Why do parents think it's ok to toss out homework? What do teachers think of this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing is that not all parents are using time after school to create compost bins. Some families (children and adults) won't reinforce what's learned in school unless it's a requirement (i.e. homework). It's just the reality. And no school or teacher will say "Larla, your parents take you to museums and build compost bins after school--no homework for you. Larlo, your parents let you stay up late to watch TV and play video games--you need to do math and reading homework tonight."

And there is time after school for both reinforcing what's being taught in school (homework) and building a compost bin. The two are not mutually exclusive.

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.

You could set it up this way. For example, you could have the homework be one of a series of options, including the math worksheet or the compost bin or going to the museum or something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The homework for my second grader in MCPS usually consists of math equations and writing. I don't think it is a waste of time.

it should be done in school.

Homework is reinforcement of what's being done in school. It allows people to see what and how their kids are doing with what's being taught during the school day.

Or is it that you're just too lazy to ensure that your kids do the homework? You must be one of those parents who think that all parenting responsibilities should be provided by school staff between 9am and 3pm daily so that you can "enjoy" your evenings.

+100

Plus, who are these people to presume to know so much better than the teacher what's necessary or not?

No - school is for school. Home time is for family values. And please repeat with me again: research shows no benefit for early elementary homework.

LMAO! No benefit, my ass... I don't really give a rats ass about whatever flawed "research" you want to point to, because the empirical evidence is everywhere. A huge number of kids learn to read, learn their numbers, shapes, colors, et cetera thanks in large part to reinforcing school values at home in those early elementary years. In homes where that doesn't happen you end up having huge issues with basic foundational skills like literacy and numeracy - which are best learned starting in early elementary years.

Right, because I need worksheets to talk about colors and shapes with my kid? Give me a break. Teachers can teach at school, and I will parent at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I don't understand, because my child is not in school yet, if the homework is so simple to be meaningless, can't it be completed very quickly?

As someone who had to make a paper mâché map of Vermont in fourth grade, it seems to me that meaningless homework projects have been around for a long time.

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Not in my kids' case, at least with certain teachers. Young teachers in particular don't always seem to understand how long the busywork is going to take, so they ask first graders to do something that would take more than 30 minutes to do. That's a lot longer than most first graders can sit and work, and because I am concerned about my kids' long-term work habits, I am not going to turn homework into something that requires me to push them. I expect them to sit down and do their homework or live with the consequences of not doing it, but I don't think it's fair to ask them to do something they aren't developmentally prepared to do and then punish them for not doing it.

And to the PP, I would *love* to be able to sign on for a deal in which we don't pull our kids out of school for fun stuff and don't let them have screen time M-Th, and teachers don't give homework other than reading in the early elementary grades. I would be all over that action, I assure you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I don't understand, because my child is not in school yet, if the homework is so simple to be meaningless, can't it be completed very quickly?

As someone who had to make a paper mâché map of Vermont in fourth grade, it seems to me that meaningless homework projects have been around for a long time.

You are correct. DS's K homework (weekend only) only takes 15-30 min. Should take 15 min but sometimes it is sloppy and I ask him to redo it and typically I need google translate to understand the directions in Spanish (I am working on my Spanish skills)

The homework is typically a repeat of what he did in school. Sometimes it is the same worksheets over again. He understands that his homework needs to be neat and correct. It is about having respect for the teachers, the process and for himself. He should be turning in work he is proud of and not just getting it done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing is that not all parents are using time after school to create compost bins. Some families (children and adults) won't reinforce what's learned in school unless it's a requirement (i.e. homework). It's just the reality. And no school or teacher will say "Larla, your parents take you to museums and build compost bins after school--no homework for you. Larlo, your parents let you stay up late to watch TV and play video games--you need to do math and reading homework tonight."

And there is time after school for both reinforcing what's being taught in school (homework) and building a compost bin. The two are not mutually exclusive.

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.

Bullshit. My parents were never involved in our homework (and there was no elementary homework) and my family produced 3 lawyers 1 banker and 1 engineer. The need for homewok to create a "school-home partnership" is completely made up and unsupported by any kind of evidence. For advantaged families like mine, it makes no difference. For disadvantaged families is misses the point or at worst creates additional divisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.

I honestly don't understand where this idea of the "home-school partnership" with parent involvement comes from. It was absolutely not the expectation in my middle-class, academic, Midwestern, public-school experience in the 1970s and 1980s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.


I honestly don't understand where this idea of the "home-school partnership" with parent involvement comes from. It was absolutely not the expectation in my middle-class, academic, Midwestern, public-school experience in the 1970s and 1980s.


And, I bet your parents never told you to forget about your homework, either.

[Anonymous]

Bullshit. My parents were never involved in our homework (and there was no elementary homework) and my family produced 3 lawyers 1 banker and 1 engineer. The need for homewok to create a "school-home partnership" is completely made up and unsupported by any kind of evidence. For advantaged families like mine, it makes no difference. For disadvantaged families is misses the point or at worst creates additional divisions.

Are you basing that on the sample size of you and your siblings, or do you have additional research demonstrating that there is no benefit from a home school partnership?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.

I honestly don't understand where this idea of the "home-school partnership" with parent involvement comes from. It was absolutely not the expectation in my middle-class, academic, Midwestern, public-school experience in the 1970s and 1980s.

And, I bet your parents never told you to forget about your homework, either.

No, they didn't, but that's partly because I'm the PP who didn't have any homework until 7th grade. However, when I did then have homework, I did it myself. My parents would have been astonished at the idea that it was their parental obligation to help me with my math, chemistry, or English homework. In fact, they are astonished now. I supplement with my children at home for math, and my parents are always asking, "Why do you make them do extra math? Don't they have math at school?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Bullshit. My parents were never involved in our homework (and there was no elementary homework) and my family produced 3 lawyers 1 banker and 1 engineer. The need for homewok to create a "school-home partnership" is completely made up and unsupported by any kind of evidence. For advantaged families like mine, it makes no difference. For disadvantaged families is misses the point or at worst creates additional divisions.

Are you basing that on the sample size of you and your siblings, or do you have additional research demonstrating that there is no benefit from a home school partnership?

Do you have any research demonstrating that there is a benefit to a "home/school partnership", and that homework supports this "home/school partnership"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.

I honestly don't understand where this idea of the "home-school partnership" with parent involvement comes from. It was absolutely not the expectation in my middle-class, academic, Midwestern, public-school experience in the 1970s and 1980s.

Expectations are different now than when we were growing up. Because most kids in families on this board will get help if needed from parents, if your child never gets help their materials will look markedly different. Also, you are talking about a different situation/time. Its one thing not to have homework assigned and say you came out ok without it. That's a different situation than having homework assigned and just not doing it. There may be negative consequences from that attitude that have nothing to do with the actual homework. That said, I don't think the homework of my first grader is particularly helpful (helps me stay in touch with what he's doing), but I also don't think it's harmful. And I confess, it is not the homework that prevents us from building a compost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

As long as homework is in fact reinforcement of what's being learned in school then it's valuable and can he considered parental involvement if done together or even if a parent just checks it when it's done. The parent is involved in creating a home-school partnership, which is important for children to see.

I honestly don't understand where this idea of the "home-school partnership" with parent involvement comes from. It was absolutely not the expectation in my middle-class, academic, Midwestern, public-school experience in the 1970s and 1980s.

Expectations are different now than when we were growing up. Because most kids in families on this board will get help if needed from parents, if your child never gets help their materials will look markedly different. Also, you are talking about a different situation/time. Its one thing not to have homework assigned and say you came out ok without it. That's a different situation than having homework assigned and just not doing it. There may be negative consequences from that attitude that have nothing to do with the actual homework. That said, I don't think the homework of my first grader is particularly helpful (helps me stay in touch with what he's doing), but I also don't think it's harmful. And I confess, it is not the homework that prevents us from building a compost.

I'm the PP, and I agree with that.

[Anonymous]

We homeschool and our 11 year old is thinking about switching over to regular school. One of the things that gives me pause is homework. He won't want to do it after he's mastered the material and I'll probably agree with him.

[Anonymous]

Bullshit. My parents were never involved in our homework (and there was no elementary homework) and my family produced 3 lawyers 1 banker and 1 engineer. The need for homewok to create a "school-home partnership" is completely made up and unsupported by any kind of evidence. For advantaged families like mine, it makes no difference. For disadvantaged families is misses the point or at worst creates additional divisions.



Are you basing that on the sample size of you and your siblings, or do you have additional research demonstrating that there is no benefit from a home school partnership?

Do you have any research demonstrating that there is a benefit to a "home/school partnership", and that homework supports this "home/school partnership"?

No, and so I am not, and have not, taken a position on the issue or characterized anyone else's as incorrect (as you did, in a more vulgar manner).

[Anonymous]

Doing homework at home has helped my son tremendously. He's in 1st. When we do his spelling we quiz him first on the words. On Monday he knows maybe 25% and that's after the spelling packet they do in class on Monday. We have him write and spell the wrong ones 5 times. We do this everyday of the week until Friday. He usually get 100% or one wrong on Friday's test. I'm not sure how else he would learn the words if we didn't work on them at home. Same thing with his math and English.

He missed doing one of his religion assignments and came home upset because they discuses the assignment in class and he didn't have his. (It was left sitting on the kitchen table) For those who don't do homework, how what does your kid say if they go over it in class?