Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!

[Anonymous]

Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't have homework in our charter until 3rd grade. Which is developmentally appropriate.

How are those test scores at your charter? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in K also. He gets a weekly packet that is due Mondays. My philosophy is that if he cannot read the instructions (sometimes there are picture instructions, and he can follow those) and know what to do on his own (because, um, he can't read yet, which is one of the goals of K), he doesn't do it. If he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to. I am not taking away family time or making family time full of fights over HW in K. So - he does what he can do and doesn't do what he can't, and I don't lose any sleep over it. I think HW in elementary school is ridiculous.

You are the same people who then come to Middle School and realize that your kids have fallen behind so much on math. Math, more than skill, requires a lot of practice, so you take the fear of math away. And it starts in elementary, 1st or 2nd grade, definitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

+1. The extreme positions re: HW evidenced here are really the worst examples of privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC’s kindergarten and 1st grade teachers both told us that the daily 20min of reading included parents reading to children. So if you already read with your kids nightly, logging it shouldn’t be a huge burden.

"Logging" as in scribbling down on a worksheet 1/week "we read 15 books this week" is fine.

If by "logging" they want you to write down title, author, and date -- that's nuts and I would not do it.

We are huge readers, and I have to say, I absolutely hated reading logs. I don't know what it was, but there was just something about having to write a list of what we read that just sucked all the joy right out of it. I realize that makes no sense at all, but it truly drove me to edge between annoyance and anger. Totally dumb of me, but there it is.

I will never do reading logs, as god is my witness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

Lol. I respect the hell out of my children's teachers, but I do not think they are experts in child development wrt homework. Having to hover over a crying 5 year old to do meaingless worksheets is NOT forming good habits, BTW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

+1. The extreme positions re: HW evidenced here are really the worst examples of privilege.

Are you kidding? It's the privileged parents that can mange the homework, by having an after-school sitter, quality after-care, or being able to make the time for it at home. It's the parents with 2 jobs who can't oversee it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in K also. He gets a weekly packet that is due Mondays. My philosophy is that if he cannot read the instructions (sometimes there are picture instructions, and he can follow those) and know what to do on his own (because, um, he can't read yet, which is one of the goals of K), he doesn't do it. If he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to. I am not taking away family time or making family time full of fights over HW in K. So - he does what he can do and doesn't do what he can't, and I don't lose any sleep over it. I think HW in elementary school is ridiculous.

You are the same people who then come to Middle School and realize that your kids have fallen behind so much on math. Math, more than skill, requires a lot of practice, so you take the fear of math away. And it starts in elementary, 1st or 2nd grade, definitely.

I'm OK with my 3rd grader practicing times tables at home. Not ok with 20 minutes of math apps for my 5 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in K also. He gets a weekly packet that is due Mondays. My philosophy is that if he cannot read the instructions (sometimes there are picture instructions, and he can follow those) and know what to do on his own (because, um, he can't read yet, which is one of the goals of K), he doesn't do it. If he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to. I am not taking away family time or making family time full of fights over HW in K. So - he does what he can do and doesn't do what he can't, and I don't lose any sleep over it. I think HW in elementary school is ridiculous.

You are the same people who then come to Middle School and realize that your kids have fallen behind so much on math. Math, more than skill, requires a lot of practice, so you take the fear of math away. And it starts in elementary, 1st or 2nd grade, definitely.

I'm OK with my 3rd grader practicing times tables at home. Not ok with 20 minutes of math apps for my 5 year old.

5 is a bit young, that is why I said 1st grade. They get used to the idea of school and rules in K and are more ready for HW in 1st.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

+1. The extreme positions re: HW evidenced here are really the worst examples of privilege.

Are you kidding? It's the privileged parents that can mange the homework, by having an after-school sitter, quality after-care, or being able to make the time for it at home. It's the parents with 2 jobs who can't oversee it.

No, what I meant is that it's the few highly educated, affluent parents in the system that are more likely to challenge authority and either decide that the rules don't apply to them, or try to get the rules changed. They care less about the fact that repeated practice at home might be beneficial for the majority of DC kids, who are from poor backgrounds, and could benefit from having their parents engaged in their learning. Of course, it is not ALL educated parents, but there are certainly some for whom this applies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

+1. The extreme positions re: HW evidenced here are really the worst examples of privilege.

Are you kidding? It's the privileged parents that can mange the homework, by having an after-school sitter, quality after-care, or being able to make the time for it at home. It's the parents with 2 jobs who can't oversee it.

No, what I meant is that it's the few highly educated, affluent parents in the system that are more likely to challenge authority and either decide that the rules don't apply to them, or try to get the rules changed. They care less about the fact that repeated practice at home might be beneficial for the majority of DC kids, who are from poor backgrounds, and could benefit from having their parents engaged in their learning. Of course, it is not ALL educated parents, but there are certainly some for whom this applies.

\

Whataboutism. Busywork's not good for my kid; and it's certainly not going to help close the acheivement gap. next?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have homework in our charter until 3rd grade. Which is developmentally appropriate.

How are those test scores at your charter? Just curious.

It’s a tier 1. Test scores are in line with the better DCPS elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Why doesn’t OP talk to her child’s teacher? Why not - politely - raise the issue at Back to School Night? Why sit there and stew about it along with all the other parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

+1. The extreme positions re: HW evidenced here are really the worst examples of privilege.

Are you kidding? It's the privileged parents that can mange the homework, by having an after-school sitter, quality after-care, or being able to make the time for it at home. It's the parents with 2 jobs who can't oversee it.

No. There are parents who make homework a part of the routine and there are those that don't. The parents who see a benefit for their children are more inclined to make homework part of the routine. Parents who have to battle their kids to get homework done are going to be less inclined to disrupt their household over it.

That is probably why teachers are generally flexible about young kids doing homework and are happy to let the parents decide what will and will not work for them and their own children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework at the kinder level is less about content and more about forming good habits - both the parents and the kid. A can find a study to prove any point. I would rather refer to the experts - the teachers - who have studied education and child development. Some children need to practice more than others. I think it's a disservice to ban homework for other children that might need to practice a skill 100 times more than another peer.

Lol. I respect the hell out of my children's teachers, but I do not think they are experts in child development wrt homework. Having to hover over a crying 5 year old to do meaingless worksheets is NOT forming good habits, BTW.

If homework involves you hovering over a crying child then you should take the cue that the child is not ready for that intensity of work.

5 minutes of practice done in a calm, relaxed way is far better than 20 minutes of whining/crying over doing homework.