HS and homework

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think about three hours is probably right, but most of the time kids have a free period on the schedule that helps them manage their time, and they usually have a good sense of their homework several days in advance so they can plan. It's not as if they get homework in every class on Monday that is due on Tuesday. They don't have every class every day. My DD does a lot of homework on the weekend. So it is a lot of homework, but it can be managed.

This comment was about NCS, by the way. I agree with the Holton poster who noted that using free periods during the day and learning to manage one’s time is really important. Every kid is different, and I have several kids, some who work harder than others. My DD works pretty hard, but she’s not “not a kid.” This is how she chooses to allocate her time, balancing schoolwork and outside activities. She has agency in the choices she makes. So do kids who study less.

[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.

This. And seriously- do you want to teach your kid that working 12 hours a day (in school, after school etc) is what life is? I feel sorry for you and your kid. Get outside, talk a walk with no agenda. (i know "you choose a job you LOVE) and it doesn't feel like work when it's your passion").

The picture you paint is not reality. Not many kids view their time in sports and ECs as "work." It is fun and social. If you got to take time out from your job to play baseball and go to the gym or to play D&D or work in a greenhouse or plan a charity event with a group of friends, would you consider that "work," and would your time doing that feel like you were in a rat race? Would that time be better spend watching YouTube videos or cute cats on Instagram?

My kids spend 5 hours and 20 minutes in actual class time during the day, some of that is fun PE time. Being at school is also social; most kids want to be there. Add to those 5.3 hours 2-4 hours of homework for the the slower worker and 1-2 for the faster worker, and you see that neither is doing school work for 12 hours a day. Neither considers their sport and EC's, which they chose, to be "work," and both spend plenty of time goofing off with friends and playing games and watching YouTube; and they have breakfast, lunch, and dinner sitting down at the table with family or classmates. They really don't need 3 more hours of down time M-F instead of studying and being prepared.

Kids with nothing to do are as at risk of depression as kids who are over scheduled with things they don't want to be doing or can't handle. There is a wide range of healthy in-between.

[Anonymous]

I don't like or agree with the comments about kids "who do nothing." There is more to life than school/homework and sports/extracurriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gds parent of younger kids here. What are they doing for the 3-4 hours? Literally assignments that are due the next day or just studying concepts to stay ahead? We’ve seen nothing like this to date so wondering what’s ahead. Thanks

High school is whole different ball game. It can easily take 3 hours to complete daily assignments, work on long-term projects, and study for tests/quizzes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gds parent of younger kids here. What are they doing for the 3-4 hours? Literally assignments that are due the next day or just studying concepts to stay ahead? We’ve seen nothing like this to date so wondering what’s ahead. Thanks

High school is whole different ball game. It can easily take 3 hours to complete daily assignments, work on long-term projects, and study for tests/quizzes.

But also, as several posters have noted, kids are more likely to have free periods in HS, during which they can catch up on schoolwork, decompress, or whatever. So it is very challenging, but it is manageable. And at GDS, they don’t let kids load up with a schedule they cannot handle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is at Holton, taking several honors classes. She does about an hour of homework at home. The rest is finished during study halls. This allows her to do about 3 hours of sports every day. Learning executive functioning skills has been one of the big things in LS/MS.

My DD is at Holton and gets about 3- 4 hours of homework a night. And she does work in study hall although I don't know how efficient she is in study hall. I wouldn't be surprised if she socialized the entire time. But it is a lot more than one hour a night.

[Anonymous]

Son at Gonzaga, I would say about 2 hours of solid work time each night. Some days might be a little less given the block schedule of classes, but there is always work to plan ahead for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gds parent of younger kids here. What are they doing for the 3-4 hours? Literally assignments that are due the next day or just studying concepts to stay ahead? We’ve seen nothing like this to date so wondering what’s ahead. Thanks

High school is whole different ball game. It can easily take 3 hours to complete daily assignments, work on long-term projects, and study for tests/quizzes.

But also, as several posters have noted, kids are more likely to have free periods in HS, during which they can catch up on schoolwork, decompress, or whatever. So it is very challenging, but it is manageable. And at GDS, they don’t let kids load up with a schedule they cannot handle.

You can have three hours in one class and a midterm to study for in another. Plus there is weekend and holiday work. There is a difference between being able to handle it and it actually being beneficial. These kids are in high school and would not be able to work a job that required the same time commitment. It is a waste of time. Why do you think so many kids hate their high school years at these schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is at Holton, taking several honors classes. She does about an hour of homework at home. The rest is finished during study halls. This allows her to do about 3 hours of sports every day. Learning executive functioning skills has been one of the big things in LS/MS.

My DD is at Holton and gets about 3- 4 hours of homework a night. And she does work in study hall although I don't know how efficient she is in study hall. I wouldn't be surprised if she socialized the entire time. But it is a lot more than one hour a night.

Previous Holton poster here. I have no doubt that this is the case for some kids. But it’s good to keep in mind that it may take an hour for one student to complete a given assignment and 15 mins for another. I have seen it first hand with my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gds parent of younger kids here. What are they doing for the 3-4 hours? Literally assignments that are due the next day or just studying concepts to stay ahead? We’ve seen nothing like this to date so wondering what’s ahead. Thanks

High school is whole different ball game. It can easily take 3 hours to complete daily assignments, work on long-term projects, and study for tests/quizzes.

The high school schedule has subjects taught every other day so homework is not assigned one day and do the next. Lots of it is studying for quizzes, tests, writing papers, reading novels, etc. Math and language tend to have more homework given one class and due the next class. There is time at school to get some work done for those that manage their time well, but most nights some of it comes home too.

[Anonymous]

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.)

I've seen opposite studies about high school. As long as the work is real work and studying, not busywork, high school student who study out side of class time learn more, are higher achievers, manage time better, and are more likely to go to college.