Get Schooled

By Lynne

August 16, 2005 10:06 AM | Link to this

It enrages me that parents will complain about any homework assignment when they don’t think twice about how much time the kids spend at football/basketball/cheerleading/any other sport practice.

99% of these students are not going to become a professional athlete, but, they will have to know how to read, write and do simple math!

Practice makes perfect!

By Me

August 16, 2005 10:28 AM | Link to this

Homework loads vary from teacher to teacher. I think the requirements are needed to reinforce classroom learning. Don’t mind the homework a bit. The time spent playing video games or talking to his friends could be better used. During the school year, it’s top priority when he comes home, and there are no video game distractions during the week. I don’t want him rushing through his work to get to play.

There are some subjects/teachers that I wish would assign more homework. It’s easy to supplement if need be. There are tons of resources available online, targeted primarily toward homeschoolers, that can help fill in any gaps. Never experienced a long-term (greater than 1 month) problem with too much homework. Some teachers had too much going on at once, and it seemed like too much. But, then it’s just up to the kid/class to rise to that challenge.

Some kids need more drill, some kids need long-term projects. The best setup would be a little of both.

By Kim

August 16, 2005 10:30 AM | Link to this

I think the problem with homework is that some teachers assign work that they did not get to complete in class because of the sheer amount of content they need to cover for testing. The students do not know how to do it, and get frustrated at home. Homework should be reinforcement of work done in class, not catch up/make up work, and should ideally be started in class to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Projects present a different problem: some teachers assign elaborate projects that require students to have computer access, expensive supplies, and parents who can drive them around to get these things. I have come to believe that all projects should be completed only in class, if only to make sure the playing field is level; however, this will effectively kill projects, since they cannot be tested on a CRCT.

By A Parent

August 16, 2005 10:33 AM | Link to this

I think that homework is a good thing. I think there is a such thing as to much homeork. I think that 10 minutes a grade is a good thing, as long as it is something that can help them. I don’t want my child doing busy work. I want her learning new things. Right now she is in Kindergarten and she is still ahead because I taught her at home over the summer. She knows her letters and how to write them, she knows her numbers and how to write them. And she knows how to write her name. Which is bascially what they are teaching now. I hope it gets better because she has great teachers. But I am ok with the homework. As long as it benefits the student. Thanks

By mt

August 16, 2005 10:48 AM | Link to this

As a teacher and a parent I don't think homework is such a great thing. Many of the assignments and projects that I assign as a teacher require the use of the computer and other materials. Most of my students don't have access to a computer or materials at home. I also want to ensure students are on track as they work on projects. I prefer to have them work on things in class so I can monitor them. Correct them if needed. Many of my students also have to work. They don't work for fun money. Most of my students must work to help support their families. Other kids are interested in sports, clubs and extracurricular activities. The school day is filled with academics and instruction. Students need other outlets in order to become well rounded citizens. As a parent I want to know what my child is doing at home. I will reinforce what is going on in his classroom. I also want our family to have time to spend together. Most parents don't get home until five or six o'clock. This leaves little time to do household chores, bathe, eat dinner as a family, and get items ready for the next day. Maybe once a week we go to soccer practice. We wonder what has happened to the American family. Homework and bring work home from the office are cutting into valuable time spent together as a family. I am married and have a very helpful spouse. I can't imagine the life of single parents dealing with children and homework.

By T. R.

August 16, 2005 11:19 AM | Link to this

Hey, if you pump all your kids with enough Ritalin, I bet we can get a good 10 hour day out of all the lazy little ingrates.

Never mind if they have ADHD or not, because a 10 hour day will make any kid seem distracted. Let’s just premedicate ‘em all, and the ones who don’t need it can benefit from the energy boost.

It’ll also help keep their weight down since the “little” kids are all getting fat, too. Chowing down on institution-quality school lunches and 10 hours of inactivity will do that.

Heck, Ritalin and we can get them to work an executive’s work week AND be fashionably thin - YAY!

CHILDHOOD IS OVERRATED ANYWAY…WHO HERE WOULD WANT TO BE A KID AGAIN?

By Me

August 16, 2005 12:19 PM | Link to this

I’m a single parent, and I don’t think it’s had any real significant effect. If I had multiple kids, that might be an issue. By the time I get home the homework is all complete. Occasionally, we might go shopping for a semester-long project and that’s usually something fun. My only grave complaint with homework, now that I think more about it, is those dang reading logs. I think they’re a reading deterrent more than anything else. When they first started appearing in my kid’s classes, he didn’t want to record what he was reading. The teacher wanted page numbers, minutes, and start and end time. So, his reading went from about 20 hours to 5 hours. He loves reading though, and now he’s into estimating the time and reading whenever he wants.

By Patti T

August 16, 2005 01:54 PM | Link to this

I believe in very little home work. What I do believe in is repetition.

How can a person spend 6 /8 hours a day in school for 12 years and not no how to divide or multiply fractions? Or how to do a simple trig. or gem. or alga. equation. Or how to do a very simple physics problem? Or how to write a basic paper? Or the different forms of Government or simple geography?

We have got to be doing something wrong in the way we teach. And HW is not going to help. I work 8 hours a day, that is plenty….and that should be plenty for a child.

I will bet if you gave me a room full of 10 year olds that at the end of the year that each and every single child would forever be able to divide, multiply, add, sub. fractions; figure the volumes, surface area, and perimeter of the basic shapes. And how to do some very basic algebra.

We graduate kids that can not even make change or complete a simple sentence. When was the last time you went to a drive up window and you could not understand a word the person was saying and when you got your simple order it was all wrong??

By A teacher

August 16, 2005 02:46 PM | Link to this

I am a fourth grade teacher and I NEVER win this battle. I have parents that love packets for the week and can budget family time and activities easier and I have some that complain their child does it all in one night and is bored for the remainder of the week. With 29 students in my class all day long I cannot keep up with the amount of paperwork, which is why packets are easiest. I indicate to parents that homework is practice and not meant to be challenging. Unfortunately, some parents want homework as a babysitter and I cannot plan an additional several hours outside of school. My only wish is that more parents were more sympathetic and understanding to both sides of an issue. I have come to realize I will never make every parent in my room happy and therefore quit trying. Regardless, homework is important, but kids still need to be kids! There just needs to be a balance and understanding.

By P Gaddis

August 16, 2005 03:54 PM | Link to this

“I indicate to parents that homework is practice and not meant to be challenging.”

Fair enough.

I think too much is put on every child being an A student. The teachers do their best for 6 hours a day….and if the parents want to enforce more learning at home fine….their child will exceed and the others will not.

“My only wish is that more parents were more sympathetic and understanding to both sides of an issue. I have come to realize I will never make every parent in my room happy and therefore quit trying. Regardless, homework is important, but kids still need to be kids! There just needs to be a balance and understanding”

Amen.

In all honesty…I looked back at my Sen. Ann. amd out of the “top” 15 Seniors picked as the “best”…only 6 amounted to expectation. I also looked at some of the other kids….the ones that were not exactly the A students. None went to college…yet many of them did fine. Several are now successful home builders….several own great businesses…..many are making great money having worked their way throught the “system” None of the A students I would guess are “millionaires…..not one. But there are at least 20 C students that are.

One mistake kids make by going to college is they think by doing so they will automatically make it. College does not teach one how to become successful. College teaches one how to work for others. In a company of 50,000 there is one President….not very good odds.

We put too much stress on good grades and not enough on skills that can make you money down the road.

By Amazed (Independent Woman)

August 16, 2005 04:28 PM | Link to this

P Gaddis, you are definitely right about that. My sister and I are examples: we both went off to college, but I graduated. My sister decided to leave school after the first year. She was the C student. However, my sister has her own business and makes 3 times more money than I will ever see in my career. The difference between my sister and I, is that she always knew what she wanted to do for a living and she’s doing it.

By Devil's Advocate

August 16, 2005 04:55 PM | Link to this

How would homework be “busy work”? The idea of busy work is that it’s work that keeps the kids busy. Why would a teacher assign work to keep kids busy at home?

I suspect that homework described as “busy work” is really homework intended to reinforce and offer additional practice.

Would you want you child to get work that required you at home to teach something new?

Shouldn’t homework be a type of memorization work like spelling words and multiplication tables? How else would a student learn these things? Can a teacher lead each kid through enough times to memorize the times tables? I doubt it.

By Don

August 17, 2005 08:33 AM | Link to this

Homework should reinforce current classroom instruction but it should be relevant! Busy work tends to bore the students and make them less inclined to complete the assignment.

By Me

August 17, 2005 08:37 AM | Link to this

Busy work to me is drill type assignments. In the class or outside. Not all students need that, some need more depth that project type work can provide. I know a teacher can’t customize to each kid.
I like to see more project type work, but I don’t fuss over homework at all. With projects, there’s more potential for challenge. If a kid needs more drill type assignments, such as Math, those are readily available online. Some teachers distribute website links for additonal help.

The comparison of school to work isn’t holding up for me. Yes, we spend 8 hours at work, but generally not actively learning new things. For the most part, we should already have the skills for our jobs. When I run across something new that I need to learn, I need to study and review to really solidify it. I can’t do all of that during work hours, but I can review at home. So, when I’m in a learning phase at work, having homework is expected.

By Marsha

August 17, 2005 08:57 AM | Link to this

Just last night my child spent two hours on HW. That’s akin to a 10 hour work day.

I agree with Gaddis, 6,8 hours a day learning should be plenty.

We complain that our children are not learning. That is not the fault of teachers. Heck, when I started first grade in 1962 none of my classmates even new their ABC’s. Now, if a child does not know their ABC’s, numbers, and even how to read by age 5 we think the world has come to an end.

We do need more skills training. I would die to have more electricians, plumbers, welders, etc.

A 4 year college grad can expect to make about $30,000 after graduation. I cut hair and make $38,000 a year, and I did not have to spend $60,000 on a college education. So, the way I look at it I was $200,000 ahead of my sister the day she graduated from college.

By danielle

August 17, 2005 09:18 AM | Link to this

You know, homework is a good practice of teaching responsibility. Also, sometimes, during faculty meetings, we (teachers) are told to teach “bell to bell” OR we give time to work in class, but if it’s not finished then it’s homework. SO, sometimes homework is because the students didn’t finish the work in class. I do agree some teachers GIVE too much homework. They develop that reputation with the staff and kids. There is no reason for purposely giving hours of homework, but some, that is NOT finished in class is okay. ALso, projects, where the students have weeks to complete and can do little by little is reasonable. Again, teaching responsiblity and teaching in segments is the idea of projects.

By Pragmatist

August 17, 2005 09:36 AM | Link to this

hey parents, for those of you who complain about too much homework, have you heard about a Global economy? Don’t you think our kids need a chance to compete in this scenario? Check out this article…(http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948401.htm). WAKE UP

By Lynne

August 17, 2005 10:00 AM | Link to this

Hey Marsha - is that really the message that you want to send your child - college is worthless and you can make more money being a laborer? Yes, you probably made more money than your sister ON THE DAY she graduated, but, I bet your sister has a greater earning potential than you do!

I don’t know where you got your data from (probably from the 1980 magazines in the salon you’re working in), but a college graduate in my field makes about $60,000 right out of college!

If nothing else, please teach your child to have a good work ethic. So, even if (when) she is persuaded not to go to college, she will be a hard worker in McDonalds.

By Been There, Done That

August 17, 2005 10:05 AM | Link to this

Sometimes, what teachers define as “reinforcement” can feel like busy-work. When I was in school, the only homework that ever seemed effective were the ones that were meant to help you draw conclusions from the subject matter. Repetition is certainly neccesary, especially in the foreign language and mathematical fields. Teachers, however, need to avoid assigments that only involve copying pre-defined conclusions found in the textbook into endless fill-in-the-blank exercises. No one learns anything from that except how to effectively copy from a book. We have computer programs that can do that. What we need instead are people that can interpret facts and come up with useful solutions. That is what good homework can teach you.

By Me

August 17, 2005 10:32 AM | Link to this

Lynn, Marsha comes out a bit strong against college, but I’m not sure that was her intention. I just wanted to add that while I value college immensely, I didn’t go past first year. When I left college, I was earning 35k. It has slowly increased to 85k over the years. I haven’t returned to college, I learn alot on my own, and while working. One of my strongest personality traits is learner, I love to research all sorts of odd little things. I’m not sure what college would have offered me in the long run. Since I’m in tech, the skills change alot and always need updating. College might have offered more career jumping flexibility, if I wanted to abandon the tech field.

It’s not absolutely necessary to go the college route. There are many successful folk out there, non-college grads. It does depend on your career interest.

As much as I dislike the show, The Apprentice, I did like their battle between the college and street smarts. I didn’t watch it all, but I remember the street smarts group seemed a little wierder, more creative, energetic, and ambitious.

By Me

August 17, 2005 10:38 AM | Link to this

need to avoid assigments that only involve copying pre-defined conclusions found in the textbook into endless fill-in-the-blank exercises.

There’s an advantage to this. When kids have to refer to textbook for an answer, they learn how to use non-fiction materials better. They need to be able to quickly skim and scour out the answers. This is an important skill to embed in upper elementary and middle school, IMO. But, by middle, you definitely need to be asking them to draw some conclusions too.

I liked the way my kid’s Science book was in 4th grade. There were questions to be answered from the chapter directly. Then, there were one or two more questions that went just a little beyond what was obviously stated. Got the kid thinking more about Science and putting it all together.

By Lynne

August 17, 2005 10:42 AM | Link to this

Me - I definitely know that college is not for everyone; and that one can be successful without having attended. My “argument” is that it seemed to me that Marsha was downplaying the role of homework because plumbers, electricians, etc. would not need a formal education past the 4th grade.

Homework represents more to me than busy work. It represents discipline, having pride about completing tasks, and responsibility.

If I misconstrued Marsha’s “message” - I apologize. But, at the same time - your success came from being a life-learner and having a yearning for knowledge. Unfortunately, that is not the norm.

By mt

August 17, 2005 11:00 AM | Link to this

I have a question for the teachers that love to give homework. When do you find time to grade all of the stuff you are sending home? I am a teacher and I don’t have enough time during planning to grade homework from every class, every student, and everyday. You don’t either. Are you using instructional time to grade papers? Are you spending endless nights grading homework plus the work students do in class? You should be spending time with you families. Leave work at work.

By JOE A. BRYANT

August 17, 2005 11:28 AM | Link to this

The idea of homework has been around for a while and I am not suggesting that it go away. There are some benefits. What I would like to see is some cooperation between the disciplines. Say a student has six classes per day and home work in each of them. That goes double if the student is an athlete. If the kid gets to bed by 11:30 it will be a miracle. The next day the kid is sleepy and drowsy and almost unable to present the homework. I have suggested to my son’s school that maybe Math and Science homework on Monday nights, Social Studies and Language Arts on Tuesday nights and so on. Each school should have the right to adopt it’s own policy but something must be done.

By Ernest

August 17, 2005 11:39 AM | Link to this

My children were asked to bring red pens as a part of their supply list. I know in the past, students helped to ‘grade’ others papers, moreso on multiple choice and definitions assignments.

I had an ‘issue’ when each teacher assigned homework based on the formula (10 minutes/grade). There were nights when my sixth grader easily had 3 hours of homework because of 3 teachers/classes. As parents, we asked the teachers communicate regarding homework assignments. According to them, they were unaware of homework assignments given in other classes.

By graduate student

August 17, 2005 01:18 PM | Link to this

I remember in high school the teachers kept telling us that they were preparing us for college. Well, I don’t remember my grade depending on my “homework” in the sense that turned in homework accounted for 60% of my grade. My sister failed a class simply because she did not turn in her homework, but if you averaged her test scores, she should have passed… that’s the way grades are determined in college. If high school teachers are going to waste breath telling us that what they are doing is to prepare us for college, than grade us like college professors do. It’s less work for you and still puts responsibility on students to learn the material in order to do well on the tests and pass the class.

By Angelica

August 17, 2005 03:48 PM | Link to this

I think homework is important and should be given to kids to “rehash” what has been learned for the day. For the younger kids (K-4), homework should be limited and not overloaded.

I have a seven year old son and homework last year was alot! I was a single parent at the time and tried to rush through just so he could have time to wind down and be in bed by 9.

I think it is important to not just do homework just for the sake of it but to make sure they understand what they are doing.

By Mimi

August 17, 2005 04:29 PM | Link to this

My youngest child (of 3) turns 25 this week, so I’m looking at this from the perspective of been there/done that.

It was my experience with teachers of three kids that the biggest honmework problem was communication among the teachers - no one knew who assigned what, with the end result being at times 6 plus hours of homework several nights a week. When I expressed concern, the response was usually along the lines of “What they do isn’t my concern; this is what I do.

The best teachers took the time early in the year to explain their game plan, and offer options on getting the work completed, including homework.

By matt

August 18, 2005 03:42 PM | Link to this

i dont think they should have h.w

By POTBELY101

August 18, 2005 03:56 PM | Link to this

Kids have to much homework and with sports they the have no time for fun.Teachers should not give much homework. Over the weekends there should be no homework.

By Lee

August 19, 2005 08:35 AM | Link to this

I think homework is an integral part of education. I also think that some teachers give way too much homework. It seems that the more the state tries to cram into the curriculum, the more homework is assigned.

It is not unusual for an elementary student to have 2-3 hours of homework a night. I have also seen teachers get mad at the students in class and give a ton of homework as punishment.

A lot of teachers don’t seem to realize that one student may be able to complete their homework assignment in an hour while it takes another student 2-3 hours for the same assignment. I would like to see the schools return to having a Study Hall period in which students could work on assignments and a teacher is there to help. This would also help alleviate the problem of students copying one another’s homework.

The last couple of years that my child was in public school, she never brought a book home and made straight A’s. She got all her homework done in class while the teacher was dealing with the behavior problems and the kids who didn’t speak English.

By ntb

August 19, 2005 04:37 PM | Link to this

The responses to this topic are very interesting, and the common threads in some are disconcerting…

Teachers shouldn’t give homework because “with sports they the have no time for fun� and “Say a student has six classes per day and home work in each of them. That goes double if the student is an athlete.� Maybe parents should consider dropping back some on the sports…? (Amen to Lynne, but that would be 99.9% of kids won’t be pro athletes, but will have to earn a living!)

The definition of success as measured by salary or spending patterns, rather than satisfaction with one’s life and contributions to society - Ooookay…“None of the A students I would guess are “millionaires…..not one. But there are at least 20 C students that are.� Maybe the A students opted to do something less lucrative, but more personally fulfilling, or maybe they just don’t flaunt their wealth – or borrowing power.�

The “work days� for kids being too long – sorry, but your child’s school day is about 6.5 hours, including lunch. Do you get to include transportation and lunch time in your work day? Yes, some teachers assign too much homework (but at times that is at parents’ request), but some students drag out their homework time interminably. If you find that their friends are able to do their homework in a reasonable time, it may be the child’s way of getting attention (even negative attention is attractive to some kids).

And T.R., get over your issues about Ritalin. If no one’s making you or your child take it, why do you care about others? Is it over-prescribed; obviously, yes, but so are most drugs, and all drugs HELP many people, including Ritalin.