...........

[C.Ann]

..........................

 

[Sleepy]

At the parent/teacher conference at the beginning of the year my DD and her DH specifically said to the teacher, "If xxxx makes a mistake on her homework, should we point it out to her and have her correct it..?" The teacher's answer was no - that it would be equivalent to her parents doing the homework "for" her and then she (the teacher) would have no way of knowing where xxxx's weak spots were or where she might need some extra help or a better explanation..

Actually, that does not make alot of sense to me. I'm not a teacher, but I feel it is part of the parents job to "help" the child understand their homework. That is why parents are usually asked to look the papers over. If the child is doing something totally wrong, then what was the point in doing the homework if the parent is not supposed to help the child understand what they did wrong and allow them to correct it? If the teacher insists upon not changing the answer, wouldn't having them leave the wrong answer on the paper and then having them show corrected work be more appropriate? Afterall, if the child needs extra help, wouldn't it make more sense to intervene NOW rather than a day or 2 later?

 

[teacherforhi]

Unfortunately, most parents can't content themselves with leaving the incorrect answer on the paper and working it correctly to the side. They have to have their children's homework perfect. I've even had homework come in that was obviously completed by an adult. It's even more obvious when their child has no clue of how to do something.

I learned this lesson my first year teaching. The only grades I give for homework are an 100 for attempting it or a 0 for not attempting it. That way, it takes some of the pressure off to have every answer correct.

 

[Hannathy]

As long as they are not doing it for her I feel it is ok to check their work and say Number 6 is wrong try it again or what you circled isn't a verb and then ask what is a verb and if they know tell them to look at it again,if not explain what a verb is and then let them try again. It is not right or ok to tell them the answers. Homework is a reinforcement of what was learned. If my child was consistently not understanding the work I'd let the teacher know but I don't feel there is anything wrong with reinforcing what was taught in school, or maybe just pointing out a silly mistake.

 

[MinnieM3]

I get this a lot in my 3rd grade and I tell my parents to "check over" their children's homework to be sure it's done correctly....ie, the child has followed the directions. If a parent sees one or two wrong, it's up to them if they want to say something like, "you may want to look at #10 again" or not.

I want parents to look it over to be sure the child didn't screw up the whole page, like circle all nouns when the directions said verbs....on obvious mistake reading directions...this is to save the child embarrassment when we're correcting the homework the next day and he misses everything.

The one on one that a child can get going over homework with his parent is invaluable.

 

[Zandy595]

... I learned this lesson my first year teaching. The only grades I give for homework are an 100 for attempting it or a 0 for not attempting it. That way, it takes some of the pressure off to have every answer correct.

That's exactly what DS10's 4th grade teacher does. I think all teachers should grade homework that way.

We have something here called Sunshine Math. The kids aren't required to do it, but are encouraged. They are all word problems that make the children really think. Parents are not supposed to help. I am the volunteer Sunshine Math grader for DS's class. Sometimes his teacher will have them do the worksheet in class, but most of the time it's done at home. I can totally tell which kids do their own work and which one's parents do it for them.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

And how can we make her understand she does not have to be perfect in everything she does?

That is part of personality, the perfectionism. I have 2 dd's...one is get it done and one is get it done "right".
So I wouldn't go off on a tangent there. My 9yodd, the "perfectionist" has relaxed as her homework gets harder. She knows her weakness is "speed" and that her "perfectionism" is getting in the way.
Over time that will iron itself out.

As far as "homework correction"...hmmm...well if a child is having difficulty, they need help. The homework is your "guide" sometimes to help your child understand the material.
I don't check my 9yodd's homework because she makes all A's, not all 100%, but all A's on her own is fine for me.
I do know people that expected ALL 100%.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

The only people that should be making the decision as to how much correcting of the homework is ok is the teacher and her parents. I'm not sure why the other grandparents are going against the advice of the teacher or the decision of your GD's parents. To me that's the bottom line.

I have 4 kids and my youngest is in kindergarten. My kids have had teachers with the same philosophy and others that expected and encouraged the parents to help.

I don't think there's anything wrong with saying, "Problem #3 is incorrect. Try it again" . But for the grandparents to expect perfection in a child that maybe tends to be a perfectionist isn't a good thing. If the teacher wants the problems not to be corrected I would go with that.

I still sit with my K son, but I would expect in a few years not to go over each and every problem with him.

 

[cats mom]

I'm not an elementary teacher, so feel free to disregard this post.


We have to sign off on DD's nightly math assignment. I do point out any errors so she can correct them. I guess I just figured getting the feedback immediately would be better than waiting until the paper comes home later with errors.

I would think that in class work would be a better indicator of whether the kids are understanding concepts or not and the homework is more for practice of concepts learned.

That said, you should have seen some of the reading posters the 1st grade kids turned in the other day! I made a comment about DD being shown up in a big way and her teacher laughed and said that some of the parents must have spent an awful lot of time working on their projects.



I do understand the concern over the perfectionist thing though.
I have one of those kids.

Not sure myself about the role of nature/nurture when it comes to that. Looking back I can see some parenting choices we made that may have contributed, but who knows.
You said your DGD is really bright. Oftentimes gifted kids are more likely to tend toward perfectionism.
I think the fact that you recognize it is great.

Love her unconditionally, make sure she never confuses achievement with her value as a person and make sure she knows it's OK to make mistakes.

"Mistakes are opportunities to learn" is a big mantra around here!

 

[kbkids]

My DD's teacher wants the homework completed correctly. She says she knows a parent didn't look it over if the answers are incorrect. She also said that if she gets a sheet with incorrect answers, she will hand it back to them and point out which problem is wrong and tell them to correct it. It makes common sense that we as parents shouldn't just tell them the answer but help them come to the correct answer.

I think homework is a chance for the parent and child to work together and help the child through the process of finding the right answer. Classwork and tests in school are the opportunity to see what actually is being learned and mastered correctly.

My DD was out a couple of days a few weeks ago. There was a math test during that time, and the teacher sent it home to be done at home. Now, on that one, she wrote a note and attached it to it saying - "Please don't help her on this one. It is a test." So, she was on her own then.



BUT - if the teacher specifically said she didn't want it done this way, then the teacher's rules should followed.

 

[monsterkitty]

I tell my student's that it is okay to make mistakes. I say they are kids, it is their jobs to make the mistakes and my job to help them learn from the mistakes.

 

[momm2four]

As a teacher, I know I would appreciate a parent sitting down with a student and helping with their homework. It concerns me that a child would be doing a particular skill incorrectly, but not be told that it was wrong. I believe that repetition and practice are the best ways to learn mathematical concepts, but that only applies when the repetition is done correctly.

I can't believe that a teacher with a room full of kids would be as effective at helping a child with a problem area as parents/grandparents who can work one-on-one with a child. If the child receives personal attention and tutoring with something then it may not BE a problem area anymore and would be one less problem for the teacher to deal with.

(And to those who say, "Well, what about the ones who do the work for the child?", I say the teachers should still be able to tell when looking at work done in class if there's a problem.)

As a parent, I just can't see sitting there watching my child do something wrong when I know that I could help him with it. Is the whole educational process not about learning? It's not about WHO teaches the child what.

I'm not trying to tear down your granddaughter's teacher. We, teachers, all have different ways of doing things. I'm just telling you my opinion on the matter.

Lori P.

 

[Grendalynn]

Not a teacher, but come from a long line of them. I feel that Homework should be looked after by the parents, or babysiter, or Afterschool Program. The way I was raised, by 2 school teachers, was to go over my homework once I finished it, then my parenst would double check it. They would tell me which questions to check and recheck. Beyond that it was up to the Teacher to re-explain or re-teach me. Children should not be given the correct answer, They will not learn from being given the answers. As My dad says, "Thats why they make pencils with erasers." If you aren't making mistakes, you arent learning anything....

 

[C.Ann]

..

 

[C.Ann]

...

 

[golfgal]

We will look over homework and if they have something wrong say, "look at #6 again". If they can't figure out the mistake and ask for help, then we help buy saying something like "you forgot something at the end of that word". If they don't understand it even then, we will leave it wrong so they can ask the teacher the next day. Usually the mistake is something pretty minor, a misspelled word or a transposed number. In DS13's case it is usually forgetting to label a math problem.

 

[lfeikert]

I am an elementary teacher (1st grade) so I thought I'd throw in my two cents

My philosophy is that homework is to reinforce concepts already taught at school. I don't send anything home for homework unless I'm pretty confident that most students can do it fairly independently. I DO want parents to go over it and help a child correct it if they are making mistakes. As others have said, I feel like it does more harm than good if a child is completing homework incorrectly and no one points it out to them. It's only reinforcing the wrong information or concepts. I also feel like it's a way for the parents to be informed about what we are working on in class and what their child is expected to be able to do and know.

I strongly believe in what your DGD's teacher said that she needs to see where the child is struggling so that she can help her learn better. However, I think that should be done on tasks in class that the teacher knows are totally independent work. Even though the teacher tells parents not to correct the homework, how does she know that they don't?? If this is the case, and she is taking grades on the homework (I follow the 'credit for being done regardless of errors, no credit for not being done' policy), technically your granddaughter could be recieving lower scores than her peers who may in fact have help with correcting their homework. Does that make sense? They will get a perfect score because their parent helped them, but your granddaughter will not because her parents followed the teacher's policy.

I guess, though, the bottom line is that the teacher has told them what she expects and that's what they should do. Really, in second grade, it probably shouldn't be a huge issue. I would think the homework is minimal, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Miller1412]

You know, I was just in a workshop today where the presenter said that the most important thing you can do is teach your child to pick themselves up after they make a mistake. Mistakes are a part of learning, and those that can bounce back from mistakes are truly able to make adaptations and grow.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I've run into a few teachers who felt otherwise, but in the elementary years most of my kid's teachers have felt that parents should review homework and help the child correct mistakes. It is very difficult for a 7 year old to look at a problem they completed the night before and "learn" from where they went wrong. Immediate correction and reinforcement is a good thing.

As for the other Grandparents. I'm personally not comfortable asking any adult to supervise my kid's work unless I'm willing to accept the method that they use. If they are going to volunteer their time, then I'm going to accept that they might do it differently.

If your daughter feels the other Grandparents are a negative influence, then she might take homework duty away from them.