HC English Department

" It seems, we are in the dark about engaging students in the homework process.  Specifically, what contributes to homework resistance?  How can we better support students in not only completing, but learning (gasp) from assigned homework? To answer these questions, I examined a number of research articles.  I focused on interviews/surveys with classrooms that struggled with homework completion (to identify triggers).  Also, I used data from classrooms with high homework achievement (to identify habits from the homework pros).   Here are 6 research-backed reasons for why students resist homework- plus tips to help overcome them."

"In the middle of the school year, I always regret my choice of becoming an AP and Honors English teacher. Not because I hate to teach, but because I'm always swimming in essays that I have to grade. In order to accommodate the load, I adapted the elementary way of thinking and formed a writers' workshop for my own classroom. Once they participate in the workshop, students are able to learn how to revise their own essays. Because of this, the time it takes for me to grade essays is literally cut in half. Suggestions for Implementing a Writers' Workshop in Your Classroom"

"In an education landscape that dramatically deemphasizes creative expression in favor of expository writing and prioritizes the analysis of non-literary texts, high school literature teachers have to negotiate between their preferences and the way the wind is blowing. That sometimes means sacrifice, and poetry is often the first head to roll. Yet poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and understand any text. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy in the classroom community, while also emphasizing speaking and listening skills that are often neglected in high school literature classes."

"Perez says when students are engaged, predicting answers, talking with one another and sharing with the class in ways that follow safe routines and practices, they not only achieve more but they also act out less. And everyone, including the teacher, has more fun. "If we don't have their attention, what's the point?" Perez asked an audience at a Learning and the Brain conference on mindsets. She's a big proponent of brain breaks and getting kids moving around frequently during the day. She reminded educators that most kids' attention spans are about as long in minutes as their age."

"Paradoxically, when kids go to school they stop asking so many questions. "Children enter school as question marks and leave schools as periods," Berger said, quoting Neil Postman.* But why? There are a lot of understandable reasons why questioning drops off in school. Foremost among them is time. "Time really conspires against questioning," Berger said. "In the classroom there often isn't time to let kids ask their questions." And really good, deep questions often take a lot of time to unravel - more time than a harried teacher trying to cover all the curriculum often feels she can afford. And while time pressure is a very real part of teaching, not making time for questioning says a lot about how valuable it is to us. People make time for the things they value."

"This collection offers middle and high school teachers multiple ways into the idea of "creating a culture of argument" in their classrooms. In other words, it offers advice and support for why it is important to give students many opportunities to practice argument writing, and lots of practical and material support for how to do that."

"Four years ago, I quit zeroes. They are no longer allowed in my classroom. I still have F's which communicate, in number and learning, performances well-below standard. Kids still receive failing scores in my classroom, but I don't tack on punishment, additional insult to injury in the form of sub-50% scores; 50% is now the lowest score possible in my class. The kids know from the mark that they have failed to meet standard; I don't need to crush them more with added penalties. It makes sense to me, it makes sense to my kids, and it makes sense to parents. It's also beginning to make sense to some of my colleagues, who, too, have adopted a no-zero policy. But not all. Some of my colleagues have accused me of malpractice, suggesting I am ruining kids' lives by not teaching them a lesson. And I guess of that I am guilty. But I sleep at night knowing that I have given kids a fair shake, and while I may not be teaching them the harsh lessons of life, I am giving them opportunity by creating a realm of possibility in room 219."

The challenge is pretty straightforward. Choose a topic you care about, gather evidence from both New York Times and non-New York Times sources, and write a concise editorial (450 words or fewer) to convince readers of your point of view. Because editorial writing at newspapers is a collaborative process, you can write your entry as a team effort, or by yourself. When you're done, post it in the contest form below by March 29, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern."

We've done the math, and below you'll find the 100 most-commented-upon questions we've ever asked that call for persuasive writing. Many of them are, of course, on topics teenagers care about - technology, video games, sports and gender issues. Others are classic debate issues like government regulation and gun violence. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the broad topic that seems to engage students the most? School - from questions about homework to cheating, bad report cards, bullying and gym class. So skim the list and pick issues that interest you. Each question is linked to a related Times article, which you can access free, and includes additional subquestions to help you flesh out your ideas. "

Members of the 127-year-old American Dialect Society anointed "they," the singular, gender-neutral pronoun, the 2015 Word of the Year. As in: "They and I went to the store," where they is used for a person who does not identify as male or female, or they is a filler pronoun in a situation where a person's gender identity is unknown."

" As the technology to shoot and edit films becomes more ubiquitous, where is a teacher with no experience in video production to begin? I've shared some resources below to help you and your students get started on making blockbusters of your own."

"I talked with Cain about her mission of supporting introverts, and asked her advice on how to teach them."

"You plan. You assess. You network. You collaborate. You tweet, differentiate, administer literacy probes, scour 504s and IEPs, use technology, and inspire thinking. And for all of this, you're given bar graphs on tests to show if what you're doing is actually making a difference. But there are other data points you should consider as well."

"Some of us have been there. You have a room full of 30+ students, and you wonder how it is possible that so many kids or teenagers could actually be that quiet. Many avert their eyes, thinking that if they don't make eye contact, they can achieve the superpower of invisibility. Then, there are those five students who confidently and regularly raise their hands, waiting to be called on to answer the question that has been posed by the teacher. Regardless of the topic, regardless of the questions, it is usually the same five hands that sprout up each time. How can we improve our practice so that more engagement occurs for all students and not just the confident few? A successful discussion is typically dependent on two factors: the topic and the level of participation. How can we choose subjects for discussion that interest and yet educate students? How can we run our discussions so that all students have a voice?"

"Most schools do not have a scope and sequence for speaking. Most teachers have never attended a district workshop about how to teach speaking: RTI, yes; bully-proofing, yes; a new math program, yes; instructional rounds, yes; speaking, no. Teacher-preparation programs do not have a class devoted to teaching listening and speaking. Education conferences don't have sessions on how to teach speaking. Yes, some schools now pay lip-service to oral communication and are hip enough to claim to value presentation skills, but such stated priorities mean little without coherent instructional support."

"Somewhere in this stuff lie the real treasures. Full-length articles just published into the air that - it seems - haven't found a 'real' home where the words would meet thousands and thousands of eyes. Often it's obvious why: the topic might be too esoteric, too personal; a rant even. But again, that's what makes it great: unedited, unadulterated, free of compromise, lighter. The highest proof of a mind's music and voice. As I mulled all this the other day, I thought back to the best I read recently. Four came to mind on the spot:"

"Should teachers call on students who haven't indicated they want to talk and, in fact, have tacitly indicated they don't want to talk?"

Nice infographic for the classroom on how to use Google more effectively.

"There are plenty of resources out there that can speed the editing process up and make you more confident about the work you're submitting. For today, I went though Product Hunt's newest Tools for Writers collection and chose my seven favorites. Use them all, and you'll be a stronger writer faster than you can say, "How did I ever live without these?"