homework at Holton & NCS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More specifics please...is it a lot of reading, researching etc? Our kids have 3-4 classes worth of homework each night, but 1/2 hour tops per class (this does not include reading b/c they do that on their own and I don't know how long it takes - they just seem to get it done and they don't complain so I don't factor in time I'm aware of at the table where they do the work on the computer....I'm just blown away by the 5 hours a night and don't know how you could do that plus activities and not be up till all hours...

READ 13:47... It outlines how NCS is changing its policies to lighten the homework load. Lower schoolers no longer have weekend assignments. Various approaches are being used in the US/MS. It sounds like it will take a few years to tweak it... but they are very serious and thorough in their ongoing approach. My guess is the Holton will also reform their policies.

[Anonymous]

My child is in a VA private and has 5 - 6 hours of homework per night in MS. Not busy work, either. Homework every night in math, English, foreign language, history, science and band practice. Usually 1-2 papers, at least 1 oral presentation and a minimum of 2 tests per week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in a VA private and has 5 - 6 hours of homework per night in MS. Not busy work, either.

Which school? We're all about sharing information here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended several Ivies and was consistently studying all afternoon and night. Considered a slacker by many of my friends. And I was a gov major....

Would love to see some studies relating to our downplay of homework as it relates to the fact that Asian cultures study all the time and can run rings around us in achievement.

I do believe that our culture of "everyone as winners" and less pushing of our students has been detrimental to our place in the world as achievers and inventors.

Many of the Asian students do not participate in high intensity sports with lots of games and travel.

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad to hear NCS is scaling back. I went to a private school in the area and did the whole crazy homework every night thing while remaining highly competitive in sports. After that, college and graduate school (both at a top ivy) were a breeze. That was not a good thing. I was fine, but it would take more than ten fingers to count the girls I knew with eating disorders that sprung up around exams in high school, and the pressure cooker atmosphere really turned many of my classmates off of academics in the long run. I used to work at a busy DC law firm, and had a high school friend who worked in another a few blocks away. Often when we were stressed from the pressures of work we would muse that at least it wasn't as hard as high school! That's just not necessary.

[Anonymous]

True, pp, but one now has to question the all-academics vs academics/sports issue. While playing sports has a health value, how many students actually continue their sports past college? If a student wants to be at the top of the academic scale, shouldn't they focus more on academics? Does athletics take away from long-term success and achieving goals?

Look at that article on Thomas Jefferson and that it is considered "America's best high school". 54% of its students are of Asian background.

There's an interesting book called Top of the Class written by two Asian sisters about why Asian students are top achievers.

[Anonymous]

I find it hard to believe that so many posters say that Ivy colleges were easy compared to HSs. My spouse and I share 4 Ivy degrees and work at each one was a whole new level of difficulty and challenge. Furthermore, we didn't know anyone who felt that Yale, Harvard, Cornell and Dartmouth were a breeze!

[Anonymous]

Let's face it, everyone here wants Ivy schools for their kids. If they can't do 5+ hours every night, college will come as a real shock.

I don't think either statement is true. I went to a "little ivy" consistently rated #1 by USNWR. I would be proud to send DC to that school or any of many like it. And if my child chooses another path, I'll be fine with that as long as it will get him where he wants to be. It's more about the quality of the education you get and your ability to be a lifelong learner than the "name value" of the school. As for the "name" of the school on your resume, in my field, it's the training right after grad school that matters most, and in my husband's, it's the grad school. College really doesn't seem to be a factor.

As for the "shock" of college, I was a science major and certainly did not encounter any expectation for 5 hours of homework every night! Some nights, yes, but the focus was on understanding principles and learning how to learn and think critically on my own, not on busywork.

[Anonymous]

Are there any HA parents who have heard that Holton is taking a serious look at their homework policy (as NCS is doing)? I'm also curious about why posters consistently talk about the many hours of HW at the Holton/NCS, but I don't seem to hear the same concerns being raised about St. Albans/Landon. Do we have different expectations for our boys, do sports at the schools change the equation for them or are the HW requirements just different at the girls/boys schools.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, 8:05 for your comment about how it's all about quality and being a life-long learner. I'm really tired of all the posters who live and breathe Ivies as the only answer. (And I went to one.)

I also believe it is bogus when posters claim that where you went to college is a determining factor re jobs. In most professions, where you went to college is pretty much a non-issue after your first job. Employers want to know what you did, not where you went. Show me a company who only hires from elite colleges, and I'll show you a company about to go under.

[Anonymous]

I graduated from a Seven Sisters and worked my tush off studying with hours upon hours of homework. And I came from a top private school and straight A student. The increase in homework was astounding. And I was an economics major. Don't understand how all these people can say college was a breeze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, 8:05 for your comment about how it's all about quality and being a life-long learner. I'm really tired of all the posters who live and breathe Ivies as the only answer. (And I went to one.)

I also believe it is bogus when posters claim that where you went to college is a determining factor re jobs. In most professions, where you went to college is pretty much a non-issue after your first job. Employers want to know what you did, not where you went. Show me a company who only hires from elite colleges, and I'll show you a company about to go under.

How about every major law firm in the country - yes they focus on the school you graduated from more, but they also look seriously at the college. I'm not saying it's right, but it's the reality. And they've all been around for a very, very long time. Recently one of my colleagues and I were discussing this very issue and agreed that pedigree does not seem to be as big of a deal outside of the legal profession. It could be that since this blog is in the "DC" area, there is a disroportionate number of lawyers on the blog and their thoughts on this subject reflect their reality. Having said that, I know for a fact that even people with MBAs who did not go to an IVY college get asked about their college choice during interviews - many, many years out. Even outside the legal profession, I know a disproportionate number of people with one Ivy college degree who rise to very senior levels at their companies. So it is reasonable for parents to want to give their kids the best possible chance to get into an Ivy for college particularly after spending all this money on private school education. I do think at the end of the day, all the kids will be fine (with or without an Ivy degree) if they are life-long learners. Ivies are not the only answer, but there are certainly very good reasons to factor them into your thinking about private schools for your kids.

[Anonymous]

If you look at the very top lawyers (those who actually practice) and lobbyists in this town, a very small number of them graduated from Ivies. Given what is happening in law firms these days with mergers and bankruptcies, I wouldn't want my child to be a lawyer - putting in all those long hours, travelling, etc. Our next door neighbor is a partner with a top firm and he never sees his 3 kids. And I grew up with 5 lawyers in the family so I know how most of them don't have lives.

There's a better way to make a living.....

[Anonymous]

PP -- I love when parents decide what it is they want their kids to do for a living...let them decide...maybe they want to be lawyers

[Anonymous]

If my children want to be lawyers, then I really will not have done my job as a good mom.......