What are your thoughts on homework?

[zoebartlett]

I'm not sure if this should go in FHH or not. Anyway...

What are your thoughts on homework? I'm asking because although there's a lot of research out there that has shown homework to have no lasting benefits, many parents still expect it. I wonder why. I mean, I get that they want to see what we're doing in class, but still...

In my opinion, let kids be kids and PLAY after school. I seem to be "out-voted" by my students' parents who are looking for more, more, MORE. It's frustrating.

Here are some questions I have:

1. What age would you expect your child to come home with homework?
2. Do you think homework should be given as a weekly packet to be completed throughout the week, or one page per night?
3. How many minutes (or hours, for older kids) would you like to see your child have? Would this depend on his/her grade level?
4. Do you always help your child with his/her homework or do you let him/her complete it alone?
5. Do you care if the homework assignment is a worksheet or would you like to see more hand-on activities?

My experience is with younger kids but I'd love to hear from those who have older kids as well.

 

[elrohwen]

I'm not a parent and I don't have much memory of how much homework I was doing before high school (though I don't think it was much, from what my mom says). I just wanted to pop in and say I'm really surprised that parents want MORE homework! I can see wanting kids to bring something home, and wanting to know what's going on in class, but why would parents want kids busy doing homework all evening long? I don't think I had more than a couple minutes a day when I was in elementary school (actually, I think my mom wanted me to have more, so maybe this has been going on for a long time ).

 

[aliceinwonderland]

Hi,

I teach primary so I hear your complaint. I send home a small amount of homework. When questioned about this I talk to parents about the current reasearch (that you alluded to). Then I suggest to them that daily reading in addition to what I provide is appropriate. Additionally I tell them that they are welcome to source out homework like activities (those grade level work books you can buy at teacher type stores) if they feel their child needs more. I always stress that homework is something that should be fun and that it's much better for children to develop a positive attitude than to resent homework. In my opinion homework at an early age is really practice for when you have 'real' homework so that kids can develop positive habits. Additionally as a teacher I don't have enough time to mark tons of extra work and it has no value to me for assessment as I have no idea what the child did themselves or what is mom and dad filling it in.

Alice

 

[TravelingGal]

Not sure about later grades, but in earlier grades, I'd rather them not. I'd prefer to hang out and play and interact (reading, whatever) with my kid vs. having one more "chore" to do. I'm all about helping my kid with schoolwork - I think it will be fun, but not sure when it should start.

My friend's kid got homework in Kindergarten. We both thought that was a bit much. I KNOW I did not have homework in Kindergarten!!!

 

[fieryred33143]

If children don't have homework, what's their incentive to pay attention in class and learn things? How will they fully grasp the learning concept if they don't practice it? And if they don't have homework, is it fair to test them on the subject? I remember in school there would be a lesson 1-2 days max before moving on to the next lesson. Exams were at the end of the month (typically) and it would cover several topics learned. If it weren't for the homework, I'm not sure those 1-2 days before getting loads of other information would have been enough for me to pass exams.

I'm kind of expecting homework by 1st grade. By expecting I don't mean that I'm looking forward to it (lol) but I thought that was just standard.

I do think that the amount of homework should be revisited. In HS I used to get homework from all of the subjects that would take me 2-3 hours to complete. I worked until 9pm so I was going to bed at 1am almost every night. I didn't even work that hard during college. Heck, I don't work that hard now

 

[TravelingGal]

If children don't have homework, what's their incentive to pay attention in class and learn things? How will they fully grasp the learning concept if they don't practice it? And if they don't have homework, is it fair to test them on the subject? I remember in school there would be a lesson 1-2 days max before moving on to the next lesson. Exams were at the end of the month (typically) and it would cover several topics learned. If it weren't for the homework, I'm not sure those 1-2 days before getting loads of other information would have been enough for me to pass exams.

I'm kind of expecting homework by 1st grade. By expecting I don't mean that I'm looking forward to it (lol) but I thought that was just standard.

I do think that the amount of homework should be revisited. In HS I used to get homework from all of the subjects that would take me 2-3 hours to complete. I worked until 9pm so I was going to bed at 1am almost every night. I didn't even work that hard during college. Heck, I don't work that hard now

Um, their incentive would be...to pay attention in class and learn things? I mean, why do kids need an incentive to pay attention and learn? Isn't it kind of what's expected of them? Am I being too naive?

 

[D&T]

Hey Zoe!

Just wanted to chime in from my own personal experience.

My child right now is in Kindergarten (a young one at that she's only 4 soon to be 5 - by nature, she just grasp many things early and this may not be the "norm" ) and she's ahead of her class so her teacher tells me and these are my thoughts on homework. My daughter does come home every monday with a folder and her homework for the week in that folder. Her "homework" folder consist of about three worksheets (from letter writing, to mathematics, and color/shape artsy projects which is to be completed by Friday. Even thought it is "homework" its not mandatory to do them (my child doesn't pass or fail if she didn't turn them back in), but its helpful to get them started in a good scholastic habit imo. I do help her out with the first couple of problems then she is off on her own, until she gets stuck, I then review and sign off on her homework packet to let the teacher know that I was involved in some way.

What I don't agree with is homework everyday (my child does like to finish her homework in one day though as she gets into the project, she just wants to keep on going...lol), I don't there should be a mandatory daily homework as its important to spend time with a child in bonding in other healthy and wholesome activities instead of putting pressure on them to do more "work". I don't push my daughter unless she ask for more projects, and I make up something myself along the lines of her homework. I think its different if a parent is "pushing" a child who is not ready for more and wanting you to provide that, they should help their child in other aspects instead of expecting you to provide "more" homework, they could easily create something more for the child to do if they want more homework, but that's just me, I think teachers are stretched out enough, and I would certainly try to be creative at home when it comes to "more" homework. Not sure if I answered you

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks for your thoughts TGal, Elrohwen, and Alice.

I'm not sure if our Kindergarten teacher sends home homework or not. I should check...Other than reading nightly, I'm not sure the kids are given additional assignments. I don't remember getting any homework when I was in elementary school, although I must have had it. I remember it kicking into high gear once I got to middle school.

I teach 7-8 year olds. I already have parents telling me that the homework I've sent home takes 5-10 minutes to do, and they'd like extra work to be sent home as well. I have two honest answers to that:

1. Great! Have your child play and not focus so much on work.
2. Parents and kids: come up with some sort of long-term "problem" to solve or project to work on and do that. Write about it and turn it in. This would be like an independent study type of thing (that I would like to not plan). This would be for the super-ambitious people.

Schools are all about differentiation these days, which is great, but it's a double-edge sword at times. Honestly, I can give some of my students third grade work because I know they can handle it. The problem? They're not in third grade. If I start giving work that's covered in another grade, what's that kid going to do when he gets to that grade? What's that teacher going to do?

 

[fieryred33143]

Um, their incentive would be...to pay attention in class and learn things? I mean, why do kids need an incentive to pay attention and learn? Isn't it kind of what's expected of them? Am I being too naive?

Ideally, yes there only incentive should be to learn things. But I think people in general are much more successful/effective if they have objectives/goals. Maybe that's not accomplished with daily homework but there should at least be projects. And I still think that if you don't provide them with the tools to learn the concept besides sitting and listening to a teacher for however long, is it really fair to test them?

It's the same in the office. Companies are much more effective and employees are much more motivated when they have objectives/goals.

 

[zoebartlett]

If children don't have homework, what's their incentive to pay attention in class and learn things? How will they fully grasp the learning concept if they don't practice it? And if they don't have homework, is it fair to test them on the subject? I remember in school there would be a lesson 1-2 days max before moving on to the next lesson. Exams were at the end of the month (typically) and it would cover several topics learned. If it weren't for the homework, I'm not sure those 1-2 days before getting loads of other information would have been enough for me to pass exams.

I'm kind of expecting homework by 1st grade. By expecting I don't mean that I'm looking forward to it (lol) but I thought that was just standard.

I do think that the amount of homework should be revisited. In HS I used to get homework from all of the subjects that would take me 2-3 hours to complete. I worked until 9pm so I was going to bed at 1am almost every night. I didn't even work that hard during college. Heck, I don't work that hard now

Um, their incentive would be...to pay attention in class and learn things? I mean, why do kids need an incentive to pay attention and learn? Isn't it kind of what's expected of them? Am I being too naive?

I see what you're saying Fiery, but I agree with TGal on this one. I would think that the work done in class, along with in-class studying through games and other materials/activities would be sufficient. Honestly, I would think that it's fair to give a test based on something learned "just" in school. I have no experience teaching older kids though. If I asked my coworkers and friends who teach higher grades, they might have a completely different opinion.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hey D&T! It's good to "see" you again!

I like assigning weekly homework but I don't do that for math. Partly because I'm usually looking through workbooks, etc. every day and copying things to send home that same day. Better planning might help, huh?!

I will say that I love how we (some teachers, that is), do spelling. We've come up with weekly homework assignments and told parents what they are. The kids get their spelling words on Mondays and they have the same homework every week. On Mondays, they always have one assignment, on Tuesdays, the kids get a different assignment, and so on. I often have kids who do more than one night's assignment at a time. It doesn't bother me.

 

[TravelingGal]

Um, their incentive would be...to pay attention in class and learn things? I mean, why do kids need an incentive to pay attention and learn? Isn't it kind of what's expected of them? Am I being too naive?

Ideally, yes there only incentive should be to learn things. But I think people in general are much more successful/effective if they have objectives/goals. Maybe that's not accomplished with daily homework but there should at least be projects. And I still think that if you don't provide them with the tools to learn the concept besides sitting and listening to a teacher for however long, is it really fair to test them?

It's the same in the office. Companies are much more effective and employees are much more motivated when they have objectives/goals.

C'mon, these are kids! KIDS! Again, I don't know what school is like these days but my mom and dad were too busy working to help me a whole lot. I paid attention in class, wasn't bored because I was learning (because I wasn't a smartie pants, so it wasn't like I knew everything already) and managed to do well on any tests given (although I don't remember any in Kindergarten and first grade. But I DO remember making an excellent Indian headband in Kindergarten and learning the Pledge of Allegiance and not being able to say "indivisible").

And yes, I think it's fair to test them! They need to be paying attention, processing information and should be able to produce the info on a test.

It's not that I don't believe in homework...I think it can be a good thing if only to give the parent/child something fun and interactive to do. But I plan to have other things to do with my kid instead of a hour of homework.

But this is one of my pet peeves...kids have to be so smart these days. Baby Einstein DVDs. Learning the computer at age 2. Fully reading by age 3. Gah. Be a kid already and please go play in some mud. Harvard can wait.

 

[fieryred33143]

I don't have any experience teaching period Zoe so you are the expert over me! I fall in the category of those parents that would want their child to have homework. The majority of that feeling comes from experience with my own childhood. It’s a nice thought to believe that children come home to parents who are engaged and in the absence of homework the parents take the time to reinforce what their child has learned and provide them with thoughtful after school activities. But growing up and what I see in the community I live in, the after school activities consists of a bowl of cereal in front of a TV watching cartoons or playing video games. I don't think it's fair to teachers to provide afterschool activities that consists of something more than flipping the channel but I do think that giving homework at least will help students further advance their educational careers.

Perhaps it's not others being naive but me being jaded.

 

[TooPatient]

Thanks for your thoughts TGal, Elrohwen, and Alice.

I'm not sure if our Kindergarten teacher sends home homework or not. I should check...Other than reading nightly, I'm not sure the kids are given additional assignments. I don't remember getting any homework when I was in elementary school, although I must have had it. I remember it kicking into high gear once I got to middle school.

I teach 7-8 year olds. I already have parents telling me that the homework I've sent home takes 5-10 minutes to do, and they'd like extra work to be sent home as well. I have two honest answers to that:

1. Great! Have your child play and not focus so much on work.
2. Parents and kids: come up with some sort of long-term "problem" to solve or project to work on and do that. Write about it and turn it in. This would be like an independent study type of thing (that I would like to not plan). This would be for the super-ambitious people.

Schools are all about differentiation these days, which is great, but it's a double-edge sword at times. Honestly, I can give some of my students third grade work because I know they can handle it. The problem? They're not in third grade. If I start giving work that's covered in another grade, what's that kid going to do when he gets to that grade? What's that teacher going to do?

Good for them!

I had an AMAZING teacher (actually 2) who was able to break the class into 3 groups --- those who need extra attention (lots of 1-1 help) to do the stuff needed for that grade, those who need a 5-10 minute intro to get started, and those who got a packet at the start of the week and just did the work at their own pace. If we finished early, we could move on to additional projects and worksheets with the same sort of stuff but a bit harder.

That was WONDERFUL!!

 

[TravelingGal]

I don't have any experience teaching period Zoe so you are the expert over me! I fall in the category of those parents that would want their child to have homework. The majority of that feeling comes from experience with my own childhood. It’s a nice thought to believe that children come home to parents who are engaged and in the absence of homework the parents take the time to reinforce what their child has learned and provide them with thoughtful after school activities. But growing up and what I see in the community I live in, the after school activities consists of a bowl of cereal in front of a TV watching cartoons or playing video games. I don't think it's fair to teachers to provide afterschool activities that consists of something more than flipping the channel but I do think that giving homework at least will help students further advance their educational careers.

Perhaps it's not others being naive but me being jaded.

Fiery, I totally get where you're coming from, and I thought about this too. But parents who let their kids just sit and watch TV and play video games EXCESSIVELY aren't going to be that interested in being thoughtful with after school activities and homework. Those parents lack discipline, imagination and interest in their child. And the children of those parents aren't going to do their homework and further their educational careers.

 

[fieryred33143]

TGal, I think we were posting at the same time.

I don't have any doubt that you would do that for A when she is older. And I don't doubt that I would do the same or that those in our circles would do the same. But that's a smaller percentage of the population. The main reason why children are obese in America is because they aren't active. And they aren't active because they're at home watching TV. And they're at home watching TV because they don't have parents to push them outside, throw a ball with them, run around in the grass for an hour. I'm not talking about a minority of children. These are the majority so that's why I feel that to believe the *majority* of parents would take that hour of homework-free time and use it wisely is wishful thinking.

And I realize in my head that I'm contradicting myself because the whole time that I'm thinking of this, I'm also thinking that it's not really Zoe's or any other teacher's job to dictate what the student does after school. Lord knows they (at least those in SFL) don't get paid enough to worry about that on top of everything else. I just look at children like those that belong to my cousin who have no one at home to motivate them to do anything. It's scary thinking about them coming home with no homework. At least in that hour they are doing something productive.

 

[TravelingGal]

TGal, I think we were posting at the same time.

I don't have any doubt that you would do that for A when she is older. And I don't doubt that I would do the same or that those in our circles would do the same. But that's a smaller percentage of the population. The main reason why children are obese in America is because they aren't active. And they aren't active because they're at home watching TV. And they're at home watching TV because they don't have parents to push them outside, throw a ball with them, run around in the grass for an hour. I'm not talking about a minority of children. These are the majority so that's why I feel that to believe the *majority* of parents would take that hour of homework-free time and use it wisely is wishful thinking.

Exactly.

And it is my belief that for that majority, they have kids who aren't going to bother with homework, nor are they going to enforce it. Therefore, why penalize those parents who do want to do something fun and creative with their kids for an hour?

 

[Haven]

I think homework is great if it is an authentic means of furthering the goals of the class. If not, it's a waste of the child's time, the parent's time, and the teacher's time.

If you are assigning homework to help students practice or master a particular skill, then I believe that students who have already mastered that skill should not be required to do the homework.

If you are assigning homework to help students develop a strong work ethic, then everyone should be required to do it. (I don't believe in this, but it's your classroom, not mine.

If you are assigning homework to subsidize the home environment for children who aren't getting enough attention or support from mom and dad, don't bother--that can't be done with homework. Nothing can replace parental involvement. A child who is going to watch TV is going to do it whether or not she has homework to do, especially if nobody is around to help her with the work or encourage her to get it done.

The bottom line, for me, is that whatever I assign better be worth their time, and mine. If not, then I'm not assigning it in the first place. If parents want their children to be more engaged with problem solving or critical thinking, then they are free to provide stimuli for their own children. Who knows--they may even enjoy the interaction!

 

[TravelingGal]

I think homework is great if it is an authentic means of furthering the goals of the class. If not, it's a waste of the child's time, the parent's time, and the teacher's time.

If you are assigning homework to help students practice or master a particular skill, then I believe that students who have already mastered that skill should not be required to do the homework.

If you are assigning homework to help students develop a strong work ethic, then everyone should be required to do it. (I don't believe in this, but it's your classroom, not mine.

If you are assigning homework to subsidize the home environment for children who aren't getting enough attention or support from mom and dad, don't bother--that can't be done with homework. Nothing can replace parental involvement. A child who is going to watch TV is going to do it whether or not she has homework to do, especially if nobody is around to help her with the work or encourage her to get it done.

The bottom line, for me, is that whatever I assign better be worth their time, and mine. If not, then I'm not assigning it in the first place. If parents want their children to be more engaged with problem solving or critical thinking, then they are free to provide stimuli for their own children. Who knows--they may even enjoy the interaction!

 

[fieryred33143]

I think homework is great if it is an authentic means of furthering the goals of the class. If not, it's a waste of the child's time, the parent's time, and the teacher's time.

If you are assigning homework to help students practice or master a particular skill, then I believe that students who have already mastered that skill should not be required to do the homework.

If you are assigning homework to help students develop a strong work ethic, then everyone should be required to do it. (I don't believe in this, but it's your classroom, not mine.

If you are assigning homework to subsidize the home environment for children who aren't getting enough attention or support from mom and dad, don't bother--that can't be done with homework. Nothing can replace parental involvement. A child who is going to watch TV is going to do it whether or not she has homework to do, especially if nobody is around to help her with the work or encourage her to get it done.

The bottom line, for me, is that whatever I assign better be worth their time, and mine. If not, then I'm not assigning it in the first place. If parents want their children to be more engaged with problem solving or critical thinking, then they are free to provide stimuli for their own children. Who knows--they may even enjoy the interaction!

That's a good point Haven, thanks for bringing that up. It does make sense that if a parent doesn't care enough to have them do something other than watch TV then they aren't going to help out with homework either. I did self-study a lot because my mom couldn't help (not that she didn't want to) and it really helped me but I think I'm maybe giving homework too much credit? Homework for me was always a positive experience because I learned more and was better prepared for tests. The only time I was ever really frustrated with it was with a teacher who was later fired because she just wasn't a good teacher at all.

 

[zoebartlett]

TGal -- Harvard can wait. I agree! It's funny when I listen to parents say something along the lines of "I don't understand why my son/daughter has difficulty with X. I went to Harvard!" Well, sorry, but it doesn't really work that way. It drives me crazy. Parents at my school are very involved, and at times, too involved.

 

[zoebartlett]

Fiery -- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to discount your opinion. I'm certainly no expert, and I didn't mean to come across that way AT ALL.

 

[Haven]

TGal -- Harvard can wait. I agree! It's funny when I listen to parents say something along the lines of "I don't understand why my son/daughter has difficulty with X. I went to Harvard!" Well, sorry, but it doesn't really work that way. It drives me crazy. Parents at my school are very involved, and at times, too involved.

That's hilarious in a really sad way. I can't believe people even think that, let alone say it aloud. Makes me wonder how they got through college.

 

[fieryred33143]

No Zoe! I didn't mean it that way. I meant that you really are the expert compared to me! I have no way of knowing what works more effectively in a classroom. I don't even have school aged children!

It has been interesting getting your opinion from an educator's POV.

 

[yssie]

From a purely academic perspective, I think homework helps some students more than others in certain subjects.

I have only my experience to write about, but from my POV:

Science and maths I always "got" very quickly, and the homework was pretty much always useless busywork.. which I usually didn't do, and still aced the class anyway because midterm and final exams were weighted so heavily. School in general became a more enjoyable experience for me in the upper levels, where actual application of a concept over rote regurgitation is the expectation.

History and geography - I had to take good care with every assignment and essay because I *don't* memorize things well, and, well, I couldn't count on the exams to bail me out.


I will say that I cannot stand classes where teachers reward "effort" over "achievement", which is generally a bigger issue in lower school - in grad classes I found they really didn't care how much you tried so long as you got it done, whatever "it" was! In real life, if you fail to deliver an adequate product on time, you don't get brownie points for working extra hard on it - you get fired, just like the person who put in very little effort, why should the institutions designed to prepare you for said real life hold to different, unrealistic standards?

 

[diamondringlover]

I have a 13 year old son and when he was in 4th grade, he had the worst teacher ever, this b!tch loved homework, she even sent home tests, me and my son went thru hell, the normal homework was somewhere between 1 to 3 hours, there were times that we had to stop because of dinner and bed and I had to send notes in as to why he didnt finish his homework, keep in mind he was 8-9 years old, I hated that women, we were very lucky the next year he had a wonderful teacher. I think homework is necessary but this women pushed it beyond normal limits.

 

[swingirl]

Where I live many parents push their kids to be over-achievers and fill their evenings with sports, music lessons, homework, and fast food in the back seat while they drive from tutor to lesson to practice. These parents are the ones begging for more homework, more projects. It’s a crime for their kids to experience any down time.

I preferred to spend a lot of time talking with my kids, taking them to museums, nature hikes, astronomy presentations, concerts, plays, etc. I hated the amount of homework the teachers were pressured to assign because it really cut into our family time. Kids didn’t enjoy it. I usually had to help out. I don’t think they learned much as most of it was busy work. I realize by high school homework is necessary. And I know math can be one of those subjects where extra practice is helpful. But younger kids have a full day at school and are pooped.

I absolutely hate “chapter books” and book reports. Read the book, write a 3 paragraph book report (introduction, body, conclusion). No real thinking is involved. No concepts, no individual ideas, just “report” on what someone else wrote. And assigning summer reading was the worst. All summer long I had to be a nag about the reading. I would usually read the books myself just so I could engage the kids in a discussion. We’d also camp out in the backyard and I’d read out loud by flashlight. I tried to find creative was to make reading fun but it was a lot of work.

When they got homework, I really appreciated getting a week’s worth on Monday. That way we could plan to do the things that were important for our family and not be so stressed. My ADD son was at his best in the morning so we’d get up a little early and he could honker down on some homework for 30 minutes while he ate his breakfast. His brain was like mush after a full day at school.

I feel very lucky to have grown up in an era where homework didn’t start until Jr. High (8-9th grade). And even then we had study halls so you could complete all your homework during the day and leave your books at school. We did not carry backpacks back then. You never see a photo of a teenager with a beehive and a backpack!!

 

[soocool]

DD is a senior in high school.

When she was in kindergarten she had zero homeowrk, but like to write her ABCs and numbers for fun. She would play school at home and teach her dolls.

Once in first grade the rule was 10 minutes of homework for each grade level. There was some math homework assigned, but the emphasis was on writing. DD was also in the gifted program so she had lots of projects to do, the majority was started in school.

Once in middle school (grades 7- there was probably more tests than there was homework. Most writing assignments, science labs, research projects were started in class and finished at home. The classes were divided into teams so that that team leader knew the workload the kids were getting and the teachers would communicate with each other to keep the workload of their students reasonable.

Once high school started DD was not prepared for the amount of work that was dished out. She was mostly in Honors courses with an overwhelming amount of homework, research papers, projects. I remember in her freshman and sophomore years she had at least 5 quizzes and tests per week. She managed to complete her graduation project (25 page research paper, with a movie maker presentation) which had to be completed on her own time in addition to her regular school work. Now she is a senior and the homework has not decreased, but funny the number of tests have. So far she is 1 week away from the end of the marking period and she averages 2 tests a week. She has said that this has thus far been the easiest year so far even though she still has AP and Honor courses.

DD said that she wished that she was given more homework in the earlier years because it probably would have taught her time management at an earlier age.

 

[packrat]

London has homework this year but not a whole lot. She's in 1st grade. She started out with one paper a few times a week, that had like, 6 different things on it. (coloring, adding, tracing numbers things like that) Now she has that paper plus a Math paper of addition that has about 20 problems on it. Subtraction starts shortly as does spelling, and then she'll have that too. She also brings home paper "books" that she has to read aloud to me and then I sign them and send them back to school to show that she did read it to me. She did that last year too.

It takes maaaybe 15 minutes to do all the things every night, and that's if she's having a particular issue with it or Trapper is messing with her, and she doesn't have homework every night.

I don't have her involved in everything under the sun either. She's in dance 1 hour a week during the school year and possibly I might let her be in Tball this summer since I didn't last year and she was sad. I guess I'm not much of an over achiever mom!

I remember having homework in 5th grade, but I don't remember if there was any or much at all before that. And I only remember it b/c I was sick one time for a couple days and my brother brought home my school work that I'd missed. Mom looked ahead in my Math book and the next chapter was decimals. She asked if I wanted to learn it before the other kids, we spent the weekend working on it and I had the next couple chapters done in the book before I went back.

I guess I figure if I make her little bit of homework now seem like it's cool and it's fun and cheer her on, as it increases every year she won't (hopefully) look at it like a chore and something she dislikes.

I didn't go to Harvard but I do find myself with the heart/tummy flutter that I used to feel when I was a kid and got an answer wrong, the couple times she has brought home a test w/less than 100% on it. We talk about why the answers were wrong but I don't make a huge deal about it. I used to ask for do overs and for extra credit if I had anything less than an A. I don't want to transfer my dorkiness to her.

 

[Kaleigh]

I majored in Education but went into a different field.. I didn't read all the responses, so forgive me if I am stating what has already been said....

Homework is as good as the assignment.... And if it's age appropriate...

My son had homework in Junior K!! Like for what?? Find a J, cut and paste it on a piece of paper, find pics in magazines with things that begin with the letter J....

He hated doing that, he was 4!!! I think that's just crazy.

I am all for homework that isn't grunt work... Like repetitive.. That's boring.

I know they both had a ton in middle school, and stayed up late finishing it. They were on sports teams after school, and came home had dinner, then rushed up to do their homework..

I wished that they didn't have as much as they did, a lot of it really served no purpose..

In lower school, kids need to be kids!!!! Middle school has it's own set of problems, so not bogging them down with long assignments would go a long way... JMHO.

I think homework in many cases is parent driven.... The parents demand it, so the teachers comply...

These kids are stressed out enough...

Ok rant over..

Thank god I am beyond all this...