Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I didn't enjoy homework when I was a kid and didn't enjoy when my kids were in school. I firmly don't believe it in it prior to high school. Ours however had it starting right from the beginning in elementary. Prior to high school I don't think it really adds much to learning and actually does a lot of "negative learning" where if a kid misunderstands how to do something, and spends all night doing homework problems the wrong way, they have now implanted the wrong information in their head and it's even harder to correct. I esp saw a lot of that in math in the younger grades where the instructions they would bring home would just make no sense.
High school is think is the time to start homework, however it needs to be in the right amount, not 3-4 hours worth every night. And, they need to be taught the proper way to study on their own for college. The way high schools assign homework tends to teach bad study habits rather than good ones that have to then be unlearned when kids get to college.
By their junior/senior year, my kids schedule was something like this:
7AM before school practice or club/honor society meeting
8-330 in school
330-430 after school club/honor society meeting
430-700 sports practice (or if game night, typically until at least 10 for home games, after midnight for away games)
7-1030 theater practice
1030- 1 am homework.
5-6 hours sleep and start all over again.
On theater practice nights they only way the kids got supper is different parents would volunteer to feed them each night; otherwise they didn't eat until 1030. On home game nights they usually didn't eat until after the game. On away nights it was either the parents would load food on the bus so they could eat on the way over there or they'd stop at a fast food place on the way back.
Parents wonder why the kids sleep so long over Christmas and other breaks. It's because they are flat out exhausted from the school semester.
The part in bold absolutely stuns me.
The extent of my extracurriculars involved the occasional JA and Explorer Club activity, and I did play a bit of soccer in my pre-high school years. But in most cases, I was home by 2:30pm (our school days ranged from 6 hours to 6hr 25m) and the rest of my day was free - except for the admittedly modest amount of homework I did. I even had a "study hall" during the school day (do they even have those anymore?) during which I could complete my math assignments and study up for upcoming tests.
Good gosh, I had it easy...lol. I would never have made it as upper middle-class kid today with all that pressure - good grief. Especially with the sleep - not once did my parents have to order me off to bed at 9 pm (even in my senior year), and if my homework wasn't done by then, it didn't get done...lol.
Thanks for the replies everyone - it's enlightening to say the least...
One of the things I hated most about growing up was homework. I did everything I could to avoid doing it, even at the expense of lower grades and getting "yelled at." My reasoning was that school was school, and home was for rest and relaxation. I never saw my parents do any "homework" related to their jobs - work was work, and home was for doing whatever you wanted. Made perfect sense to me.
And to think I had it hard doing 30-45 minutes a night during my high school years - these days, kids are expected to work hours each night after school - and this is after bloated 7-hour plus school days. Good grief, Charlie Brown. And they're assigning homework in kindergarten. If this is not child cruelty, I don't know what is.
School was bad enough - being bored to tears learning stuff that had no bearing on real life, having to deal with yelly teachers and dress codes that made zero sense (no shorts in non-AC buildings - at least that's not an issue in this era...lol.) But having do schoolwork on *my own time* was insult to injury. I could handle school on my own terms - but I truly resented having do perform extra work on top of the school day, when there were so many other things I could be doing, like playing outside or spending time with my family. If they had Internet back then, goodness knows how distraught I'd been having to divert my free time toward homework.
In all seriousness, however, why is homework even necessary? Is the school day not long enough to practice what a student is learning? Maybe they could make the day longer, or better yet, have fewer subjects, and more time within each subject to learn it. And don't get me started about sleep - I just cannot believe that kids today are having to stay up to midnight to complete their onerous assignments. I went to bed at 9 pm sharp each night, because I needed my 9 hours of sleep - any less than that, I was utterly useless the next day. I just don't see how kids of today are able to pull this off. I know I wouldn't.
The floor is open for discussion...
If you work for an employer that values your time, you won't have to take work home with you. If you work from home as a permanent arrangement, a cap should be set on your hours if you're salaried.
I always hated homework, sometimes a kid puts in more hours between school and homework than their parents do at full time jobs. Unpaid. Especially with block scheduling (4 a day, classes change after Christmas break) you can dig in deeper each day than 7 x 50-minute periods a day for the entire year.
In all seriousness, however, why is homework even necessary?
You're a "radical thinker" and can't figure it out?
Homework is practice to reinforce what you learned in class.
In case you forgot, classroom time is limited.
If you only spent one minute per day learning how to tie your shoes, it would take you several months to learn. But, if you practiced for as long as you could each day, then you'd learn in a matter of days.
Well luckily for kids today, the internet is full of private tutors, apps, uploaded homework, and freelance contractors who are experts on the subject that will do your homework for you for the right price, because they enjoy easy money.
When I grew up, that wasn't the case. There was no internet or math app to save you like there is now.
So yes, homework is pretty much obsolete now due to this new advantage.
I didn't enjoy homework when I was a kid and didn't enjoy when my kids were in school. I firmly don't believe it in it prior to high school. Ours however had it starting right from the beginning in elementary. Prior to high school I don't think it really adds much to learning and actually does a lot of "negative learning" where if a kid misunderstands how to do something, and spends all night doing homework problems the wrong way, they have now implanted the wrong information in their head and it's even harder to correct. I esp saw a lot of that in math in the younger grades where the instructions they would bring home would just make no sense.
High school is think is the time to start homework, however it needs to be in the right amount, not 3-4 hours worth every night. And, they need to be taught the proper way to study on their own for college. The way high schools assign homework tends to teach bad study habits rather than good ones that have to then be unlearned when kids get to college.
By their junior/senior year, my kids schedule was something like this:
7AM before school practice or club/honor society meeting
8-330 in school 330-430 after school club/honor society meeting
430-700 sports practice (or if game night, typically until at least 10 for home games, after midnight for away games)
7-1030 theater practice
1030- 1 am homework.
5-6 hours sleep and start all over again.
On theater practice nights they only way the kids got supper is different parents would volunteer to feed them each night; otherwise they didn't eat until 1030. On home game nights they usually didn't eat until after the game. On away nights it was either the parents would load food on the bus so they could eat on the way over there or they'd stop at a fast food place on the way back.
Parents wonder why the kids sleep so long over Christmas and other breaks. It's because they are flat out exhausted from the school semester.
Every day? I don't think so!
What sports did your kids do that game nights went so late?
At the end of page 4 here, the fact remains that we are still #36 out of the 36 industrial nations in this world in academic achievement. More than half the comments here advocate for doing less work at skill building. What do you people want? Kids punch a clock, spend X number of hours in the building and clock out. There is very little time in that scenario for practice.
The extent of my extracurriculars involved the occasional JA and Explorer Club activity, and I did play a bit of soccer in my pre-high school years. But in most cases, I was home by 2:30pm (our school days ranged from 6 hours to 6hr 25m) and the rest of my day was free - except for the admittedly modest amount of homework I did. I even had a "study hall" during the school day (do they even have those anymore?) during which I could complete my math assignments and study up for upcoming tests.
Good gosh, I had it easy...lol. I would never have made it as upper middle-class kid today with all that pressure - good grief. Especially with the sleep - not once did my parents have to order me off to bed at 9 pm (even in my senior year), and if my homework wasn't done by then, it didn't get done...lol.
Thanks for the replies everyone - it's enlightening to say the least...
We would never agree to that kind of schedule for our kids, but we set a max of one primary extracurricular activity, and it needs to be reasonable in terms of distance and the amount of time devoted to it. My girls chose fencing and BJJ counts toward their physical ed. Drawing/art and writing they do on their own time, as they please. They occasionally attend art-related workshops, but that's during the day, so it doesn't interfere with afternoon routines.
At the end of page 4 here, the fact remains that we are still #36 out of the 36 industrial nations in this world in academic achievement. More than half the comments here advocate for doing less work at skill building. What do you people want? Kids punch a clock, spend X number of hours in the building and clock out. There is very little time in that scenario for practice.
OK, on to pages 5 and 6:
Please post a link. And do keep in mind we all set our computers for different numbers of posts on a page. I have 40. This is just halfway through page 2 for me.
At the end of page 4 here, the fact remains that we are still #36 out of the 36 industrial nations in this world in academic achievement. More than half the comments here advocate for doing less work at skill building. What do you people want? Kids punch a clock, spend X number of hours in the building and clock out. There is very little time in that scenario for practice.
OK, on to pages 5 and 6:
I think emphasis needs to be on quality of instruction not the quantity of time spent making up for lack thereof.
But i also get that its an impossible standard here (too many variables-at least in public education.) Oh well...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
All day? The Algebra teacher has one hour to teach. I do think some subjects need some practice. 
And they're assigning homework in kindergarten. If this is not child cruelty, I don't know what is. 
