Homework-

[Anonymous]

"busywork" isn't useful.
and nobody's going to advocate three hours of homework a night for elementry schoolers.
beyond that I haven't read anything here to support the case for not doing at least an hour of homework a night, so lanf as it's not busywork.
The stuff I've seen from my kid's GT class definitely isn't busy-work.

Please contrast busy from non-busy work? Does this relate to duration of time taken to complete a task? Students in my son's GT classes are busier than those not in the program. If not, I would immediately pull him from the GT program and switch him to the "busier" non GT side!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"busywork" isn't useful.
and nobody's going to advocate three hours of homework a night for elementry schoolers.
beyond that I haven't read anything here to support the case for not doing at least an hour of homework a night, so lanf as it's not busywork.
The stuff I've seen from my kid's GT class definitely isn't busy-work.

Please contrast busy from non-busy work? Does this relate to duration of time taken to complete a task? Students in my son's GT classes are busier than those not in the program. If not, I would immediately pull him from the GT program and switch him to the "busier" non GT side!

That was me you're quoting. I was responding to the person above who considers home-work for her 2nd and 4th graders to be "busy-work." I assume she meant make-work assignments that take up time but provide little educational benefit. As I noted in my earlier post, I haven't seen any of that from my kid's school teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, for my child in K, he does about half of the homework...too bad, I don't care, it is more than I ever did.
My 2nd grader does as much as she can, but I do the big projects, too bad again, just want to keep the teachers off my back. Every now and then I let her do something on her own, like a poster, and it is hilarious ( I don't LOL), but she goes off to school (merrily) with some kind of twisted overly glued mess. Then the teachers see reality.
Teacher need to cool it... enough with the posters and projects!!!1

Ugh. I'm sure I don't want to teach my daughter that she doesn't have to work, because if she's unhappy enough someone else will do it for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"busywork" isn't useful.
and nobody's going to advocate three hours of homework a night for elementry schoolers.
beyond that I haven't read anything here to support the case for not doing at least an hour of homework a night, so lanf as it's not busywork.
The stuff I've seen from my kid's GT class definitely isn't busy-work.

Please contrast busy from non-busy work? Does this relate to duration of time taken to complete a task? Students in my son's GT classes are busier than those not in the program. If not, I would immediately pull him from the GT program and switch him to the "busier" non GT side!

That was me you're quoting. I was responding to the person above who considers home-work for her 2nd and 4th graders to be "busy-work." I assume she meant make-work assignments that take up time but provide little educational benefit. As I noted in my earlier post, I haven't seen any of that from my kid's school teacher.

For me it was K and 1st grade assignments for cutting ads out your Mom's and Dad's magazines--like get the hell away from my New Yorker and my Atlantic, bogus school curricula! (5 years ago) ....also, going around in the kitchen with your 6 or 7 year old checking "weights and measures" on cupboard items. Could they not do this AT SCHOOL? and not while I am preparing dinner? Wow. I would like to choose my own teachable moment for that age group. Much of the homework involves too much parent support. Definition of busy work, really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For parents and children who do not subscribe to homework for elementary school children...don't do any. If you decide homework is busy work ... don't do any of it.
If your children do not want to go to swim, tennis, lacrosse, gymnastics practise because they hate it or it is busy work ...keep them at home. If they hate their music and language lessons let them do what they want do do; after all they will grow to hate music and speak other languages. If they do not want to go to church, synagogue, Sunday school because it feels like homework or busy work ... stay home or arrange rotating play dates. There is no one forcing families into these decisions (but their alter ego). Let kids play, watch TV, play Wi and DS because this is fun, not busy work and science papers claim promotes maximal learning. Furthermore, these kids will not grow up hating TV, Wi, DS and intendo games and this is the most important end point.

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

[Anonymous]

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

Are you having difficulty providing the balance for your children or do you want the school to do it for you? You're in charge of you're household and children...don't have your children do the homework if it too onerous. Very simple. You are the barometer.

[Anonymous]

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

I agree. Since you do not have robotic workhorses for children then you are responsible for finding the balance for them. Don't begrudge those you perceive are workhorses. America was not bulit by laggards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

I agree. Since you do not have robotic workhorses for children then you are responsible for finding the balance for them. Don't begrudge those you perceive are workhorses. America was not bulit by laggards.

a slacker parent raising slacker kids and lecturing to us about the evils of homework.
sorry it don't wash with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"busywork" isn't useful.
and nobody's going to advocate three hours of homework a night for elementry schoolers.
beyond that I haven't read anything here to support the case for not doing at least an hour of homework a night, so lanf as it's not busywork.
The stuff I've seen from my kid's GT class definitely isn't busy-work.

Please contrast busy from non-busy work? Does this relate to duration of time taken to complete a task? Students in my son's GT classes are busier than those not in the program. If not, I would immediately pull him from the GT program and switch him to the "busier" non GT side!

That was me you're quoting. I was responding to the person above who considers home-work for her 2nd and 4th graders to be "busy-work." I assume she meant make-work assignments that take up time but provide little educational benefit. As I noted in my earlier post, I haven't seen any of that from my kid's school teacher.

For me it was K and 1st grade assignments for cutting ads out your Mom's and Dad's magazines--like get the hell away from my New Yorker and my Atlantic, bogus school curricula! (5 years ago) ....also, going around in the kitchen with your 6 or 7 year old checking "weights and measures" on cupboard items. Could they not do this AT SCHOOL? and not while I am preparing dinner? Wow. I would like to choose my own teachable moment for that age group. Much of the homework involves too much parent support. Definition of busy work, really.

Christ on a cracker. That's the "Everyday Math" curriculum.

Whomever is responsible for it should be crucified, we're raising a generation of mathematical morons.

[Anonymous]

Here's a very good summary of the literature on homework from Slate:

http://www.slate.com/id/2149593/
Forget Homework
It's a waste of time for elementary-school students.
By Emily BazelonPosted Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006, at 7:47 AM ET

I'm with OP. There is zero evidence that homework for young children has any benefits, and some non-trivial evidence that it is counter-productive (e.g., just breeds resistance to school). I HATE the stupid homework my 1st and 3rd grader come home with. A lot of it truly is homework for the parents -- which, as a single, working mother, I resent.

The worst of it is when filling in idiot worksheets actually cuts into time for somewhat more valuable activities... such as cuddling, talking and reading together. (And can i say how annoying it is to receive homework assignments that contain glaring grammatical errors in them? I'd say that's a weekly occurrence).

I have raised this issue with the teachers and administrators at my children's expensive and "progressive" private school. The Head more or less told me that they know the homework is pointless, but they're afraid to stop assigning it since so many parents foolishly equate quantity of homework with academic quality.

I didn't get any homework as a child until 5th or 6th grade... and rarely more than half an hour or so of work, a couple days a week. And the the plural of anecdote is not date, I grew up and went to Harvard and did just fine despite my tragic homework-free childhood. (Come to think of it, I didn't have music lessons, language lessons, sports lessons, Sunday school classes, gymnastics lessons, ballet lessons, or any other outside-of-school lessons either. After school and on weekends, we just... played. What a concept!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

I agree. Since you do not have robotic workhorses for children then you are responsible for finding the balance for them. Don't begrudge those you perceive are workhorses. America was not bulit by laggards.

The problem is that I have thoroughbreds for children: easily more intelligent and creative than any of the creatures you have blanket suggestions for.

What do I do with my vastly superior offspring, without creating an obnoxious relationship or awareness that reinforces their inherent superiority?

I see you that you advanced this suggestion, but if you actually had any experience with exceptional children it would be apparent to you that your advice is, well... "not as beneficial as advertised."

[Anonymous]

PP here. sorry, venting. And "date" was a typo for "data."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

I agree. Since you do not have robotic workhorses for children then you are responsible for finding the balance for them. Don't begrudge those you perceive are workhorses. America was not bulit by laggards.

a slacker parent raising slacker kids and lecturing to us about the evils of homework.
sorry it don't wash with me.

You know nothing. You don't know anything about me or my children. Except that if you were following along, I believe in having the kids do homework. And I do give them the balance--you are confusing me with an earlier PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ha! Well I'm certainly not advocating for that. Just more balance would be better. A strict 10 minutes per grade rule doesn't always work. You have to know when to back off and when to push. Congratulations to you if you have met with perfection using whatever method works for you. Not everyone has robotic workhorses for children.

I agree. Since you do not have robotic workhorses for children then you are responsible for finding the balance for them. Don't begrudge those you perceive are workhorses. America was not bulit by laggards.

The problem is that I have thoroughbreds for children: easily more intelligent and creative than any of the creatures you have blanket suggestions for.

What do I do with my vastly superior offspring, without creating an obnoxious relationship or awareness that reinforces their inherent superiority?

I see you that you advanced this suggestion, but if you actually had any experience with exceptional children it would be apparent to you that your advice is, well... "not as beneficial as advertised."

Well said.

[Anonymous]

God bless the drones, for they shall do our society's tedious work for us.

Go on, folks, train those little tykes to engage in mindless activities and LIKE IT.