Practicing for edTPA

This past month in 435 has been good. The main focus has been on practicing for edTPA. It has been great experience being able to complete all 3 tasks along with the commentaries. I would say that my biggest learning experience for this month has been in writing the commentaries. It has helped me realize that these are difficult, but they can be done. I have learned some edTPA language and how to write effective commentaries that show my reader everything they need to know. I have also been able to spend more time in my placement. My students are learning and I love being able to teach them. We have been working on finding the evidence in the text in small groups and we are teaching them skills and building on their knowledge to get them prepared for this EOG! I know they are going to rock it. I will also get to experience my first night of Parent-Teacher Conferences and I am excited. I am looking forward to sitting down with the parents and families of my students and getting to know them and letting them know what their student has been learning.
For my outside learning this month, I found an article that was linked in Twitter that was about homework. I decided to click on it and read it because I know this is such a debated topic. This article stated that some students aren't receiving enough homework. What? Their reasoning was that those in lower income situations can get involved in things that aren't good if they have all this free time from no homework. That makes sense, but I don't agree with it fully. Yes, some students will do that. However, not all students will and some students who are living in higher income situations will do the same. Based on what I have seen, many of my students do complete their homework. We have a good community surrounding our school and great parent involvement. However, we have a few students who don't have a good home life. In our class, students are given their homework the Friday before they leave for the weekend. They receive a reading passage with questions, a math sheet, and 20 spelling words. They have the whole week to work on these and it is not due until Friday of the next week. This has worked well with our students and families. However, we have one student who doesn't have a good home life. His grandmother told us that he won't do it and it causes a huge fight. This student has struggled with family issues and doesn't get support at home. For this child, homework is not important because all it will cause is a fight that will tear that student down emotionally. Homework will always be a debated topic.
Here is the article if you're interested in reading it.
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2018/10/how_much_homework_is_enough_many_students_get_too_little_brief_argues.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw 
My learning relates to NCTCS Standard 2 which involves treating the student as an individual. I have learned quickly that the needs of my students vary. Everyone has a different background and story. Seeing that homework is not beneficial to one student, but seeing the benefits from one student completing it shows this standard in play. I can still give homework to the student that usually ends up in fights with his grandmother for the chance to do it if he wants to. However, homework is not taken up as a grade and he will not be penalized for not completing it. I would rather him receive emotional support and know it's going to be okay. My students do not know that homework is not a grade because I do want them to try their best and complete it. Homework can be great practice, but my students all have individual needs and will not be punished because of the home life they have been given.
In my future classroom, I want to continue this homework policy. I see the benefits from this and it allows my students to get what they each need.