Atlantic piece: "My Daughter's Homework is Killing Me"

[Anonymous]

Yes yes yes. The amount of homework today is nuts. The most important part of the article is when his daughter observes that the only way to get through is to memorize, not to try to understand. Thats an education?

I fear we've deprived an entire generation of both a childhood and a thoughtful education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serious question: Are there any MS/HS options in DC that offer both a sharp, engaged peer group and a light-to-manageable homework load?

Most schools have minimum core requirements. If somebody stuck to the minimum and forgo AP classes they would have less homework. But everybody is afraid to do that in fear of going to a lesser college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes yes yes. The amount of homework today is nuts. The most important part of the article is when his daughter observes that the only way to get through is to memorize, not to try to understand. Thats an education?

I fear we've deprived an entire generation of both a childhood and a thoughtful education.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question: Are there any MS/HS options in DC that offer both a sharp, engaged peer group and a light-to-manageable homework load?

Most schools have minimum core requirements. If somebody stuck to the minimum and forgo AP classes they would have less homework. But everybody is afraid to do that in fear of going to a lesser college.

I took lots of APs, got 5s on everything, and did maybe -- MAYBE -- ten hours of homework a week, all in. I can't believe that a similar course load today really *requires* 2-3 times that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question: Are there any MS/HS options in DC that offer both a sharp, engaged peer group and a light-to-manageable homework load?

Most schools have minimum core requirements. If somebody stuck to the minimum and forgo AP classes they would have less homework. But everybody is afraid to do that in fear of going to a lesser college.

I took lots of APs, got 5s on everything, and did maybe -- MAYBE -- ten hours of homework a week, all in. I can't believe that a similar course load today really *requires* 2-3 times that.

No they do not "require" tons of homework, but teachers feel the kids need to do lots of homework to prove it is "rigorous". It's like boot camp for kids.

The answer to the previous poster is yes, there is a way to avoid this type of HW. Many of us do. I think many schools have this option. you don't have to pack you schedule to graduate.

This area is crazy. Just look at all the snark about matriculation of some schools. All the talk about rigorous academics which only means strict, demanding, exhaustive. This is what parents are asking for.

Look at posts where schools are called kind, or balanced, etc.

I am guessing there people reading the article and don't think that amount of HW is crazy, they think ... Good, that is what I am paying for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. SORRY 13:25. Mea culpa. Who knew DCUM had terms of service? But anyway, now that you've nabbed me, you can get back to locating cyberbullies, terrorists and other miscreants. Meanwhile, okay, here's the thumbnail version of the article for those who are interested (13:25, you can stop reading): a dad tries to do his middle school-aged daughter's homework for a week. He can't. Nice send-up of homework lunacy. And yes, I agree, kids get too much homework. It has little to know educational value and it makes them miserable. That's why I send my kid to a progressive school with little homework, though even there, it feels like it takes constant effort to keep the homework for increasing and increasing.

good for you.

Which school is this?

[Anonymous]

YESYESYESYES. TOO MUCH HOMEWORK. Private and public in DC/MD/VA area. My child (now in college) did not have a life because of the illogical amounts of homework dumped on these poor kids. If I had to do it over, I would have moved away and tried to create a "normal" lifestyle for child which would have involved walking down the street to hang out with a girl friend, scouting, athletics, piano lessons, anything but the mounds of homework we all suffered through not to mention the lack of sleep during these critical formative years.

[Anonymous]

For much of the time the kids are saying they are doing homework they are distracted by the internet and their phones. Try having them do homework without the internet or computer or phone and you'll be surprised by how much faster it goes.

Also, there are choices here. If your child is playing 20+ hours of soccer a week it might be worth considering whether the school plus club time commitment plus homework is worth it.

With that said, I agree that some teachers do seem to think they have to pile on the homework to be considered rigorous. But kids need to read books for history and English and they can't do it in class so there is a proper place for homework. 100 problems sets? Probably not necessary.

[Anonymous]

Not true. ^^ I find it very frustrating that whenever the subject of TOO MUCH HOMEWORK comes up, someone - usually a male voice who wasn't much help to his wife when the kids were growing up and now enjoys beating people up on the internet as a retirement hobby - makes this remarks about 'screens". Sorry, 18:36 is that is not your demographic. But it is a pattern and in so many cases it is simply not true. In our household we have rigid screens, phone, Iphone and computer rules. NO TV during the school week etc. Homework comes first. But the kids are still going to bed at midnight and getting up at 5:30 and it has nothing to do with screens or phones. Sorry 18:36 for the vent, but I'm tired of this prattle every time a serious poster compalins about too much homework. Too much homework has ruined our homelife, our kids' lives, and our ability to enjoy and do a lot of activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not true. ^^ I find it very frustrating that whenever the subject of TOO MUCH HOMEWORK comes up, someone - usually a male voice who wasn't much help to his wife when the kids were growing up and now enjoys beating people up on the internet as a retirement hobby - makes this remarks about 'screens". Sorry, 18:36 is that is not your demographic. But it is a pattern and in so many cases it is simply not true. In our household we have rigid screens, phone, Iphone and computer rules. NO TV during the school week etc. Homework comes first. But the kids are still going to bed at midnight and getting up at 5:30 and it has nothing to do with screens or phones. Sorry 18:36 for the vent, but I'm tired of this prattle every time a serious poster compalins about too much homework. Too much homework has ruined our homelife, our kids' lives, and our ability to enjoy and do a lot of activities.

Are your kids in public or private? HS age? My kids in private are required to do most of their homework on a computer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not true. ^^ I find it very frustrating that whenever the subject of TOO MUCH HOMEWORK comes up, someone - usually a male voice who wasn't much help to his wife when the kids were growing up and now enjoys beating people up on the internet as a retirement hobby - makes this remarks about 'screens". Sorry, 18:36 is that is not your demographic. But it is a pattern and in so many cases it is simply not true. In our household we have rigid screens, phone, Iphone and computer rules. NO TV during the school week etc. Homework comes first. But the kids are still going to bed at midnight and getting up at 5:30 and it has nothing to do with screens or phones. Sorry 18:36 for the vent, but I'm tired of this prattle every time a serious poster compalins about too much homework. Too much homework has ruined our homelife, our kids' lives, and our ability to enjoy and do a lot of activities.

Well, you got my demographic wrong -- woman, of childbearing years, lol, AND I'm in the workforce! And sorry, your rhetoric -- homework that has ruined your homelife and kids' lives?! -- sounds, shall we say, overheated.

On a more serious note, if your children are getting only 5.5 hours of sleep a night they are either (a) over-committed to activities; (b) in a school that is too hard for them and you should re-assess; and/or (c) are putting too much pressure on themselves to be perfect, whether or not you are putting on such pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question: Are there any MS/HS options in DC that offer both a sharp, engaged peer group and a light-to-manageable homework load?

Most schools have minimum core requirements. If somebody stuck to the minimum and forgo AP classes they would have less homework. But everybody is afraid to do that in fear of going to a lesser college.

I took lots of APs, got 5s on everything, and did maybe -- MAYBE -- ten hours of homework a week, all in. I can't believe that a similar course load today really *requires* 2-3 times that.

Me too, and I went to a Big 3. In fact, 10 hours a week would be on the high end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. SORRY 13:25. Mea culpa. Who knew DCUM had terms of service? But anyway, now that you've nabbed me, you can get back to locating cyberbullies, terrorists and other miscreants. Meanwhile, okay, here's the thumbnail version of the article for those who are interested (13:25, you can stop reading): a dad tries to do his middle school-aged daughter's homework for a week. He can't. Nice send-up of homework lunacy. And yes, I agree, kids get too much homework. It has little to know educational value and it makes them miserable. That's why I send my kid to a progressive school with little homework, though even there, it feels like it takes constant effort to keep the homework for increasing and increasing.

good for you.

Which school is this?

NP here. I'm going to guess maybe Waldorf.
If we had to do it again, we'd probably homeschool.

[Anonymous]

I think that 3 to 5 hours of homework a night is ridiculous, but I also wonder about time management in this family. To whine that your kid went to bed at 11:40 "because" they had 3 hours of homework, makes me wonder why they couldn't start HW until 8:40.

I have a kid who plays an intense sport, about 15 hours a week, and he knows that some days he needs to squeeze in some work at lunch, or read a few pages on the bus coming home. If he waited until 8:00 to crack a book he'd never get through his homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes yes yes. The amount of homework today is nuts. The most important part of the article is when his daughter observes that the only way to get through is to memorize, not to try to understand. Thats an education?

I fear we've deprived an entire generation of both a childhood and a thoughtful education.

Is all this homework really worth it? DD, a sophomore, is still up, and will be probably up till 2 am doing homework. And to be at school for 8 am. Doesn't make sense - seems like each teacher thinks their class is the only class.