What happens in MCPS (and others) if your child does not do the homework,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do a significant number of area children get their math education OUT OF SCHOOL. Is this overkill or does SCHOOL fail them and many find a way to compensate. I would hazard that the majority of area kids do. MAJORITY = > 50%. Do you think these kids and parents would do this if they had faith in MATH taught in SCHOOL. They don't seem to be a leery about SCHOOL regarding the other subjects.

You really don't seem to making any kind of logical argument, here, so I think I will stop trying to discuss this issue with you anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do a significant number of area children get their math education OUT OF SCHOOL. Is this overkill or does SCHOOL fail them and many find a way to compensate. I would hazard that the majority of area kids do. MAJORITY = > 50%. Do you think these kids and parents would do this if they had faith in MATH taught in SCHOOL. They don't seem to be a leery about SCHOOL regarding the other subjects.

You really don't seem to making any kind of logical argument, here, so I think I will stop trying to discuss this issue with you anymore.

That is a good popint, it seems to be only the math that gets everyone upset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do a significant number of area children get their math education OUT OF SCHOOL. Is this overkill or does SCHOOL fail them and many find a way to compensate. I would hazard that the majority of area kids do. MAJORITY = > 50%. Do you think these kids and parents would do this if they had faith in MATH taught in SCHOOL. They don't seem to be a leery about SCHOOL regarding the other subjects.

You really don't seem to making any kind of logical argument, here, so I think I will stop trying to discuss this issue with you anymore.

Makes sense to me. When 85 lessons need to be covered in 40 days (or whatever was mentioned earlier), most kids just aren't getting it so they need to supplement their education with tutors and places like Huntington. My spouse, an MCPS middle school teacher, says it is common knowledge among middle school/high school teachers that the elementary math curriculum has not been effective. Students might be taking accelerated math and getting good grades in their math classes but they just aren't retaining the information to be able to apply it later on. They memorize the steps to get to the correct answer but don't really understand the reason for why they are going through those steps. Not the same thing as actually learning a concept. The MCPS math curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep. Lots of material to cover, but covered so superficially that most kids aren't really digesting it. Quantity does not equal quality.

[Anonymous]

Well if all the above is true it is a darn shame. I think parents shoudl pressure MCPS to change. Kids should learn most of what they need to know, during the school day. If the curriculum is too broad and inappropriate such that most kids aren't learning and retaining what they should be doing, in math, then the curriculum shoudl be changed.

Meanwhile, since pretty much only math and reading/writing are tested in the state of Maryland, one wonders how well science is really being taught. If math IS tested, and the state of math education even so is what it is, how good can the science education really be?

[Anonymous]

][/You really don't seem to making any kind of logical argument, here, so I think I will stop trying to discuss this issue with you anymore.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

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Makes sense to me. When 85 lessons need to be covered in 40 days (or whatever was mentioned earlier), most kids just aren't getting it so they need to supplement their education with tutors and places like Huntington. My spouse, an MCPS middle school teacher, says it is common knowledge among middle school/high school teachers that the elementary math curriculum has not been effective. Students might be taking accelerated math and getting good grades in their math classes but they just aren't retaining the information to be able to apply it later on. They memorize the steps to get to the correct answer but don't really understand the reason for why they are going through those steps. Not the same thing as actually learning a concept. The MCPS math curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep. Lots of material to cover, but covered so superficially that most kids aren't really digesting it. Quantity does not equal quality.

This point seems to underscore why children may need more than 10 minutes of homework per day (if not in the single subject of Math alone) since they may be getting a superficial treatment of the subject in school. I guess one can throw any theories about the lack of usefulness of homework for elementary school children until one addresses the usefulness of 6 hours of school....interesting argument for some to grasp. Some children and parents prefer not to wait 5 or 6 years of education lite on theories, no one here can even explain, before facing realities in middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

I think that 10 minute per grade idea goes out the window at some point. An hour and 10 minutes in Grade 7 seems low. By high school, students can have two and three hours a night - in private school as well as public. Also, students do not all do homework at the same rate so how teachers can assess what they assigning get tricky.

Homework counts as part of the grade. Teachers will tell students what percentage of their grade is based on their homework performance.

[Anonymous]

Folk like to quote material they cannot even explain to make an argument why homework for elementary school children is useless and does not translate into achievement (however that is defined). If the school system is inadequate, or lacking, I wonder whether the above theory is still valid? Or are folk hung up on the definition of homework?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This point seems to underscore why children may need more than 10 minutes of homework per day (if not in the single subject of Math alone) since they may be getting a superficial treatment of the subject in school. I guess one can throw any theories about the lack of usefulness of homework for elementary school children until one addresses the usefulness of 6 hours of school....interesting argument for some to grasp. Some children and parents prefer not to wait 5 or 6 years of education lite on theories, no one here can even explain, before facing realities in middle and high school.

There you go -- what's the point of 30 minutes of homework for kids that are spending 6 hours each day in school, apparently not really being taught the basics?

[Anonymous]

I think that 10 minute per grade idea goes out the window at some point. An hour and 10 minutes in Grade 7 seems low. By high school, students can have two and three hours a night - in private school as well as public. Also, students do not all do homework at the same rate so how teachers can assess what they assigning get tricky.

Homework counts as part of the grade. Teachers will tell students what percentage of their grade is based on their homework performance.

Do you know who came up with this equation in the first place...teacher, parent or the student union?

[Anonymous]

There you go -- what's the point of 30 minutes of homework for kids that are spending 6 hours each day in school, apparently not really being taught the basics?

How do you spell catch-up or remedial education. Quite useful in any sport or subject if you are behind the 8 ball.

[Anonymous]

Nip the remedial education in the bud by doing it in parallel (simultaneous) with school so that academic deficits are not an issue later on in high school...or, if you choose, tackle remedial education later after 5 to 6 years of elementary school. No parent or child has time for the Titanic like bureaucratic chains of the school system to crank; that's why many area families (> 50 % I would guess) supplement their elementary child's education. Many opt not to play Russian roulette with their child's education over some debunk theories. It is no small wonder the homeschool market is gaining ground amidst public and private school systems that are slowly pricing themselves right out of the market for the value brought to the table.

[Anonymous]

The whole factory model of education is outmoded and isn't the best way to teach our kids how to think critically or develop other skills necessary for "their" future. It may have served many of us just fine, but no longer. Homework is only one component of that failure.

[Anonymous]

You would have to define homework or work at home for me? I know what you mean, in the traditional sense, as it relates to a class taken in school and work or exercises left over from that class to do at home?

After that work at home is done all the time in my home that is academic, intellectual, fun, and games. Some call this homework, some don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think that 10 minute per grade idea goes out the window at some point. An hour and 10 minutes in Grade 7 seems low. By high school, students can have two and three hours a night - in private school as well as public. Also, students do not all do homework at the same rate so how teachers can assess what they assigning get tricky.

Homework counts as part of the grade. Teachers will tell students what percentage of their grade is based on their homework performance.

Do you know who came up with this equation in the first place...teacher, parent or the student union?

10 minutes per grade level in elementary school seems to be a join recommendation by the NEA (teachers union) and the national PTA.