Kid's Homework

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the 7:20 and 10:50 posters: Can you please tell me what schools you are referring to?

Our DS is in the 3rd grade Local Level IV program at Chesterbrook and one of our frustrations is that Blackboard is not kept up to date. One teacher even told me via email that she simply does not have time to post the homework on Blackboard. The other 3rd grade teachers post most of the homework, but when I have complained that Blackboard is not up to date the response is that it is the kid's job to write the homework down in their daily planner (then what is the point of the "backup" blackboard?)

We are wondering if it is different at Haycock.

would rather not mention the school but it isn't Chesterbrook or Haycock. I would be very concerned if the teacher said he/she expects the kids to write the homework in their planner and they are old enough now to take this responsibility themselves.

At the parent/teacher conference, DC's teacher told me she tries to update Blckboard but alot of things come up, like meetings and other demands on her time and it often doesn't get done. We discussed ways to help DC get more organized. She has 30 kids to worry about and only maybe 5 or 6 of the boys are dispoganized and mine's not the worst. She didn't seem as concerned about it as I am.

sorry that should have been "disorganized." How hard would it be to get an edit function around this $%^&* place?

[Anonymous]

would rather not mention the school but it isn't Chesterbrook or Haycock. I would be very concerned if the teacher said he/she expects the kids to write the homework in their planner and they are old enough now to take this responsibility themselves.

At the parent/teacher conference, DC's teacher told me she tries to update Blckboard but alot of things come up, like meetings and other demands on her time and it often doesn't get done. We discussed ways to help DC get more organized. She has 30 kids to worry about and only maybe 5 or 6 of the boys are dispoganized and mine's not the worst. She didn't seem as concerned about it as I am.

Really?? My 3rd grader comes home every day with all of the assignments written in his planner, as does my 5th grader, and they've done so since 2nd grade. The teacher puts the assignments up on the board and the kids write them in their planners. Not to say they have never forgotten a book or a paper that was needed, but in general, it is not a problem at all.

You'd be "very concerned" if a teacher expected your [GT?] child to be able to copy a list of assignments from the board into his/her planner and then bring the right materials home to do the homework?

[Anonymous]

The teacher puts the assignments up on the board and the kids write them in their planners.

Just FYI, not every school or teacher does this. I am 7:20 and at our old school, DD was not allowed to write in her homework planner until the end of the day and then she was expected to remember from throughout the day all of her assignments and what was needed. There was no posted list on the board. This was at our base school with Local Level IV. Her teacher was very disorganized and nothing was ever on Blackboard. Ever. The teacher also did not really respond to e-mail (was a bit of a technology-phobe). We switched to the center for 4th and imagine my surprise at walking into the classroom and seeing the big board on the wall where the teacher wrote down all her assignments and she just had to copy them. And all the homework is posted on Blackboard daily. It's like heaven LOL!!!! And suddenly my "disorganized probably ADHD except we're in denial" DD is very organized, never forgets anything and has no trouble managing her homework.

And yes, I am bitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Really?? My 3rd grader comes home every day with all of the assignments written in his planner, as does my 5th grader, and they've done so since 2nd grade. The teacher puts the assignments up on the board and the kids write them in their planners. Not to say they have never forgotten a book or a paper that was needed, but in general, it is not a problem at all.

You'd be "very concerned" if a teacher expected your [GT?] child to be able to copy a list of assignments from the board into his/her planner and then bring the right materials home to do the homework?

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My GT 3rd grader has 5 different teachers for 4 core subjects. For math he treks out to a trailer, and for LA, Science, and Social Studies he moves rooms. I am guessing that the teachers put assignments on the (multiple) boards, but moving rooms and having multiple teachers is a huge jump from 2nd grade when they received the homework for the week on Monday, had one teacher for the core subjects, and did not switch rooms. So yes I am "very concerned" that the GT teachers expect my 8 yr old to copy the assignments in each class in the proper notebook (which he has to remember to bring to the right class as his desk where he is supposed to store his materials is in one room and 3/4 of his subjects are in other rooms/trailer), keep track of the long term projects, all without any real assistance from the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

would rather not mention the school but it isn't Chesterbrook or Haycock. I would be very concerned if the teacher said he/she expects the kids to write the homework in their planner and they are old enough now to take this responsibility themselves.

At the parent/teacher conference, DC's teacher told me she tries to update Blckboard but alot of things come up, like meetings and other demands on her time and it often doesn't get done. We discussed ways to help DC get more organized. She has 30 kids to worry about and only maybe 5 or 6 of the boys are dispoganized and mine's not the worst. She didn't seem as concerned about it as I am.

Really?? My 3rd grader comes home every day with all of the assignments written in his planner, as does my 5th grader, and they've done so since 2nd grade. The teacher puts the assignments up on the board and the kids write them in their planners. Not to say they have never forgotten a book or a paper that was needed, but in general, it is not a problem at all.

You'd be "very concerned" if a teacher expected your [GT?] child to be able to copy a list of assignments from the board into his/her planner and then bring the right materials home to do the homework?

DC says things get very rushed at the end of the day. Not the teacher's fault exactly, but some kids may need some assistance in this area. I do expect the teacher to be willing to provide a few extra minutes to make sure they have their assignments. DC's teacher wanted to be helpful on this; I'd be concerned if the teacher was rigid and inflexible and said not my problem. Luckily, DC doesn't have one like that.

Then there's the problem of forgetting to bring home the planner.

[Anonymous]

My GT 3rd grader has 5 different teachers for 4 core subjects. For math he treks out to a trailer, and for LA, Science, and Social Studies he moves rooms. I am guessing that the teachers put assignments on the (multiple) boards, but moving rooms and having multiple teachers is a huge jump from 2nd grade when they received the homework for the week on Monday, had one teacher for the core subjects, and did not switch rooms. So yes I am "very concerned" that the GT teachers expect my 8 yr old to copy the assignments in each class in the proper notebook (which he has to remember to bring to the right class as his desk where he is supposed to store his materials is in one room and 3/4 of his subjects are in other rooms/trailer), keep track of the long term projects, all without any real assistance from the teachers.

My kids are in the Center and also have different teachers & move rooms for the different subjects, but they still come home with everything written in their planners. Maybe our school is just more organized about making this do-able for them. I will ask them if all the assignments are on the board in their homeroom class or if they bring the planner to every class and write down the assignments there.

I have a 3rd grader and a 5th grader and my experience has been that in the Center, they generally expect a high level of responsibility from the kids. Most of the kids seem to rise to the expectation, though it can be challenging in the beginning of the year. Yes, it is a big switch from 2nd grade, but kids at the AAP level generally should be able to get the hang of it within the first couple months of school, IF the school is providing the right tools/environment for them to do so, and our school seems to do a good job of that. If the teacher is disorganized or not responsive to concerns, however, that is another issue.

[Anonymous]

"You'd be "very concerned" if a teacher expected your [GT?] child to be able to copy a list of assignments from the board into his/her planner and then bring the right materials home to do the homework? "

I agree that it's a weird concern.

[Anonymous]

My child has to write it in the planner. She is a slow and painful writer (fine motor issues), so it's not fun. I think it's good, though. They are teaching her to organize and be independent. SHe's rising to the challenge in her own way. She abbreviates and doesn't put in any unnecessary info (i.e. the date -- we know what date it is because I sign and date the day before anyway).

[Anonymous]

I always had to write my own homework assignments down in my little spiral notebook starting in Grade 1. The homework was always listed in the top right hand corner of the board and it was usually like "Spelling pgs. 14-5 and Math pg. 38 even numbers only." Seriously, it isn't that difficult. But these days, teachers routinely send home the assignments for the entire week on Mondays or even email it to parents which is crazy. I can understand if a student has a documented problem w/ copying from the board but that is easily remedied by providing the assignment to them written down on a piece of paper so they can eventually copy it into their own homework agenda. They even give students agendas now for free.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I can remember it being a big deal in 4th grade when I first started needing a homework agenda.

I can understand if a student has a documented problem w/ copying from the board

But a lot of teachers don't write it down on the board, as numerous posters have stated.

But these days, teachers routinely send home the assignments for the entire week on Mondays or even email it to parents which is crazy.

At the two schools we have been at, the teachers have not done this. Or they did for spelling, but certainly not for math, science or social studies.