Keel M. Posted March 7, 2018 #1 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Let me be clear: I am not a parent. I simply want to understand. This is not in any way an attack on teachers. This line of questioning has come to mind after reading briefly in my local paper that the new school superintendent for the schools in my area doesn't believe in homework. Apparently, kids today are having 4-5 hours of homework a night. When did it get so bad? I don't remember having to spend 4-5 hours on homework unless I was working on a project for a class. It was 2 hours at the most. Is this guy right to not believe in homework? I always thought that homework was meant to reinforce what a student had learned in the classroom. What has changed? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted March 7, 2018 #2 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Distractions ... basically, the entire world for the kids today. ~ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ouija ouija Posted March 7, 2018 #3 Share Posted March 7, 2018 As a parent and former kindergarten teacher and, for that matter, a former pupil , here are my thoughts on homework: up until I was 11(in 1963), I was never given any homework; when I started at grammar school I had maybe an hour/hour and a half homework most days with a bit more at weekends(obviously the amount increased each year). Children are very different .... I hated every minute of it(unless it involved drawing!), because I had had more than enough of schoolwork during the day. 4-5 hrs of homework every day is just ridiculous, even for the oldest pupils. That barely allows time for a meal and a chance to unwind after school. I can only think it is to brainwash the children in preparation for the working life ahead of them ..... for them to believe that it is 'normal' to push yourself to the limit every day and that your needs, your family life, hobbies, social life are all secondary to work. Perhaps the children are expected to do so much at home because so little is done in lesson time because of disruptive pupils(I seem to remember this was often the case when my god-daughter was at school). When I was at school we worked solidly from one bell to the next, there were never any disruptions. I am anti-homework and agree with the school of thought that is in favour of a 'breathing' rhythm to learning whereby, for the best results, there is a period of learning and then a period of non-learning when the brain is allowed to process what has been taught. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keel M. Posted March 7, 2018 Author #4 Share Posted March 7, 2018 26 minutes ago, ouija ouija said: I can only think it is to brainwash the children in preparation for the working life ahead of them ..... for them to believe that it is 'normal' to push yourself to the limit every day and that your needs, your family life, hobbies, social life are all secondary to work. This, unfortunately, is the mentality across the board here in the US, ouija. You are seen as a slacker if you do not put work above all else. Thanks for your response. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
internetperson Posted March 7, 2018 #5 Share Posted March 7, 2018 (edited) I barely got through high school because of this and it was bs. It was because homework was 50% of my grade. I always passed the tests but never did the homework. I remember learning a forumla and the homework would be absurd, just total repetition over and over and over like literally 100 times. Then I'd have to read several short stories for English, and then American History hw, Spanish hw, etc etc. Also I had either football practice after school or wrestling (depending on the year). 50% of the grade though for math homework is downright stupid especially if the child is passing the tests. Almost like bullying, you're making me do this to get in line, not learn math. Edited March 7, 2018 by internetperson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rashore Posted March 7, 2018 #6 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I'm ok with some homework, when it's the stuff to finish up at home because it didn't get completed during school hours. A little expected to be worked on outside of class or some special projects. But I also think that as we progress through school there is a trend of less time allowed during school hours to work on assignments and finish up/work on at home if needed to an unreasonable amount of work being assigned as straight up do outside of classroom time. As a math example. A teacher teaching for part of the class time and allowing class time to work on those 40 problems and if you have to finish outside classroom time is reasonable. If the whole class time is taken up with just teaching time and the 40 problems assigned to take home and get done becomes much less reasonable IMO. Study halls are a great way to help address this, but are only as helpful as the students willingness to use the time to work on their assignments or not. In a real world way.. school days are 6-7 hours long, so asking/expecting the extra hour or two of work hours outside school isn't so outrageous- it's comparable to a work day. But adding 4-5 hours of homework is bumping the work day out to 10-12 hours, and that is a bit much to be expected in an average workforce job. It's the kind of grind that makes a lot of kids hate homework in general. I realize teachers usually have a lot a material to plough through during the time allotted to them too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretSanta Posted March 7, 2018 #7 Share Posted March 7, 2018 “Teaching for the test” is what has changed. They have to drill this stuff into the kids heads so that when the standardized tests roll around they know the stuff. My kids make themselves sick over these tests. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted March 7, 2018 #8 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Another side of the ugliness and the failing of the system ... Quote ~ UPDATED: Report: cheating on standardized tests in 75 percent of ... www.scpr.org/blogs/education/.../report-cheating-on-standardized-tests-in-75-percen Mar 28, 2013 - One of the most egregious cheating cases involved a group of Southern California public schools. In 2011, the L.A. Unified School District revoked the charter for six campuses run by Crescendo Schools after investigations revealed that principals had given teachers copies of standardized tests not yet ... ~ How and why convicted Atlanta teachers cheated on standardized ... https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../how-and-why-convicted-atlanta-teachers-cheated-... Apr 1, 2015 - An Atlanta jury convicted 11 teachers of racketeering and other crimes in a standardized test-cheating scandal believed to be the worst of a wave of test .... Confessions by dozens of APS employees subsequently confirmed what GOSA's statistical analysis indicated; widespread cheating occurred on the ... ~ Why Do Teachers Choose to Manipulate Their Students' Standardized ... https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/why-teachers-cheat/480039/ Apr 27, 2016 - Why Would a Teacher Cheat? Educators often choose to inflate students' scores on standardized tests, and the motivations—and effects—indicate that a little deception isn't always a bad thing. Zak Bickel / The Atlantic ... ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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