No homework ever...wwyd?

[wide awake]

Sounds like your child's teacher is doing their job. When I did regular classroom teaching, I never assigned HW. If the students have worked all day, they need time at home to relax, do family things, read for pleasure, ride their skateboards, etc...not to spend time doing another worksheet, project, etc...I grew up in a time of no homework (I'm 45)...I spent my afternoon hours reading...sometimes a book a day...watching T.V....cooking...talking to my friends...activities which helped me grow as a person. By the way...I'm not an idiot...scored an 800 on the analytical portion of the GRE...so guess all those afternoon hours of doing what I wanted didn't hurt me.

 

[amyhughes]

A friend was recently over with her 4th grader on a school night. We were working out a fiscal sheet for the upcoming Halloween Party for our sons' school. It was WORKSHEET after WORKSHEET after WORKSHEET. I thought to myself what is the value in this. I realize this just hammers in the work from the day, but enough already! I would rather have my kid reading a book that closely relates to the subject matter than a worksheet on it!

 

[Karel]

It's a two edged sword. The problem is that it will be that much harder next year and in years to come when she has to start again.

My son spent a lot of time in resource rooms for his education and never had homework, never was expected to study or be responsible for his papers and books. Most of his things were kept in the classroom.

Now that he's taking more and more mainstreamed classes, he has not learned to be responsible or reliable when it comes to his work. He doesn't know how to study. It's a lot more work for both of us to keep him on track.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I think kids need homework. Unless they are geniuses, they aren't going to be able to remember everything from hearing it in class...assuming they were listening. Especially with math!!!

I know it sucks to fight with kids. Especially kids who claim NO HOMEWORK when they have it (don't get me started.)

But I think they need it to reinforce what they've learned...and to find weaknesses.

It also makes for good study habits, which they will need at some point.

 

[Green Tea]

Honestly, I would be thrilled. The school has them for 8 hours a day. They sleep another 8 hours. If my kids had the remaining 8 hours to just be my kids, and not stressing out about homework, I would be a much happier mom. Just enjoy it for the year. They learn plenty during the school day.

And I think they learn more in 8 free hours than using the time to do worksheets or problem sets. They learn that if you mix ant colonies, a war begins, they learn if you take a bunch of bricks and put them in the creek, a cool dam forms and floods the yard, if you run circles around the house with the dog chasing you, that both dog and kid get more tired that night(I like that lesson!) Bike riding, hanging from monkey bars, seeing how many snacks you can get from the kitchen before mom says no more.....I long for my kids to have the freedom from no homework. One is routinely up until 1 am, sometimes 3 am trying to get it all done. No homework, yes, I'd call the principal and say "Thank you for having a teacher that values family time as well as education."

 

[golfgal]

Our twins have always had homework but it has never been all that much, usually less then 30 minutes worth, often only 10 minutes or so. I don't see that it is too much for them to do and it has promoted excellent study habits. Our twins started with homework in kindergarten and it is just part of their day. DS15 didn't have homework until 4th grade and it is a BATTLE to get him to do his. Part of that is personality but part of that is also that it wasn't always there. I always have to wonder about these types of threads because the next thread will be about how horrible the schools are and how your kids aren't learning anything and how horrible the teachers are...

 

[Cindy B]

I would be doing a dance !


My daughter is in 5th grade and has hardly any. She does have a study hall --(which I'm not thrilled about--but thats another topic altogether) so she gets most it done there.
'
Apparently they can not do math homework in study hall --don't ask, weird rule! So she has some math homework but not a lot.

He HW is mostly read book for 30 minutes, etc. She reads the book in study hall so she has none.


My 7th grader has some. Granted he does have some resource support where he gets most of it done. However, he has math everyday and he does have a very writing intensive Language Arts class so he has LA hw everynight. The LA HW is usually an essay--but it is creative writing so he doesn't mind.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I agree about not missing the homework fights, but I'm surprised that the teacher never assigns any homework. In fourth grade here, there were several longer term projects that required working at home. One was to build a longhouse out of natural materials (with a parent's help). DS really enjoyed gathering materials and making this with his dad.

DS10, in particular, is one to do the minimum effort required. When he's doing homework, we can check it before it's handed in to see that he's actually put in the work. Also, he knows to bring home all math homework so we can check it. His teacher allows some time at the end of class to do homework, which is fine, but we want to be clear that DS is getting the math concepts.

The only one that kind of bugs me is, the teacher insists on a reading log (15 minutes a day). Now, this is a fine idea in principle, but my kids are huge readers. It's simply not a worry in this house. But every Monday morning when I have to sign his sheets, we have to go back and figure out which books he read in the past week--usually, it's over a dozen. So, I just hate having to fill out the form when he's one of those kids that reads more than 15 minutes in your average bathroom trip!

 

[believe]

DD, who is in 4th grade, rarely has homework. Typically it can be finished during down time in class. I have no issue with this as long as her test grades stay up. She was struggling with science and we have worked on that. She knows if there is a subject she struggles in there will be 'mom' assigned studying, she is fine with this since she doesn't want to not make a decent grade.

 

[Kitty 34]

When I do my long term teaching jobs, I very rarely give out homework. Usually the only homework I give is a problem or two that we didn't have time to finish in class.

 

[aprilgail2]

That is the kind of homework I REALLY hate. I went to school and did my work years ago I don't feel the need for teachers to give me a "refresher course", I really resent the teachers sending home homework for ME to do after working 40 hours a week at my job!

 

[yasmina]

I do tell my students and their parents that while I do not assign nightly homework, that there will be projects that will require outside work, and that studying for quizzes and tests is still expected.

Here is what I have found after 20 yrs. teaching 7th & 8th graders:

If a child does not understand the concept that the homework is practicing, they will:

a. not do it;
b. slop something on the paper to make it look like they did it and hope I don't collect it;
c. copy it

If a child does understand the concept, it's a waste of the child's valuable home time, which could be used for family time, or on another subject.

Keep in mind that I teach French, which few parents can help their kids with.

It's more effective for me to assign the exercises to be done in class, where I can monitor the students work, and help them along the way. I also check to make sure that the kids correct their work when we go over it. You'd be amazed at how many kids don't bother to do that! When we check work, it's always on the board or the overhead (unless it's a simple matching exercise, which is rare), so the kids both see and hear the right answers.

On rare occasions that students don't finish the work in class, I either tell them that I'll give them time to finish it the next day, or, if they've been goofing off instead of working, I'll tell them to do it as homework. This is rare.

 

[yasmina]

That is the kind of homework I REALLY hate. I went to school and did my work years ago I don't feel the need for teachers to give me a "refresher course", I really resent the teachers sending home homework for ME to do after working 40 hours a week at my job!

OOHhhhh, a parent after my own heart!

 

[TJ's Mom]

Few comments from a high school teacher here:
1. For those of you who said they teacher is doing their job - that drove me crazy!!! Just because they don't send homework does not mean they are doing their job!!!!!! I know some teachers who don't give homework because they do not want to grade it. Basically everyone passes. If that makes them a teacher who is doing their job, then I must be horrible. You cannot connect the two.

2. With standardized testing, sometimes it is hard to cover everything in class.

3. If they do not do something with their new knowledge, they will lose it. With 45 minutes, it is hard to get them to process what I taught in class.

4. I try and give little homework and usually they kids know about it days in advance to get started early if they want.

5. There is a difference between assisting your kid with homework and doing it for them. My daughter is in 4th grade. What is her project right now? Creating a living room and wiring it for electricity. If this was sent home I could see many of you on the DIS doing the assignment for your kids. They are doing it all in class. It amazes me that she knows how to do this. To me that is so cool. Most of you try and make the project up to your standards. They shouldn't. I just assigned an extra credit project in my class. Half the kids did it wrong. Why? Because their parents got involved and made them do it a certain way.

I think it great and you should help your kids with projects. How many times I have heard some of you complain about getting pictures for your kids, I don't know. Are you seriously complaining about that??? If kids are learning about timelines and doing a personal one, they will learn more. It is fun for the kids. My high school kids still talk about doing it in grade school and how much they learned about not only timelines but themselves. I can't get over that some of you complain about finding pictures or going to the store to get posterboard. Hand them the pictures and the board and let them get at it. Sure, they might ask you questions about their childhood, you will have to answer. And yet, you woud complain about that!

Ok, vent over. Sorry, that has bothered me for a long time on this board. Going to work now.

 

[disneyjunkie]

If my child had that teacher, I'd ask to have him moved to another class. In my opinion, never assigning homework is just as bad as assigning huge amounts of useless busy work.

I'd be looking for the teacher in the middle.

 

[Kathi OD]

I do tell my students and their parents that while I do not assign nightly homework, that there will be projects that will require outside work, and that studying for quizzes and tests is still expected.

Here is what I have found after 20 yrs. teaching 7th & 8th graders:

If a child does not understand the concept that the homework is practicing, they will:

a. not do it;
b. slop something on the paper to make it look like they did it and hope I don't collect it;
c. copy it

If a child does understand the concept, it's a waste of the child's valuable home time, which could be used for family time, or on another subject.

Keep in mind that I teach French, which few parents can help their kids with.

It's more effective for me to assign the exercises to be done in class, where I can monitor the students work, and help them along the way. I also check to make sure that the kids correct their work when we go over it. You'd be amazed at how many kids don't bother to do that! When we check work, it's always on the board or the overhead (unless it's a simple matching exercise, which is rare), so the kids both see and hear the right answers.

On rare occasions that students don't finish the work in class, I either tell them that I'll give them time to finish it the next day, or, if they've been goofing off instead of working, I'll tell them to do it as homework. This is rare.

When I was teaching in a regular classroom, this was pretty much my philosophy too. Unfortunately, I taught in one of those schools that requires homework (an hour for 4th grade, 1.5 hours for 6th grade).

The theory behind assigning homework is students get an opportunity to practice what they learned during the day in school. They should be practicing new concepts in school, under the guidance of their teacher. Why have students who haven't grasped the concept, practice at home? It makes no sense - all the homework becomes is an activity in frustration for the family. If a student has already grasped the concept, then the purpose of giving homework is defeated.

Good teachers do not usually need to give homework. They plan classroom activities and assignments that allow them to know what their students are learning during the school day.

Homework is an antiquated practice that has been perpetuated through the "I had homework, therefore it must be important" type of thinking.

 

[powellrj]

the last few years have been a real eye opener for me.

When my DSs were younger, most of their friends came from homes like ours. Not rich, but well off enough that we could afford to do projects and while we may not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, we could stumble along enough to help with homework.

Its different with DD. She has many friends that really have a tough time making ends meet and a special project where you have to buy extra stuff-even small stuff we take for granted like a magazine for pictures are out of their budget. She also has many friends that come from single parent families where the oldest child is in charge of the home in the evening so they are taking care of younger children, making dinner and putting kids to bed. There is no parent to help with homework, let alone the time to do it.

When my DSs were her age, there may have been kids like that in their classes, I just didn't know them. With DD I know them and I really feel sorry for these kids and can see how hard homework would be for them.

I just hate it because its something else to do in an already busy evening. DH and I are starting lifestyle classes next week and my parents are helping out with the kids. I am already worried because they will be going to open houses and helping with homework and driving to activities instead of us. Its only for 4 weeks. I can't imagine what would happen if they were on their own every night without any adult, plus having younger siblings to help with.

 

[golfgal]

That is the kind of homework I REALLY hate. I went to school and did my work years ago I don't feel the need for teachers to give me a "refresher course", I really resent the teachers sending home homework for ME to do after working 40 hours a week at my job!

I HATE parent homework too. Our twins are in 7th grade and their ART teacher keeps sending home parent homework. I hated Art when I was in school and I don't need to do it again. THEN she wants to hang the PARENT art up in the classroom. Give me a break. I also don't like that she grades 7th grade art on the quality of the project vs the EFFORT. DD can draw fairly well and DS can't. No amount of art classes are going to change that but he puts in a lot of time with his work but gets B's and C's on them. It's a good thing he isn't in high school because this course would kill his GPA, which isn't right.

 

[Mkrop]

Well I must be going to be nominated for the mean mommy award bc I think homework is key in the education process. I learn so much about my son and his strengths and weaknesses and about his school day and teachers during homework time. I dont agree with excessive amouts( and we have had several of those nights, not fun) but 40 minutes out of his day is not that big a deal. He still gets plenty of time to play. Would you tell your kid not to practice their baseball, football or dance why not their math facts?????

Unless all schools adopt this no homework policy, from grade school thorugh college I think we are setting our kids up for a hard time. Even in the working world, DH and I both have been known to have "homework"

 

[meandtheguys2]

Homework is an antiquated practice that has been perpetuated through the "I had homework, therefore it must be important" type of thinking.

There isn't any evidence that homework is useful, and loads of evidence that children don't need to be "working" from 9 til 3, come home and work form 5 to 7. Most adults would have issues with this sort of schedule.