Melissa Bailey Photo
Harries (right) and Weisselberg.
Garth Harries wants kids to start doing more homework — real homework.
Harries, the school system’s new superintendent, delivered that message during a meeting Tuesday night at City Hall, on the eve of the first day of school. He spoke to five members of the aldermanic Education Committee for about an hour and a half on a range of topics.
Harries said in his travels through city schools, he often asks kids how much homework they do every night. He said many students have told him they do only a half-hour of homework per day, or get it all done during a study period.
He contrasted that to suburban districts, which he said face the opposite problem: Parents are crying out against too much homework. Some suburban districts have set policies capping homework to 15 minutes per grade level, he said. That means 1st-graders are capped at 15 minutes; 5th graders at 75 minutes; 9th graders at 135 minutes; and 12th graders a supposed to complete no more than three hours’ work at home.
“We are nowhere near” that level of homework in New Haven, Harries said with dismay. There is a “distressing amount” of homework being completed.
“Some homework can be bad,” and some can be helpful, he noted. But “It’s learning time. It is important for our students.”
After the meeting, Harries elaborated on his remarks. He said he drew that observation mainly from spending time at the city’s two comprehensive high schools, Wilbur Cross and James Hillhouse. When he visits schools, he said, “I always think it’s important to talk to the kids.”
“The vast majority of high school kids I talk to tell me [they] have between 15 minutes and half an hour of homework,” he said.
Harries said he’s not calling for a mandatory homework minimum; he’s making an observation about a problem that needs to be addressed.
“The answer isn’t just assigning more homework,” he said. Schools need to figure out “how to make work purposeful, meaningful” and relevant to kids’ lives.
“It’s not OK for homework to be dry repetition” of work done in class. “It needs to be deep and engaging work that drives student interest.”
He said he doesn’t intend to blame any group — teachers or kids — for the amount of homework completed.
He said when he learned about the suburban efforts to cap homework, “that was eye-opening for me to see and to understand.”
“For our kids to rise,” it’s important for them to continue learning at home, he argued. He said raising the bar on homework should be part of a conversation on “parental expectations” — parents’ role in helping their kids learn.
“The school day is not over at 2 o’clock,” he said.
Sue Weisselberg, the school system’s head of wraparound services, noted that many New Haven kids work or take care of family members at home.
Harries acknowledged the point. “Work experience becomes part of learning if we’re thoughtful about it,” he said. Since becoming acting superintendent in July, he has placed a greater emphasis on “personal development” of kids, not just academic success.
Newhallville Alderwoman Alfreda Edwards (at left in photo with Downtown Alderman Doug Hausladen), who chairs the Education Committee, was asked her stance on homework. She said the amount assigned varies from school to school. Homework should be assigned every day “except for Friday,” she opined.
Beaver Hills Alderwoman Angela Russell said her experience with her own two daughters has fallen at both extremes.
Russell’s daughter Brianna (who overcame blindness to join the cheerleading squad) receives plenty of homework at Wilbur Cross.
Her other daughter suffers from multiple disabilities, including deafness; she attended Hillhouse High. That daughter had “no homework” there, Russell said. “Once that bell rang, we picked her up and that was it.” Her daughter has since moved to the American School for the Deaf, where she is “flourishing,” Russell said.
“I’m glad homework is on the table,” Russell said as she left City Hall. “I don’t care what kind of homework” — kids need to keep learning at home, she argued.