Detention for not doing homework-?? your thoughts

[minkydog]

When I was in school, you got a zero for not doing the homework assignment and that was punishment enough as a zero was pretty hard to recover from. Is the detention for kids who don't care about grades? If so, they won't care about detention either. They will just sit and slack in detention so I'm not quite sure I see the point. It will just freak well meaning kids out if they forget their homework.

This is what i was thinking, too. So the kid doesn't do homework--what's the plan if he also doesn't do homework in detention? As my DS says, "I don't do homework. You can punish me, you can ground me, but you cannot make me do it." And he was right; no one could make him. So he finally graduated,after 5 years of high school,with a 1.9 GPA(that's a D average, folks )

Flame me if you wish. I defy you to come up with a solution to a kid who simply will not do the work.

 

[mudnuri]

Honestly, I like the idea. What I do want to know is... Does this district have a school board? The article didn't state whether or not it was on the agenda and if parents were able to provide any input. I just like knowing what is going on with my kid's school and being able to give my 2cents. Our school board has been kinda sneaky lately, throwing things on the agenda last minute, demanding an immediate vote, etc. Unfortunately, I also have a son who is very blase in most things. Homework, schmowork. Maybe something like this would be just the kick in the pants he needs. Believe me we have tried EVERYTHING and nothing seems to work.

Yup there is a school board, and im 100% positive it was an agenda item. But just because it's on the agenda doesnt mean people know about it. Agenda's are not published in papers here, just posted in 3 public locations- usually town hall, superintendants office and library

Brandy

 

[caitycaity]

my high school did this too. i think it's a good idea.

 

[C.Ann]

Amen to that! It would have been a cold day you-know-where before my parents micro-managed my homework. That was MY job, and they made that quite clear. I don't get all the parents "helping" kids out with homework these days. I love the bit about "natural consequences"...that is the perfect way to put it. It is the CHILD'S job to see to it that their homework gets done. Are the parents going to be there in college to help with homework, or maybe at that first job to make sure that the adult-child is doing his/her projects on time Homework is life-skills training IMHO.

---------------------

It's interesting how various people feel about this.. I live with my DD, her DH and my 6 year old granddaughter (who will be starting 2nd grade soon).. For most of the past school year, I was the one who would get her off of the bus each day while her parents were working.. She learned the drill early on.. Come in, hang up your coat, get a snack, sit down and do the homework.. She's a very bright child, so fortunately she never had to struggle with any of the assignments and would be done in no time flat.. I would go about my business and she would do her homework.. No big deal.. Both of her parents were in agreement with this method and there were never any problems EXCEPT when the other Grandma would be there when she got off the bus on dance lesson day.. (She was the one taking her to the lessons..) She would sit right at her elbow and nag, nag, nag.. "Let's read the directions out loud.." "Now what do you think they want you do do?" "Erase that M - it's not as neat as it could be.." "Don't forget to date your papers.. Let's get a calendar and make sure you have the right date.." And on and on and on... My DGD would end up crying, the homework would take FOREVER and I would have to go upstairs in order to keep my mouth shut.. I'll never forget the day my DGD was given a week's worth of homework at once.. The pages were marked, "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", etc.. The work was such a breeze for her she decided to do it all in one sitting and have it over and done with.. (The teacher had okayed this when the packet went home..) The other Grandma went ballistic!!!!! "You weren't supposed to go ahead!! You're NOT following the directions!! You're supposed to do the sheets DAY BY DAY!!" Not only did I have to bite my tongue, but I had to tie my hands in knots behind my back so I didn't choke her!! DD & DSIL have tried talking to her about it, but it falls on deaf ears.. Even DD's FIL has talked to her about it, but she's very, very rigid about the "proper" way of doing things.. I say let the kid do her homework and BUTT OUT!! The only message she's sending her is that she isn't "capable" of doing the homework on her own unless someone is sitting right next to her the entire time..

 

[rigs32]

I defy you to come up with a solution to a kid who simply will not do the work.

Let them take the daily detentions. Once they're in the real world and that attitude can have much more severe repercessions, as in no money = no food, then maye their work ethic will change. Unfortunately, some people really have to learn the hard way because they've never faced a consequence harsh enough to change their behavior.

 

[C.Ann]

Flame me if you wish. I defy you to come up with a solution to a kid who simply will not do the work.

-----------------

No flames from me.. I'm a firm believer in natural consequences.. Those consequences would be: accepting the punishment from you; accepting the punishment from the school; accepting the humiliation of continually failing; accepting the extra number of years it takes to graduate from high school; accepting that they may not be able to attend college; and accepting the lower paying jobs they may encounter after leaving high school..

The kid makes the choices, the kid suffers the natural consequences..

 

[CRB#33]

I have absolutely no problem with it.

In elementary school we take away recess if the homework isn't turned in.

Then kids get to middle school and there is very little "inconvenient" punishment. Sure, they may lose points on work, but there are kids that just don't care about that.

Now athletes that have after school practice may be a bit more careful. Kids that have things to do after school will have to be more careful.

They will have to take responsibility a lot more.

If my son doesn't come home one day because of a detention, it may inconvenience me, but you can be darn sure he's going to hear about it from me, not the school.

 

[minkydog]

Let them take the daily detentions. Once they're in the real world and that attitude can have much more severe repercessions, as in no money = no food, then maye their work ethic will change. Unfortunately, some people really have to learn the hard way because they've never faced a consequence harsh enough to change their behavior.

Yup, my thoughts exactly. My son is the picture of the phrase "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Adulthood will be a harsh taskmaster, I believe (and for the record,DS did take the detentions, the grounding, the electronics removal, and no-field-trips policy--didn't faze him.)

 

[Beauty]

Our school started a program this year that if you don't do your homework you are in an accountability program where you have to do things like strap a towel on your stomach and clean the gym floor. I applaud them for this effort! It shows more caring then just giving them a 0. Coming from a mother whos son would always ace the test but then wouldn't do his homework I say anything goes. I could never get through to him the way his coaches can. He has done his homework every single night this year with no questions asked. I'm all for detention or ANYTHING that will show him how important homework is.

 

[MosMom]

Our school started a program this year that if you don't do your homework you are in an accountability program where you have to do things like strap a towel on your stomach and clean the gym floor. I applaud them for this effort! It shows more caring then just giving them a 0. Coming from a mother whos son would always ace the test but then wouldn't do his homework I say anything goes. I could never get through to him the way his coaches can. He has done his homework every single night this year with no questions asked. I'm all for detention or ANYTHING that will show him how important homework is.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this but you think strapping a towel to a kid and making them clean the gym floor crawling around on their belly is more caring than giving them the grade they deserve? To me, that sounds a bit humiliating and I wouldn't allow them to do that to my child.

 

[missypie]

Our school started a program this year that if you don't do your homework you are in an accountability program where you have to do things like strap a towel on your stomach and clean the gym floor. I applaud them for this effort! It shows more caring then just giving them a 0. Coming from a mother whos son would always ace the test but then wouldn't do his homework I say anything goes. I could never get through to him the way his coaches can. He has done his homework every single night this year with no questions asked. I'm all for detention or ANYTHING that will show him how important homework is.

WOW...you love that good ol' fashioned humiliation, huh? I'm very sorry.

Back on topic now: You are going to see a lot more strict homework policies. Last year our districts' policy got much stricter and they said it was because of No Child Left Behind. Now you can't legally allow a child not to do paper and just get a zero. The child HAS to complete the work.

 

[tlgoblue]

Our school started a program this year that if you don't do your homework you are in an accountability program where you have to do things like strap a towel on your stomach and clean the gym floor. I applaud them for this effort! It shows more caring then just giving them a 0. Coming from a mother whos son would always ace the test but then wouldn't do his homework I say anything goes. I could never get through to him the way his coaches can. He has done his homework every single night this year with no questions asked. I'm all for detention or ANYTHING that will show him how important homework is.

In your son's case, why do you think homework is important? Sounds like he was doing just fine without it. I don't mean to be confrontational, but homework for homework's sake is a waste of time, IMO. If instilling study habits are what is important, then give the kids meaningful assignments, not just busy work. Any kid who can ace a test without doing homework, isn't being challenged. Why furthur punish him by making him drone through concepts he clearly understands? If his refusal to do his homework was causing his overall grade to suffer, then yes, natural consequences. Swabbing the deck on one's belly sounds a bit harsh, but then again, I bet it only takes one session of that to make a serious student of of you.

 

[bajanswife]

When I was in school, you got a zero for not doing the homework assignment and that was punishment enough as a zero was pretty hard to recover from. Is the detention for kids who don't care about grades? If so, they won't care about detention either. They will just sit and slack in detention so I'm not quite sure I see the point. It will just freak well meaning kids out if they forget their homework.

A detention isn't the end of the world either, though - maybe getting a detention for forgetting your homework, even though you're a well-meaning kid, would help you not to forget again! Part of getting your homework done is remembering to bring it to school! I think the teaching of personal responsibility is a very important lesson, and part of that is not only getting the work done as agreed, but getting it turned in as well.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I have no problem with it. They even go out of their way to provide transportation home.

My son's school keeps them in at lunch to complete homework the first offense. They second offense they stay in at lunch to complete homework and then the next Tues or Thursday they get an afterschool detention.

My older son's high school will place a student on "lockdown" which means that can't check themselves out of study hall to go play in the computer lab if they are on the "incomplete" homework list. If they stay on the list they will be placed on academic probation which is an afterschool 45 minute detention until all homework is caught up.

Flame me if you wish. I defy you to come up with a solution to a kid who simply will not do the work.

whips and chains? No I'm kidding. At some point you have to tell the kid what is going to happen, and then let it happen. Hey, you can provide the school books and the tutoring -- there is no magic potion for motivation. But you have to be willing to let the consequences bite them in the butt, and that is hard for a parent.

The world is full of people who screwed off during High School. Then at about 24 years old they wake up and realize minimum wage is no real life and return to school to do it right.

 

[poohandwendy]

I like the idea. The only thing people learn from is consequence. In addition to the kids facing consequences at school, it would not take too many times of inconvenience for parents to make sure the homework was turned in on time.

 

[tlgoblue]

Back on topic now: You are going to see a lot more strict homework policies. Last year our districts' policy got much stricter and they said it was because of No Child Left Behind. Now you can't legally allow a child not to do paper and just get a zero. The child HAS to complete the work.

Yes, but they can still get a big fat ZERO on a late assignment. What they will get if they don't turn it in is an incomplete. At least that's how it works here.

 

[poohandwendy]

In your son's case, why do you think homework is important? Sounds like he was doing just fine without it. I don't mean to be confrontational, but homework for homework's sake is a waste of time, IMO.

IMO, homework is not just busy work, it is an act of self-discipline. Even for students who are acing tests, there is something to be gained by using discipline to complete the required tasks- even the mundane ones, as they will have to do so in many aspects of their life.

 

[tlgoblue]

IMO, homework is not just busy work, it is an act of self-discipline. Even for students who are acing tests, there is something to be gained by using discipline to complete the required tasks- even the mundane ones, as they will have to do so in many aspects of their life.

OK.

 

[Snoopymom]

Well, I thought it was a little extreme when my Kindergartener was not allowed to go to recess yesterday, because he didn't finish his coloring during class, but he was probably goofing off and warned.

I think we put too much pressure on them when they're little, and not enough when they're older. I don't think K-4th graders should be given homework at all. If they can't learn what they're supposed to in eight hours, then something's wrong.

5th grade and up, sure, I agree.

I read a study once where American students were compared to other countries and they were ahead in Elementary, the same in Middle School, but blown by in High School.

 

[fanofmickey]

I see no problem with this policy for the ages the article is speaking of.

Kids need to learn that there are consequences to their actions and decisions that they make. If the students know that this is the consequence, and they CHOOSE not to do their homework, then THEY are the ones choosing the detention.