wonderful as it may be, I see many examples of teaching ideas for grade-school to middle-school. The consensus seems to suggest that at some point early on in education, the students lose interest. By the time they reach high school, complacency rules their minds. But is this the student’s fault? I don’t believe so; they are just trapped by low expectations, expectations that have been reinforced by years of “education”. So, now what? What am I supposed to do to correct course, reinvigorate learning? Miller and Keeler offer multiple examples and ideas for lower grade-level teachers to use. This is a statement from a fourth-grade teacher from Ditch That Homework, “as [students] get older, the amount they read decreases” (130). So, as a prospective high school teacher, do I just accept what I am given? Of course not! It just can feel daunting when thinking about reinventing the wheel and trying to collaborate with others to do so. I see that there are a few ideas from this book that support ideas that I had already been having, such as book blogs, reading journals, or the PCI method. The PCI method, or Passage/Connection/Illustration, has some merit since it connects the student’s learning to what else is happening around them or in their minds.

Citation

Miller, M. & Keeler, A. (2017). Ditch that Homework: Practical Strategies to Help Make Homework Obsolete. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.