Things continue to change this year and the next item on the “chopping block” is homework.  Our new principal wants to form a committee to look at getting some uniformity in everyone’s policy.  I am sure like your school, the teachers make up a very diverse population and all have different policies regarding homework.  I think this issue is also reflective of the type of students that attend each school and the amount of supplies and books each school has as well as “past practice”.  I have been at my school for eight years and the overall feel for homework is very relaxed and in some classes, it doesn’t even exist.  I wonder if that is in every school?  If a teacher’s lesson is based primarily on the students doing homework, that teacher could face a room full of silent students the next day, due to the fact that homework is not a priority.  So, do we buck the system and demand it any way or try to be creative and figure our how to avoid many homework situations?   I am anxious to attend this committee meeting to see what comes of it.  I know that I am one of the more strict teachers with due dates where others are more relaxed.  Even though I have set a policy in my class, it is often over turned.  Sometimes I wonder why I continue to make myself look like an idiot.  Why make rules only to have them reversed if a problem arises with a student?  What I see as being difficult is having a policy in place that pleases everyone just because everyone teaches differently and has their own style.  The principal’s concern is that since each room has a different policy, it becomes difficult for the students to remember who has what policy.  Aren’t high school students able to take responsibility and become familiar with the different classes that they take? Where has student responsibility gone?!

We have had a very interesting issue come up in the school that I teach in. Suddenly, there is an emphasis on the grade level of the books we teach in English class. I was wondering how English teachers select the novles they will teach in class. Do you worry about the reading level, do you consider the content and how well the students react to it? Or, do you consider the reading level of the majority of your students and select a novel based on that? What really matters in selecting a good novel to teach? Since I teach 11th grade English I am also curious as to what novels you do in your classes? A list would be great!