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Absolutely as it encourages independent learning. Many times a child will do okay in the classroom, but when without aid, has difficulty with an assignment. I do think they should cap the amount. And get rid of busy work. I remember in 4th grade I would be forced to do silly word puzzles that took hours.
I think homework is more important for math-- especially when learning rote things(times tables, simply algebra). Same with a foreign language. But for most subjects it might be unimportant
I don't want my time with my child after work and school to be struggling to understand what the homework is, what the teacher's lesson was, and what is expected. Re-teaching what my child should have learned in class.
Maybe it depends on the kind of homework, studying is one thing or practicing, but it should not be several questions or pages of reading and writing of a topic they haven't learned well yet.
By the end of the day, they are done and I'm done.
I don't want my time with my child after work and school to be struggling to understand what the homework is, what the teacher's lesson was, and what is expected. Re-teaching what my child should have learned in class.
You are not re-teaching, you are reinforcing. It takes a lot of repetition for a child to learn something. If I teach a concept, the parent helps reinforce the concept by helping at home, and the next day I review the material, the student has been through the material 3 times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kristie73
Maybe it depends on the kind of homework, studying is one thing or practicing, but it should not be several questions or pages of reading and writing of a topic they haven't learned well yet.
By the end of the day, they are done and I'm done.
Reading is an activity that children can do at home, and no good teacher is going to assign reading from a textbook without having the child answer questions of different levels of difficulty. It is how we assess a child's progress and understanding. Reading is done at home to give a child a basic understanding of a concept or idea that will be reinforced the next day in class. Assuming that the child's parent can read at the same grade level as the student, it is the easiest assignment a teacher can give at home and the parent can actually help if the student needs help.
I don't want my time with my child after work and school to be struggling to understand what the homework is, what the teacher's lesson was, and what is expected. Re-teaching what my child should have learned in class.
Maybe it depends on the kind of homework, studying is one thing or practicing, but it should not be several questions or pages of reading and writing of a topic they haven't learned well yet.
By the end of the day, they are done and I'm done.
Well, of course part of the problem is every district is different. So when someone says their kid is getting too much homework, rather than dismiss them as whining, it is very probably true for their community. Here's a couple of thoughts:
a. Repetition: Some say repetition reinforces learning. Only to a point. Once they get it, they get it and more repetition is just busy work. But if they don't get it, the more problems is just more time spent not getting it.
b. 10 Minutes per grade. Sounds ok huh? Well 10 minutes per grade times several teachers adds up to several hours per night. We had a school meeting once where at least 150 parents in the room said there was too much homework. Teachers gave the 10 minutes per grade. Since this was 9th grade, 10 minutes per grade is 90 minutes. Times four teachers is SIX HOURs. And the teachers response was, well they must be on their cell phone. Nope. I worked with them so I KNOW how much time it took.
I think the greatest value of elementary school homework is that it provides parents a window into their child's day. With twenty-four students in a classroom, even the most attentive teacher misses things. A parent who takes the time to review a child's homework will identify struggles very quickly and can then take steps to provide the support needed. An aware parent helps by reviewing difficult concepts, notifying the child's teacher of a skill gap, hiring a tutor, or doing whatever else is needed to help the child succeed in learning.
Well, of course part of the problem is every district is different. So when someone says their kid is getting too much homework, rather than dismiss them as whining, it is very probably true for their community. Here's a couple of thoughts:
a. Repetition: Some say repetition reinforces learning. Only to a point. Once they get it, they get it and more repetition is just busy work. But if they don't get it, the more problems is just more time spent not getting it.
b. 10 Minutes per grade. Sounds ok huh? Well 10 minutes per grade times several teachers adds up to several hours per night. We had a school meeting once where at least 150 parents in the room said there was too much homework. Teachers gave the 10 minutes per grade. Since this was 9th grade, 10 minutes per grade is 90 minutes. Times four teachers is SIX HOURs. And the teachers response was, well they must be on their cell phone. Nope. I worked with them so I KNOW how much time it took.
Students in 9th grade should be doing homework on their own. By that grade level, they don't usually have homework in EVERY CLASS that is due every night. Assignments are given out with the expectation that the kids manages their time to do the work over a period of time juggling with other assignments. Guess what? That's part of education.
BTW.. when students get to a certain grade level, parents may have a tougher time doing the homework compare to the kids. Why? Parents need to brush up on what they did probably 15-20 years ago where the student is learning this daily.
I teach elementary students and we have been moving away from homework. My district has a guideline of no more than 10 minutes per grade level up through 6th grade. It's a guideline. As of a few years ago we aren't supposed to grade homework, so I think that has caused the amount of hw to drop.
We tell the parents that when homework is assigned it shouldn't take any more than 30-40 minutes. If it starts to take longer than that, stop. We also tell them that students should be able to complete hw independently. If not, then we ask them to let us know.
Students in 9th grade should be doing homework on their own. By that grade level,they don't usually have homework in EVERY CLASS that is due every night. Assignments are given out with the expectation that the kids manages their time to do the work over a period of time juggling with other assignments. Guess what? That's part of education.
BTW.. when students get to a certain grade level, parents may have a tougher time doing the homework compare to the kids. Why? Parents need to brush up on what they did probably 15-20 years ago where the student is learning this daily.
Guess what. You missed the point that I started with -- every district is different so you shouldn't make assumptions about how much homework was assigned.
You are correct though that much of what is taught today is made up nonsense that we didn't have. It actually confuses students on how to do proper math. Things that are really simple when taught correctly have been made obtuse by overly complex pedagogy.
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