Homework Night in Canada

So today, in a group of four, I had to do a presentation/debate on the issue of assigning homework or not assigning homework to students: how does it impact their social, academic and family lives? The content itself is mildly interesting – the upshot seems to be it’s all an opinion question – but our format was killer.

We spoofed Hockey Night in Canada, complete with theme music, modified opening sequence and logos. I played Ron MacLean. Kurt was my sidekick, Don Cherry. Matt was Kelly Hrudey and Lisa was Elliott Friedman. Kurt is a very funny guy and did a great Don Cherry. The rest of us delivered respectable performances and the class loved it. I must have had 30 people come up afterwards and say how funny they found it. Heck, they even gave us a standing ovation, which has not happened before for anyone else’s presentations.

I really feel like I worked hard on this project and put a lot into it and it was really gratifying so many people enjoyed it. This group was a dream to work with (and with so many of our projects being group work, I’ve experienced bad ones) and I had a great time. Usually after a presentation or big assignment I just feel relief, but today I felt great satisfaction at a job well done. I’ve come home and am now having a glass of wine to celebrate.
Oh, and for those wondering, yes – this is how they train teachers :-)