Do you think your children are getting an excessive amount of homework? (Durham: preschool, college)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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.
and we wonder why America's children are becoming obese - too much sitting around - it's a shame they can't come home and run around (and heaven forbid socialize) oh well - I guess that's what summer is for!
Oh please....there is nothing that keep kids from getting out and doing homework.
My daughter did some of her math on the bus, finished it at home, studied French and read some, and still played basketball with her father and rode her skateboard. She socialized with some friends on IM while working on some computer graphics when it got dark.
School and academics are the single most important thing for students. Everything else should fit around them...not come first.
Desdemona - I am truly sorry that you consider IM socializing - in addition to a middle schooler, I also have a junior and senior in college - both on the dean's list all semesters. What has helped them the most is that they are active, well-rounded, social people that have the ability to prioritize, and realize that academics alone does not make a great student, and future teacher and lawyer! I have been parenting long enough to see plenty of darling little drones move through the system thinking if I get all A+'s I will be happy!!
I have to agree. School and academics are not the only thing in life for children (or adults with work) and I have two stellar students of my own.
Playing and socializing and just having free time are as important to a child's development as academics. School IS important, but not the only thing in a child's life to be a well rounded and happy person.
ALso, for the poster who made the crack about "community college": the community college system in the triangle is one of the best kept educational secrets of the area. Wake Tech offers a two year college transfer program which is academically no different and no less challenging than the first two years of of any major college or University in this area at a fraction of the price. You can finish two academic years of years of college at something like $35 per credit hour and transfer to any major area university with two years worth of credit, plus they are very liberal with financial aid, so some students can actually finish for half that price.
I, as well as my brothers, all completed the college transfer system through Wake Tech. I have a Masters and both of my brothers have PhD's with fairly high ranking government jobs in the triangle and we were all well prepared for the rigors of college through this system.
I have three very good students as well and I strongly believe that they need to be physically active every day in order to be healthy happy children. I think running around outside playing tag with other kids helps them be straight A students and more importantly happy kids. My daughter's entire class is working for over an hour on homework and it has been brought to their teachers attention. Most of us feel that an excessive amount of math problems is not really helpful. Kids need to work hard at school and on homework but they also need to fully embrace being kids. They will be grown up soon enough.
Well, most of the kids in our neighborhood come home later because their parents work. So, by the time my 10yo finshes up homework and dinner, there is about an hour and a half to play before bath and bed. She is out riding bikes and having a ball.
The 16 year old doesn't really "play" in the nieghborhood anymore. She is the one with up to 4 hours a night at times.
My girls come home, relax for a bit and have snack. Then they get working on their homework. I didn't mean the second they walk in the door I crack the whip! LOL
My son in third grade in Johnston County has usually 2 worksheets (one math and another one...reading or a puzzle or such), 20 min of reading nightly, study for weekly spelling test (usually over 20 words). He usually has the worksheets mostly done by the time he gets home.
My kids have time to decompress with a snack after school but homework must be done before playing. Funny thing is that he had just as much homework in Cary in the 1st grade...sometimes more there (worksheets were always 2 sided). THAT was rough.
I am also a strong believer in that children need time to be children. Freeplay is an important part of learning.
My Kindergartener has homework too but it seems to be more just getting him into the habit. "Draw 5 circles and color them blue" sort of stuff and parental reading nightly (which we did anyhow).
So in general, I do believe that many children are getting too much homework now. Even with our lightened load here, there's barely time to get it all done in the time left after they get off the bus.
Since moving here we have been relieved at how little homework they have in comparison to where we came from. A good rule of thumb is 10 minutes X their grade. SO 4th grade would be 40 minutes. My kids don't have near this much though.
Desdemona - I am truly sorry that you consider IM socializing - in addition to a middle schooler, I also have a junior and senior in college - both on the dean's list all semesters. What has helped them the most is that they are active, well-rounded, social people that have the ability to prioritize, and realize that academics alone does not make a great student, and future teacher and lawyer! I have been parenting long enough to see plenty of darling little drones move through the system thinking if I get all A+'s I will be happy!!
I do consider it a form of socializing. Her friends live all across the county; it’s hard to get them together on weeknights. Considering that she takes part in two after school clubs weekly, take martial art lessons and we normally have a friend or two who lives closer over at some point 5 days a week (just not last night) I see nothing wrong with socializing a bit on IM in the evenings when things are done for the day.
Do you not consider talking on the phone socializing either?
To call my daughter a ‘drone’ just because we place academics first and foremost is not only wrong, it’s laughable. I will not apologize for expecting good grades and teaching her that school comes first. Children rise to the expectations that they are shown. I don’t believe kids need to be coddled when it comes to homework. Are you going to hold their hands the first day they have a job as well?
Slightly OT but I've noticed something in my own life. Wonder if it's true for you all as well.
When kids are small (and I have an 8yr old) we want them to have as much unstructured "down time/play time" as possible. But I also have two teenagers and I want them to have as little unstructured down time as possible because that's when those kids get into trouble. I'm happy that between after school sports, swimming/hockey, clubs, band, and whatever else they're into coupled with school and for my older son, a PT job, they have little to no time to just "hang around".
I make sure they get decompression time but that it happens at home, not in a friend's basement with a bong or a bottle of booze being passed around.
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.