New curriculum = no homework?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not currently teaching in FCPS, but in a previous district I taught in, we were discouraged from assigning homework, to include finishing work started in class, because it was an equity issue since not all students have the same supports available at home. If we did assign homework, it could take no longer than 15 minutes, which was hard to do since the time required to complete work varies so much with each student. This may the reason for lack of homework in some schools?

This is the reason.

I was told that kids in general classes won’t do homework so let them do it in class. Honors/AP students will do homework. Our FCPS school stopped giving homework to honors/AP students a few years ago when they switched to SBG. Occasionally, my kid has a project due that requires extra work. No finals at this school; it’s usually a group project.

This is all about equity. But this is not what happens in private schools so your kid goes to college and is not as prepared. The kid can still succeed but is at a disadvantage compared to the private school kid and may not go as far.

Correct.

Banning homework and Skills Based Grading (SBG) are both racial equity and ses-equity, driven issues.

It should not have taken 5 pages just to establish the fact that:

no homework = racial equity scheme by FCPS.

[Anonymous]

If kids actually got a reasonable amount, homework wouldn't be a problem, but they usually, at least, n9w a days, get too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not currently teaching in FCPS, but in a previous district I taught in, we were discouraged from assigning homework, to include finishing work started in class, because it was an equity issue since not all students have the same supports available at home. If we did assign homework, it could take no longer than 15 minutes, which was hard to do since the time required to complete work varies so much with each student. This may the reason for lack of homework in some schools?

This is the reason.

I was told that kids in general classes won’t do homework so let them do it in class. Honors/AP students will do homework. Our FCPS school stopped giving homework to honors/AP students a few years ago when they switched to SBG. Occasionally, my kid has a project due that requires extra work. No finals at this school; it’s usually a group project.

This is all about equity. But this is not what happens in private schools so your kid goes to college and is not as prepared. The kid can still succeed but is at a disadvantage compared to the private school kid and may not go as far.

Correct.

Banning homework and Skills Based Grading (SBG) are both racial equity and ses-equity, driven issues.

Maybe that is the intent, but the real outcome of a "no homework" policy is to harm working class kids, as has been explained and discussed upthread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If kids actually got a reasonable amount, homework wouldn't be a problem, but they usually, at least, n9w a days, get too much.

My kids have been in FCPS for 6 years, which I believe encompasses “nowadays,” and have never gotten any amount of homework. We’re in the south part of the county, of course. They only know their multiplication facts because I got a work book and taught them. When are we going to stop chasing our tails, screaming about redistricting and football scandals, and recognize the real crisis at hand: kids in FCPS aren’t learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not currently teaching in FCPS, but in a previous district I taught in, we were discouraged from assigning homework, to include finishing work started in class, because it was an equity issue since not all students have the same supports available at home. If we did assign homework, it could take no longer than 15 minutes, which was hard to do since the time required to complete work varies so much with each student. This may the reason for lack of homework in some schools?

This is the reason.

I was told that kids in general classes won’t do homework so let them do it in class. Honors/AP students will do homework. Our FCPS school stopped giving homework to honors/AP students a few years ago when they switched to SBG. Occasionally, my kid has a project due that requires extra work. No finals at this school; it’s usually a group project.

This is all about equity. But this is not what happens in private schools so your kid goes to college and is not as prepared. The kid can still succeed but is at a disadvantage compared to the private school kid and may not go as far.

Correct.

Banning homework and Skills Based Grading (SBG) are both racial equity and ses-equity, driven issues.

Maybe that is the intent, but the real outcome of a "no homework" policy is to harm working class kids, as has been explained and discussed upthread.

They want to harm a specific segment of kids: the high achieving kids.

If you eliminate the opportunities for advanced and accelerated learning-kids (ans NYC and Seattle have done), you bring DOWN the average test scores for the entire group, but you also "close the racial achievement gap" from the top down.


FCPS is so desperate to narrow the racial achievement gap, they will willfully harm higher performing kids to reach their goal. That is what FCPS means whenever they say "equity."

This reality is what you voted for in Fairfax county.

[Anonymous]

They’re not getting away with it in McLean. They are in the rt1 corridor.

[Anonymous]

We're in the rt1 corridor, 5th grade. Ironically, the non-AAP kids in ES have homework, but the AAP kids do not have home work.

We've asked the teacher and she said just read for 30 minutes a day if anything. But it's not required.

[Anonymous]

If you want homework, ask the teacher what the upcoming concepts being taught will be, and find a workbook and make your kid do it. This can be handled at home if it's important to you.

I did this half of 3rd grade with my son because he was struggling in school, due to some classroom disruptions. But once those were sorted out we stopped because he was getting plenty of repetition and instruction during the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This push for homework is pretty crazy. Kids don't need it, and if ppl say ot prepared them for tons in MS and HS, my question is why should they get tons at all?

Homework would allow her some one on one instruction with an adult, something she doesn't otherwise receive.

That's one of the reasons they're scaling back homework - some students have parents at home to help them, some don't. Therefore, in order not to disadvantage students without help at home, they scale back homework for everyone. This approach overlooks the fact that even though some parents might not be able to help with homework content, they can still provide a quiet study environment and siblings can also be a student resource if parents can't help. Economically disadvantaged students are the ones who stand the most to gain from homework because school may be their primary place of learning; higher income students can get outside enrichment if school falls short.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework improves learning:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1228867.page

Why is FCPS abandoning a practice which has been proven to improve student's learning? (it is not difficult to figure out)

It has been proven to NOT improve learning.

The general consensus is that homework does correlate with achievement in middle and high school. Results are less clear for elementary, however, that may be influenced by the fact that struggling readers are assigned additional homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This push for homework is pretty crazy. Kids don't need it, and if ppl say ot prepared them for tons in MS and HS, my question is why should they get tons at all?

Homework would allow her some one on one instruction with an adult, something she doesn't otherwise receive.

That's one of the reasons they're scaling back homework - some students have parents at home to help them, some don't. Therefore, in order not to disadvantage students without help at home, they scale back homework for everyone. This approach overlooks the fact that even though some parents might not be able to help with homework content, they can still provide a quiet study environment and siblings can also be a student resource if parents can't help. Economically disadvantaged students are the ones who stand the most to gain from homework because school may be their primary place of learning; higher income students can get outside enrichment if school falls short.

Yes your last sentence should be evident to anyone with a brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not currently teaching in FCPS, but in a previous district I taught in, we were discouraged from assigning homework, to include finishing work started in class, because it was an equity issue since not all students have the same supports available at home. If we did assign homework, it could take no longer than 15 minutes, which was hard to do since the time required to complete work varies so much with each student. This may the reason for lack of homework in some schools?

Our FCPS school stopped giving homework to honors/AP students a few years ago when they switched to SBG. Occasionally, my kid has a project due that requires extra work. No finals at this school; it’s usually a group project.

This is likely one reason why the College Board has been making the grading easier on many APs which paradoxically has led to higher pass rates on many AP exams even as high school course rigor deteriorates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homework improves learning:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1228867.page

Why is FCPS abandoning a practice which has been proven to improve student's learning? (it is not difficult to figure out)

It has been proven to NOT improve learning.

The general consensus is that homework does correlate with achievement in middle and high school. Results are less clear for elementary, however, that may be influenced by the fact that struggling readers are assigned additional homework.

Makes zero sense to me how extra practice could NOT be beneficial for ES kids. There must be some other things going on with these studies as they just does not make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want homework, ask the teacher what the upcoming concepts being taught will be, and find a workbook and make your kid do it. This can be handled at home if it's important to you.

Good approach for middle class families. Totally impossible in most working class families - and lots of working class families care deeply about education as their best chance to get their kids into the middle class.

This is why assigning homework - but NOT having it be a significant part of the grade - is so desperately important for working class families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want homework, ask the teacher what the upcoming concepts being taught will be, and find a workbook and make your kid do it. This can be handled at home if it's important to you.

Good approach for middle class families. Totally impossible in most working class families - and lots of working class families care deeply about education as their best chance to get their kids into the middle class.

This is why assigning homework - but NOT having it be a significant part of the grade - is so desperately important for working class families.

If there is no grade, most kids don’t do it.