Duties, the great debate of early childhood education
It springs again great debate: do homework or homework do not? The answer seemed very clear a few months ago, when through change.org, a very large platform for online petitions, Eva Bailén collected approximately 120,000 signatures in defense of the rationalization of duties as a spokesperson for one of the initiatives with the most impact on education.
However, many of the students from Spanish schools that have experienced the effective application of the proposal have seen their performance and generic academic performance reduced. For this reason, many organizations ask again that the duties of the children be reduced.
From the Doctor Fleming School in Móstoles, its director David Prados, Philosophy professor and father of a family, defends the idea that homework "is as important as sport and leisure time". For Prados, the debate does not lie in the "duties of not-doing" but in the way of "focusing those duties". In this sense, he proposes the use of different tools such as the one in vogue "Flipped Classroom"or Inverted Class.
With this, the teacher prepares a series of videos using new technologies and digital media and makes them available to students with a view to establishing a dialogue in future classes to settle effectively the knowledge already acquired in the classroom and also encourage the reflection of the student. Thus, the only thing that the student has to do at home is to watch the proposed pieces and take some notes to talk later in class with their teacher and classmates.
Spanish duties are not the Finns
Often, the case of Spain is compared with that of Finland or the Asian countries, which are the ones that now head the OECD lists in terms of school results. However, for Prados there is no possible comparison. "We are not Finland and we are not Singapore," he says. Although the methodological guidelines of the foreign educational systems can be put on the table, it is clear that each one has its peculiarities and that these, motivated mainly by cultural reasons, must always be respected.
The benefits of homework for children
Those who defend the position that the duties are maintained consider that only through the rational and logical habit of the task is it possible for the children to get used to developing the patience and effort for which, after three days of studying, they overcome the tests imposed . In this sense, it is absolutely necessary that they themselves become aware that, thanks to continuous work, they have achieved their objectives. For this reason, the group we allude to often holds that to remove the duties is to condemn the child not to develop his habit of study and work. Thus, the main benefit of the study at home is the acquisition by the child of a sense of responsibility for which little by little he understands that:
- He is able to sit in front of a book: patience
- Is able to go little by little studying: effort
- You will achieve your goal: sacrifice
Our children are the greatest we have and that is why, with reason and with sense, it is our duty to make them autonomous. But how do we get it? The formula is very simple and goes through to settle the effort and work so that there is always an independent work. We will see how there even comes a time when the study initiative starts from themselves. We will move to the background and our duty will be only to ask from time to time if everything is going well. But to reach this point we must build the foundation of a shared trust, which is built over time and always evolves favorably.
Time limits for homework
The group of teachers is fully aware that, perhaps, one of the most controversial issues raised by parents is the number of hours that their children must spend at the front of the class notes. Many advocate the possibility of establishing an estimate of the time that children have to devote after the school day to the study but ensure that no limits can be set.
We have to question ourselves, at this point, if the origin of the problem lies perhaps in us and in the condition of workers that we assume irrevocably at present. Did our parents complain because we had many duties? Did we protest? It is clear that we make a mistake when we stay until nine o'clock at night with the child doing exercises and more exercises. It is something that, in the long term, is only detrimental because that autonomy we were talking about is reduced and, given the lack of time, we end up doing part of the little one's task. This leads to the ironic situation that teachers end up valuing the result of the father's work in the child's duties.
Today, there is no doubt, parents complain more than before. Maybe the roles have changed. Maybe the explanation is another.In any case, the solution proposed by Prados is very simple. In Children, children should not take homework. It is enough with the classic free drawing or tab of review for the weekend, while in Primary the children will take the duties that the teacher considers necessary so that the apprehended concepts are learned and end up being part of the cultural baggage of the child. David Prados reminds that the decisions have to be made by the professionals and not the parents, who sometimes act as teachers forgetting the positions that in the educational chain parents, teachers and students have to occupy so that the process is effective.
Elisa García
