Toxic Homework
mom21kid2dogs wrote: http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8059
OMGosh! This author has put my exact thoughts into words!! My teacher friends are split on this one. I would be very interested in the thoughts of others on this subject.
Our Lil' Family replied: I mostly agree! It's ridiculous the amount of homework these kids come home with...and in 1st grade! I do think some is good and necessary but not the amount that they are giving these days...kids still need time to be kids! I know I needed to take a break and just let my mind rest before I'd study at home, same thing with kids!
Jamison'smama replied: I asked a 3rd grade teacher/friend of mine, her answer was right along with the author of the article. I will quote it here.
MommyToAshley replied: I do think it is sad that kids have so much pressure put on them at such an early age. Right now, Ashley thinks it is neat to do any kind of worksheet that says "kindergarten" on it. She is excited about school and looks forward to going to kindergarten next year. I think that is mostly because her preschool makes learning fun. I hope that enthusiasm for learning isn't squashed the minute she starts kindergarten. Or, even first grade. Kids need to be kids. These kids are only 5 and 6 years old! Let them be a kid for a bit longer.
mom21kid2dogs replied: At the school O attends, last year's Kindergarten teacher gave an hour of homework a night. Kids from last year's K class were expected to meet the state standards for end of Grade 1 at the end of K. My best friend's daughter was in the class and my best friend is a HS Special Ed teacher and felt "compelled" to have her daughter do it, though she(my friend) complained about it all the time. Her comments were similar to your friends, Brenda, regarding parent involvement, research & test score pressures as the excuse for the work load. O has a different Kindergarten teacher this year and when I went in for her PT conference my opening remark was "I want to let you know right off that I sincerely appreciate your moderate approach to Kindergarten." She gives homework one night a week (Thursdays) and its 2 worksheets front and back. Takes maybe 10 minutes tops. The teacher's response to my comment was "Apparently you are the only one who feels that way. I've been crucified for it all day." How sad.
Swood75 replied: I would have to agree about all the homework and NO time to be a kid...My DS is in 2nd grade and has homework EVERY night except for Friday's then is supposed to read (which he LOVES doing) but I mean they are already doing algebra..I didn't even do that in HS...I just think they expect too much from kids now..They want them to be grown up in 1st and 2nd grade..As much as I hate to say it,it is no wonder why kids are doing all the stuff that they are now ex:being intimate at early ages etc...Something needs to change.. 
CantWait replied: Robbie's old school use to give tons of homework. So much so, that when he got home he was spending upwards of 2 hours doing it, and not because he didn't understand it, or didn't know how to do it, but because there was just SO much.
This school that he's in now, doesn't believe in sending homework home, unless it's something that hasn't been finished during class time. DH doesn't believe in that, but I'm greatful.
I believe he really does need time to unwind and be a kid also. If they are constantly doing homework, when do they get to spend time with friends, play games, watch t.v., or better yet spend time with family.
It's not very often that Robbie comes home and says I have to do this or that.
Hillbilly Housewife replied: See - what I don't understand about school.... is that for students to spend an ENTIRE DAY at school, then come home and do anywhere from 1 to 3 hours of homework a day... ok come ON.
How is it, that children who are homeschooled can do half a day of "school", and still have equivalent test scores to a child who goes to school from 8 to 3, and has extra work at night.
I just don't get it. There's a problem somewhere, and I think haveing smaller classrooms hence a smaller student to teacher ratio would be a step towards solving it. 
sparkys2boys replied: I totally agree on not having so much homework. Logan is in gr 3 and they have min of 1 hr per night on homework. It's not to bad now that I am not working it's easier to squeeze everything in an evening but still, they just spent a whole day in class do they really need to do more. Yes, if it was work that didn't get finished because a child was slacking off, send it home. But not just new stuff. Or if they are working on a project, great I understand that too. But most parents work, rush home to get supper, get homework done, have baths, etc.. when do we get to spend time with our children, and when do they get down time? I know that alot of nights it's a battle here to get homework done, Logan is tired and wants to plat.. who can blame him. But ask him if he wants t cuddle up in our chair and read before bed, that's a diffrent thing. It's not learning then, it's time with mom doing something fun. As for the parents that lie and say they read.. it's the child that they are hurting. Kinda sad..
my2girls replied: MommytoAshley....that is the reason that my DH and I choose to homeschool.
My children love to learn! They get excited to learn about new words, countries and laws of the U.S. One dd loves Math , the other doesn't but the beauty of homeschooling is that I have the time to help my child that doesn't like math. If my dd's are really into a subject we are learning say Geography, we run with it. Who cares if we took all day on one subject , they loved it and therefore they will retain that information better.
Zen Mommy.... you make a great point! I think that the individual attention is what helps my children. They both have very different learning styles and by homeschooling I can teach each child in a way that they can process it. Its not one size fits all in homeschooling!
I have been homeschooling both of my dd's since birth. We always knew that we would be homeschooling. My dd's are 11 and 9 now and we are ALL still having fun with it! Another perk of homeschooling is that you can choose to school year round or follow the traditional school year.
My family chooses to school year round. We take our vacations when traditional schools are in session. We save alot of money that way because rates are usually cheaper when schools are in . Plus when the grandparents want to take the kids for a week, we schedule it around the grandparents schedule not the schools. That gives DH and I 3 weeks a year of no kids.
There are so many wonderful benefits to homeschooling. The one I love the most is watching/helping my children learn new things. I love looking at their faces when they finally "get it" and when they ASK to learn about something!
I would hate it if I missed that spark everyday!
DansMom replied: I totally agree with the article, every word.
mom21kid2dogs replied: I guess agreeing is one thing but do you feel you would/could address it with your child's teacher? Would you ever refuse to have your child do an amount of homework you considered to be overwhelming? Have you ever had this discussion with the school?
When I worked in post adoption, these kinds of school issues were the chief complaint families had. In many cases, their family functioning was already difficult for a variety of reasons and to add a heaping helping of homework on top of it put lots and kids and parents over the top. When I would suggest to them (or~gasp~to a teacher at the IEP meeting which I frequently attended with families) that a child's homework might be limited in time to XX, I was met with "That's just not possible". I get the same from friends and aquaintances when I mentioned that you don't need to be held hostage to this current educational trend.
So would you/ could you put your money where your mouth and mind are?
luvbug00 replied: ok let's talk about Mya's packet. it's REDICULAS!!! (sp I know)
she has to get done over a span of 1 week. the following
2 english worksheets and a papragraph discribing somthing or other that has to have correct pun. and begining middle and end
10 pages of math ( at least) addition subtraction and
ex:
there are 20 hats, there are more red then orange, less yellow then red and more blue then orange..
(granted this probelm is fictional but you get the idea)
THEN
social studies worksheet
science graph and explination.
ALLL this for a 1st grader!!!!! I lothe it
DansMom replied: That's a great question, Cheryl! I'm hoping to get Daniel into the Open school, but this is done by lottery. Parents have a greater voice at the Open school. There's some chance we won't get in, though, and our neighborhood school I'm not sure about. I know it's a good school, but I don't have a grip on their philosophy yet. I think I'll be able to advocate for my kid, because I was raised by someone who did just that---so I had a good role model. We'll see! I haven't really been "tested" yet. I'm guessing I'll just deal with the amount of homework and try to make it fun for him. But if it's overwhelming, I will say something to teachers and talk to parents about it.
MommyToAshley replied:
You're right... there is a difference in just disagreeing with the homework policy and doing something about it. I think sometimes we as parents feel powerless when it comes to making any kind of policy change in the school system, which is why I would guess most won't say anything.
I haven't had to address this yet as Ashley is just in preschool. The private school that we are considering only gives homework to the kindergartners on Friday. The homework for the other grades is moderate.
I think I would try to go with the flow but if the homework is overwhelming, then I don't think I would have a problem speaking up. I think I would have more say in this school than I would in a public school. I have found that I have more "guts" when it comes to dealing with issues that involve Ashley than I do for myself. 
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