Your thoughts on homework? - Page 5

[boongirl]

I have just started reading it. Can't get past my own quote! Just kidding, but I am in the first chapter still. I keep staying up too late posting here.

I am going to spam the other forums and send some interested parties here.

4 minutes and I spammed 3 forums.

[chellemarie]

:
Putting an arrow on this one so I can come back to it later.

[wakingup]

It all depends on the child

My oldest gets totally stressed by homework and what should take 20 minutes ends up taking up all time available until I do the homework step-by-step with him.

If left to his own devices without access to TV or computer games, he will read and draw send his grandparents email or play some role-playing game with his brother. Homework for him is just a self-esteem bashing counter-productive activity.

He's gotten a little better and can do math or worksheet homework quickly and easily, but as soon as it is writing paragraphs and essays we are back to the wheel spinning pardigm.

My younger son, comes in sits down and finishes the homework in 15 minutes feels smart and great about it, and moves on to the next activity. For him, it's no big deal.

I think there is some value in being able to finish an assignment on your own even if it not what you would chose to do or even enjoy. But when you need an adult to do most of it to get through it, then I think it is counter-productive. It stresses him out more to not complete it then to get alot of help with it, so for now I help him through it.

[Meg Murry.]

Okay, full disclosure: I am a teacher. :

I also assign homework. In my upper-level, upper-ability class, I assign it 3-4 times/week.

However, I do have some criteria for homework that I think are relevant here:

1. It's got to be either a followup of something we've already done in class, OR

2. A preparation for something we will do in class and we must follow up on it.

3. It also should not be excessive. I believe there's definitely a rate of diminishing returns as far as homework goes: seven problems may be fine; seventeen is NOT better.

I think that when homework is not a fundamental outgrowth of some element of the class -- that is, when it's simply busywork -- that it IS absurd and is a problem. Often, though, I'll assign it basically so that we'll have an automatic jumping-off point for our discussion or work the next day, kind've like an open link in a chain.

[velochic]

I think that homework should be a natural extension of the classroom. It should be a time for the child/young adult to use the information given and expand his/her knowledge of it. Busy work can be accomplished in a hundred different ways. I am for meaningful homework, but I understand the rationale behind repetition... it is the mother of learning, you know.

That being said... dh grew up in and his entire family live in Turkey and I like how they approach homework. It gives the kids a chance to take what they learn and learn more about it, appy it, and manipulate it. My one niece is the equivalent of a junior in high school. She comes home at 4:00 and works on homework every weeknight about 6 hours. She gets up Saturday morning and works until afternoon. But what she studies is very complicated and requires that amount of studying.

I'm truly amazed by what she knows. Fluent in 4 languages, learning the calculus that my dh teaches his college students... she knows more now as a 17 year old, than I knew as a college graduate. And she can apply it!!

I see how much homework she has and how much she knows, understands, and uses in her daily life, and I just have to say... I like homework. (Then again, I've always loved homework because I love to learn... homework was just an excuse to learn some more... I even loved the repetitive stuff.)

[robugmum]

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[MillingNome]

I guess I am a little more nuanced on it.

In general:
I don't believe in busy work and that is what most homework is.
I don't believe in stealing time from a family when their child is at school for so many hours already.
I do believe that alot of children are busy doing very useful STUFF TO THEM at home on their own.
I do believe that some homework can be useful ei: studying for a test, project based assignment.


The part I like least about homework is it sets a precident for later in life when the child is grown up. After going through 12-16 years of homework, the habit has been formed to bring work home from your job. It interfers with family life. It makes it impossible to relax. It makes it hard to get ahead in your job if everyone is bring work home. It makes us forever slaves even in our "off-time". Or am I being too cynical.

[MillingNome]

Originally Posted by Flor

I don't think kids practice skills at home... My own 11 yo son, a good student, rushes through his work. In the classroom, there is n't a rush to finish. If you finish early, you can read a book, that's it. At home, if you finish early, you can play computer, go to a friends house, watch TV, plaay with brother , skateboard. . . . so what kid is going to sit down and slowly, delibertly do his HW? Not my kid.

Rolling up sleeves.

What is wrong with those things? It sounds to me like while he may not be "practicing skills" from school, he is definitly practicing awesome life skills.