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Schools and Education General Discussion
Should public school parents be allowed to opt their child out of homework?
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Anonymous
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PP here. I feel it's worth mentioning that I don't do this with his math homework. That's an area where for whatever reason he doesn't require the same level of supervision to give a shit about the quality of his work.
One of my responsibilities is to instill a work ethic. |
Anonymous
Doesn't Give a Crap Syndrome. |
Anonymous
| Do you think a listserv in Seoul would entertain discussion of NOT doing homework? And I bet their kids are having just as much fun while growing up. |
Anonymous
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I wish I had the link to an article I read recently which said that we have more homework in the US than elsewhere and still do worse on those international achievement tests.
I think 10 minutes a grade makes sense - 10 minutes for 1st grade a night, 20 for 2nd graders, etc. |
Anonymous
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My kids (ages 9 and 12) love to learn and are voracious readers. I have yet to see a homework assignment that enhances learning, encourages creative thinking, or enriches their lives in any way. To me, it is all busy work and takes away from time better spent on reading or creating their own projects. As far as instilling a work ethic, they can get that from doing chores around the house or odd jobs in the neighborhood.
I have no formal agreement with the schools, but I personally choose my right as a PARENT to control what my children do after school hours. And so yes, I have opted out. It is my choice that they have better things to do than mindless drudgery and I don't need anyone else's permission to do so --- I am the parent and I refuse to give up my rights. Whether the teacher wants to penalize them for that by lowering their grades, we don't care. My children are bright, inquisitive learners and grades do nothing but take away their intrinsic motivation to learn. Elementary grades are meaningless -- absolutely no reflection of effort or ability -- nor do they impact future success in life. And parents, how many of you admit to doing your kids homework just to get it done. Why do you do this? Is your kid learning anything from the process? Is it for the grade? To please the teacher? Think about it...if the homework is something that your child can't do himself and doesn't enhance learning in any way, why are you doing it? Please join me in opting out. |
Anonymous
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it's not about "work ethic" but developing good habits. If the teacher doesn't give them an hour of homework, I do.
Being a "voracious reader" is fine etc., etc., but I like to see for myself where they are, especially in math and writing. |
Anonymous
sounds like you're at the wrong school. If it was me, the teacher would hear about it, or we'd switch schools. |
Anonymous
No thank you. My 1st-grader's homework includes reading books in Chinese, which is valuable for practicing character recognition. If the homework at your school is so useless and the teachers or administration can't defend its pedagogical value then you are doing a disservice by keeping your child enrolled there. |
Anonymous
| People, it is not all about you and your child. If your child is bright and doesn't need to do homework, they should still do it. How would you like to administer a school where the entire community picked and choosed what policies they want to adhere by? I am not an expert, but I am willing to bet that a school has homework so that kids develop good work habits. Many kids, if not yours, may need the structure of a daily homework assignment. As an administrator how do you decide that some kids don't need to do the work, but other kids do? Part of going to school is being a member of the community and giving up a measure of individuality. How about being a team player and doing something for the greater good? |
Anonymous
The answer to that question is that as an administrator, you don't decide who has to do homework and who doesn't. You let the students (and their parents) decide who needs to do the homework to master the concepts and skills. You have the teachers in your school assign homework designed to help students practice and review concepts, but not grade it for an achievement/progress grade. Those grades are only assigned for mastery of concepts and skills demonstrated in class, on tests and work done in class. If students can achieve and demontstrate mastery of concepts and skills without doing the homework, then they can do so and don't need to do the homework. There's no reason to assign meaningless busy work just to "develop good work habits". |
Anonymous
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There's no reason to assign meaningless busy work just to "develop good work habits".
Completely agree with this but the homework I've seen DC bring home isn't meaningless busy work. Again, I think you're going tot he wrong school, or need to talk to the teacher. |
Anonymous
I'm a different person from whoever posted that her kids homework was meaningless. I HAVE seen meaningless homework assigned in my kids' schools, but not often... and when it has been, I've been able to work with the teacher to get it removed or changed. However, it really helps when homework isn't being graded, for teachers to be able to be flexibile with homework assignment completion. If it is being graded, then you have the issue of what is fair or not fair to the other kids. |
Anonymous
Blindly following pointless or destructive orders without questioning authority is not a good work habit. Homework is valuable if it helps reinforce a skill or helps a child master a concept. Pointless busywork should be questioned. If the teachers and administrators can't give you a satisfactory pedagogical justification, then you are at the wrong school. |