HS and homework

[Anonymous]

I think the reality is the same assignments and test studying take different amounts of time for different kids. One will draft outlines and flash cards and study for hours and be stressed about anything less than 98%, while another does the reading, pays attention in class, takes some notes and hopes for the best. One kid will be a speed reader with an eidetic memory who flies through the assigned workload, while another has ADHD and dyslexia, so takes a longer time and adds on tutoring time. And there is a whole range of kids in between these extremes.

The point you can count on is that in most private schools there will be an expectation of some assignment and/or studying for most classes on most days, whether it is due the next day or as a longer project due in two weeks. How long that takes a kid to complete is variable. A school may offer an average as a guideline of what they expect it to take, but they cannot predict how long it will take your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like it is hard to pull out the truth on these threads. There seems to be people who feel that if they don't round up the hw hours that people will look down on their schools and they will not seem as elite.

What you forget is that there is a large range of GPAs at these schools. There are kids who get straight As (exceedingly rare), and kids who get straight Cs and everyone in between. I would say that almost all the high schoolers are INTELLECTUALLY capable of doing the work but how much studying they choose to do varies a lot. My daughter has friends who study 4-5 hours a night for straight As and friends who have firm limits on how much they will study and are fine with Bs.

It's really quite possible that if you asked 2 different families at a school about how much their kid studies, you would get 2 completely different replies. Within my daughter's 8 person friend group there is a large spread.

True. I have two kids at the same high school, and one takes much longer than the other to do the same work. They each learn in their own way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These kids are working harder than they ever will for the rest of their lives, unless they go to med school. Why put them through that? Do you go to work all day and then play a sport and then come home and do several more hours of work? It’s crazy.

I actually don't think that is true. Most of them aren't working harder than their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These kids are working harder than they ever will for the rest of their lives, unless they go to med school. Why put them through that? Do you go to work all day and then play a sport and then come home and do several more hours of work? It’s crazy.

I actually don't think that is true. Most of them aren't working harder than their parents.

This. Do you not know what it’s like to work in biglaw? It is an all consuming life with vacations canceled or rescheduled.

[Anonymous]

NCS is pretty much always 3 hours night for girls who do well. They don't have homework in every class, every night because classes are on a rotating basis. But the cumulative each night is about 3 hours.
STA is 2-3 hours.

A kid taking the most rigorous classes at STA who is striving to do well is 3-4 hours.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the kid, but yes kids at the rigorous schools can have 3-4 hrs (or more) of homework a night and more on weekends. They do get good about getting some done in study hall. Depending on sports or after school arts/club commitments, they end up staying up late a lot.

[Anonymous]

Then don’t send them to a school with a lot of homework. Problem solved.

And no, DC does not spend more time than I do getting work done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These kids are working harder than they ever will for the rest of their lives, unless they go to med school. Why put them through that? Do you go to work all day and then play a sport and then come home and do several more hours of work? It’s crazy.

I actually don't think that is true. Most of them aren't working harder than their parents.

This. Do you not know what it’s like to work in biglaw? It is an all consuming life with vacations canceled or rescheduled.

This. I work harder in a week than my kid does in a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These kids are working harder than they ever will for the rest of their lives, unless they go to med school. Why put them through that? Do you go to work all day and then play a sport and then come home and do several more hours of work? It’s crazy.

I actually don't think that is true. Most of them aren't working harder than their parents.

This. Do you not know what it’s like to work in biglaw? It is an all consuming life with vacations canceled or rescheduled.

This. I work harder in a week than my kid does in a year.

It's astounding how many private school parents will say something like that in one breath and then proclaim loudly how their kids have to be prepared to do the same.

No doubt, there are many nice perks, but making yourself a slave to your income, lifestyle, or private school homework load is still making yourself a slave. I hope some kids get a choice to opt out if that's their choice one day.

[Anonymous]

I was fortunate to grow up in a house where my dad was a partner in a big firm, made plenty of money and worked long hours. While I have nothing but respect for him and continue to be close to him, I learned an important lesson: real success was learning how to leverage other people’s time rather than my own. An hourly billing model that literally correlates income to hours worked is, in my opinion, for the average flock of achievers. Fighting to bill 2K hours and get attribution for referred work is the mass market way to wealth. I was a good but not great student, went to a good, not great, university and have been fortunate and smart enough to build a business. Today, I am hyper connected to my work but not spending 10 hours a day at a desk. My point is not how awesome I am (although I am, obviously, awesome). Rather to understand that parents that think that three or four hours of homework is the way to success for their kids are the same ones that’s think that a partner’s salary, in exchange for rarely spending time with their family, is the way to win. It’s not.

The only thing better than working hard to make money is working less hard to make more money. The same applies to high schoolers. A tiny percentage of kids will go to Ivy League schools and an even smaller percentage will actually achieve anything as a result of the Ivy education that they wouldn’t have at lower-stress school. Of course, the law partner parents get to flex their kids’ achievements, but how much does that pay?

[Anonymous]

Georgetown Prep: 3-4 hours of homework (reading, writing and review) a night. Sometimes more and sometimes less. Then 2-3 hours of practice for sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep: 3-4 hours of homework (reading, writing and review) a night. Sometimes more and sometimes less. Then 2-3 hours of practice for sports.

So Georgetown Prep has as much work as a big 3? Is this true of Gonzaga as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep: 3-4 hours of homework (reading, writing and review) a night. Sometimes more and sometimes less. Then 2-3 hours of practice for sports.

So Georgetown Prep has as much work as a big 3? Is this true of Gonzaga as well?

What makes you so surprised about this? Do you really think GDS is just miraculously more rigorous that GPrep? What makes you think that? What measurements are you using?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown Prep: 3-4 hours of homework (reading, writing and review) a night. Sometimes more and sometimes less. Then 2-3 hours of practice for sports.

So Georgetown Prep has as much work as a big 3? Is this true of Gonzaga as well?

What makes you so surprised about this? Do you really think GDS is just miraculously more rigorous that GPrep? What makes you think that? What measurements are you using?

I have kids at a big 3 and friends with kids at GPrep who say their kids don’t have as much work, who definitely don’t have 3 hours of HW and from visiting and touring school open house a couple of years ago. curriculum is strong but it’s not STA or GDS or SFS either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Name your private high school and how much homework your kids typically get. We are applying from Hardy this upcoming year and we keep hearing 3 to 4 hours a night at the big three… Which sounds absolutely ridiculous. They’re in school all day don’t these kids get a break? The studies show that all that homework doesn’t get better outcomes so why are the schools especially some that are more progressive continue with us if it is true? Curious minds want to know. ( And now I’m definitely not gonna send my kid to the new school which is why we are on this section of the website.)

It is true and my kids had to do it and it wouldn’t be fair to now change it. That is how it is at certain schools. If they don’t appeal to you don’t apply. Don’t forget they don’t get home from sports until late as well at many schools so it’s a full day. Once again there are other options for you.

This is my favorite answer ever. Don’t anyone even think of one-upping her kids! You’ve been warned!