Your opinion on my family's homework policy

[Anonymous]

I routinely had 2 - 3 hours of homework per night in high school. If I didn't do it I would have been behind. It seems my favorite teacher used a "flipped" classroom. If we did our readings we could have quite the discussion about it in class.

It's too bad I didn't see the value of preparing ahead of time in Math class.

What kind of homework are they not doing? I disagree with homework for the sake of homework, but if it's in preparation for the next day's class, they should be doing it.

[Anonymous]

It will be hard for OP's kids when they reach upper level college courses (which don't have lectures) and are assigned hundreds of pages of reading outside of class in preparation for discussion or lab work.

[Anonymous]

I agree that homework should have a purpose. I agree that students should take responsibility for their grades. I don't agree with the way you've gone about it. Telling them that homework doesn't matter to you without discussing the importance of homework is ridiculous. Each class is different. In math you might be practicing a concept that you did in class - on your own. In history, it might be pre-reading for discussion or context, or practicing a skill such as map decoding.

In my gradebook there are two categories Formative and Summative. All assignments (including homework, in-class, and quizzes are formative). Tests and big projects are summative. Each category forms 50% of the kids grade. For the summative - there is no redo's or retakes. If your kid doesn't do the assignments, they won't pass with a B or an A. Pure and simple. If they do the work I assigned them, they will be successful on the exams and projects and better prepared for future high school and college courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Change schools. You need find to find one that matches your style. I totally get where you are coming from, but you are undermining their teachers and school. You are missing the bigger picture in teaching your kids respect and integrity.

This.

You are teaching your kids:

1. Rules don't apply to me, and my parents will get me out of the rules (vs. explaining themselves why they don't need to do the work). That's not self reliance.

2. That their family policy trumps the needs of the many, they are special, special snowflakes.


If you want a different environment (I also did! and I agree with this policy) go to a charter school. You are in a public school, deal with the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congrats, they think rules don't apply to them. Good luck getting them to pay their taxes.

A's and B's may not be good enough to get into a good college. Of course if all you aspire to is somewhere like JMU, you should be o.k.,

[Anonymous]

we especially expect homework in math and foreign language. The other subjects not so much. The teacher with 25 kids and 50 minutes just doesn't have enough time to get a kid fully proficient in math and foreign language without doing more outside of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an FCPS administrator, and I think it's a great family policy. Homework should never be calculated in the overall achievement grade. Either the child demonstrates understanding of the material or he doesn't. That's what the grade should be based on.

You are a FCPS administrator. What, in facilities management maybe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats, they think rules don't apply to them. Good luck getting them to pay their taxes.

A's and B's may not be good enough to get into a good college. Of course if all you aspire to is somewhere like JMU, you should be o.k.,

Oh, can it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved here from a state where our school system didn't allow homework to be included in the calculation of grades, and in addition, nightly homework was discouraged (homework was to be used for review before a big test, etc). My kids were in that school system until this school year. They all got good grades. We moved here with 2 of them in high school and one in middle school.

When we moved here, the homework (we are in FCPS) stunned my kids. SO much homework! the high schoolers were expected to do about 3-4 hours nightly, the middle schooler about 2-3. Insanity.

I made a policy early in the year (October) with my kids: IF they could maintain As and Bs and not get any Cs, I didn't care if they did homework or not.

All three kids carefully calculated their classes all year long, calculating exactly how much homework was worth and ensuring they kept their grades up. Two of them didn't do a lick of homework, (they did large projects, I am talking about nightly homework). One of them did the homework for one class they were struggling to maintain a B in.

We successfully got through the school year with all of them maintaining the As and Bs we expect and the system worked fine.

A few times throughout the year, I did get emails (they were kind of automated emails, not personal ones) from teachers letting me know homework wasn't being done. I didn't act upon them, because I was well aware homework wasn't being done.

My kids had a great year, embedded themselves into new schools at a tough age to move, joined sports teams, were active and happy all year and maintained good grades.

I now have had a conversation with one teacher who dragged me through the mud for my family's policy on this. She basically told me it was disrespectful to the teachers. I am stunned, because in my house, in fact, education is a top priority. our feeling is that teaching our kids to manage their own schoolwork and teaching them to advocate for themselves, maintain expected grades, and be responsible is paramount. So I was blown away. My kid got an "A" in this teachers class, and overall I guess my question is if my kid could do that then any homework he skipped was obviously unnecessary, for him. Homework is supposed to be repetition of the classroom work in order to help the kids learn it, right? So if my kid has demonstrated that they don't need it, what is the problem?

My kid is so happy, well adjusted, plays sports and manages to juggle his school and extracurricular stuff on his own...Im just baffled at being told that I was demonstrating poor parenting.

Interested in your thoughts. I may change this policy up next year if I am off base here. But it kills me to pull my kids into the house every night for that much homework time, for zero benefit. They could be outside playing baseball. Plenty of time in life ahead of them to spend their entire days working.....

I never assign homework for practice, only for preparation for the next day's lesson (flipped classroom) so I would be troubled by a student ignoring this. However, if you feel your kids are only assigned busy work, challenge the benefit of the specific assignments.

UGH! Flipped classroom is the ultimate fail. Please do not do this to your students. It has proved to be a near disaster in my family. I will have my younger children avoid the teacher who does this in our school. My kid could have learned so much more and developed a thorough understanding of the topic had the teacher taught properly.

My 8th grade Algebra class was part of a flipped classroom pilot program. We were supposed to do homework on something we hadn't been taught yet and the next day, the teacher explained to us what we should have done. Needless to say, it was a disaster and I took Algebra again in 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

If your plan is to teach your kids that they only need to do the bare minimum to get by, and extra effort is a waste of time...congrats. You're successfully raising kids with absolutely no work ethic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congrats, they think rules don't apply to them. Good luck getting them to pay their taxes.

A's and B's may not be good enough to get into a good college. Of course if all you aspire to is somewhere like JMU, you should be o.k.,

Oh, can it.

low expectations, sub-par results. College acceptance is so competitive, but I have heard there is one for everybody; i.e., the right "fit" and all. I wonder which school is the right fit for kids who choose which homework they will and will not do? Maybe put this on your application essay - why I picked and chose which homework I would do.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your plan is to teach your kids that they only need to do the bare minimum to get by, and extra effort is a waste of time...congrats. You're successfully raising kids with absolutely no work ethic.

I suspect they have a very nice safety net -- with this kind of a philosophy I hope so.

[Anonymous]

OP, what state had that system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that homework should have a purpose. I agree that students should take responsibility for their grades. I don't agree with the way you've gone about it. Telling them that homework doesn't matter to you without discussing the importance of homework is ridiculous. Each class is different. In math you might be practicing a concept that you did in class - on your own. In history, it might be pre-reading for discussion or context, or practicing a skill such as map decoding.

In my gradebook there are two categories Formative and Summative. All assignments (including homework, in-class, and quizzes are formative). Tests and big projects are summative. Each category forms 50% of the kids grade. For the summative - there is no redo's or retakes. If your kid doesn't do the assignments, they won't pass with a B or an A. Pure and simple. If they do the work I assigned them, they will be successful on the exams and projects and better prepared for future high school and college courses.

All of this. DS is just going into 8th grade. His homework isn't always calculated into his grade. However if it isn't done it certainly affects his relationship with his teacher.

He gets A's and B's with very little effort. I expect more than the least effort necessary. We also teach him to respect his teachers. If we have a problem with what is assigned we talk to the teacher but ds still does the work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an FCPS administrator, and I think it's a great family policy. Homework should never be calculated in the overall achievement grade. Either the child demonstrates understanding of the material or he doesn't. That's what the grade should be based on.

You are a FCPS administrator. What, in facilities management maybe?

OMG - who are you people? And why are you so fucked up?!