As I approach the one year anniversary of my blog, I find
myself reflecting on how I’ve grown as a learner and leader over the past
year. The very idea that I will continue
to learn and reflect on education practices, reform, literacy, and the arts is nestled
in my blog title—Learning to Muse.
What will it take? How can we get the idea of wonderwork to replace homework? I'm not completely sure but I’m going to start by signing off to help my sixth grader finish his wonderwork right now. He’s working on a science fair project where he’s wondering which hand soap will be most effective with eliminating bacteria. Stay tuned this week as he collects and analyzes his data.
My second blog post, 3
Meaningful Homework Practices, developed the way many of my posts develop—after
conversations face-to-face and virtually with friends, family and colleagues or
after reading various articles, novels, and nonfiction books. Interestingly, this post on homework brought
only one comment on my blog, but it also brought a comment via twitter, and
this comment has had me thinking and reflecting all year on the purpose and value of homework. Who would have known last
January that I would one day, in the same year, begin working side by side with
the very person who has caused me to reflect in 2012 on the value of homework?
As a result of all this reflection and reading on the purpose and value
of homework, I entered last week’s twitter #wonderchat already wondering about
how we can provide more interesting and meaningful opportunities for children
and teens when they are at home. The site Wonderopolis offers a wealth of possibilities
as do many other engaging sites for children and teens. To my delight, a twitter friend—Paul Hankins— suggested
the possibility of wonderwork to replace homework. Check out some of our conversation on this
topic last Monday night.
What will it take? How can we get the idea of wonderwork to replace homework? I'm not completely sure but I’m going to start by signing off to help my sixth grader finish his wonderwork right now. He’s working on a science fair project where he’s wondering which hand soap will be most effective with eliminating bacteria. Stay tuned this week as he collects and analyzes his data.
Feel free to share
your own ideas for wonderwork in the comments below.
