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What happens in MCPS (and others) if your child does not do the homework,
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Anonymous
So -- this question to the teacher teaching 80 math lessons in 40 days -- what are you supposed to be teaching in math, if it isn't basic math facts? |
Anonymous
Actually, I feel that I do a pretty darn good job teaching the material. Yes, I try my best to teach the required material in the given time, and find that I can't adhere to the county's exact timeline, especially since they set it without taking into account the different populations at each of the 150+ elementary schools. I think what we're asked to teach and cover is crazy, but if I don't do my best to do it, my students will be at a disadvantage when compared to their peers from other schools (or countries, as is the reason for some of this). Many teachers do a heck of a lot to get every child to learn the material, including using free time to re-teach those that need it and enrich others. School is very different from when we went through it (at least in my experience). I don't know what to tell you about the silly number puzzles, because I don't know what you're referring to. Every homework that is sent home should be done with purpose. Sometimes they are activities to make the task more fun (crazy, I know), but there should always be a skill that is being worked on for a reason. |
Anonymous
I agree with you. Some teachers seem to think that because parents come home late, work 2 jobs, don't work at all, and therefore do not have time to supervise their children that the solution is no homework. They anticipate this will change when the child is in high school. Then, they will scream the school system failed their children and demand remedial services. |
Anonymous
You obvoiusly view this scenario as a model for excellent performance on school exams! Get real. If this occurs at home and your child doesn't do homework the child will fail in a normal school setting. |
Anonymous
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I don't think that the solutin is "no homework". But it should be "limited homework" in early elementary -- when children really do need more supervision, esepcially if they aren't yet reading.
A first or second grader should not have an hour of homework each day, in my opinion. It matters not what type of work his parents do. |
Anonymous
These are good points, coming from the teacher that is being referenced. If a child isn't doing their homework, the teacher should be finding out the root cause. I work in a school where many of the parents don't speak English, aren't educated in their native languages, and some of my kids are abused. As a teacher, I find a way to help the child and treat each scenario differently. What is fair is not always equal. So, while I may help a child find time to do it in school since their parents can't help them, I may find alternative assignments for another child who needs a different kind of challenge. Like someone else said, the child should be able to complete the homework alone in a given time period. I spend a lot of time at back to school night talking about homework, and how I see it as practice for something that has already been taught. If a child is struggling, or the assignment is taking too long, all I ask for is a note at the top of the page. |
Anonymous
During the current quarter, our curriculum involves addition and subtraction. For both, there are a few days for the basic facts up to 10. Then there are lessons for adding/subtracting using 7, 8, 9, and 10. We work with number lines, counting on, ten-frames, base-10 blocks, pennies and dimes, fact families, word problems, missing addends/minuends, and more. Teaching these strategies doesn't leave much time for helping the children learn their facts quickly. The focus is more on understanding the concepts of addition and subtraction these days. Unfortunately, the kids really need to know their facts quickly, and a lot don't. I think it's great that they know different ways to find a sum or difference, which will help them with more difficult problems in the future, but they need to improve their speed too. That is why I ask the children to study their facts at home. It could be for 5 minutes a night, but it needs to be done! Parents should not have to teach their children anything related to homework, but to help them with flashcards (or anything else) shouldn't be out of the question. |
Anonymous
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Unfortunately, in many of our schools, all studens are not on task 90% of the time, and b/c of cultural differences (language barriers included) and poverty levels, teachers will never ensure that all students are learning the same material at the same rate.
So homework can often be ONE factor to help teachers assess their students. However, if a child's household is crowded, if English is not a first language, or if abuse is a factor, homework will amount to nothing. So while I think homework is important - especially as a way to help students develop responsibility - it's not always a successful measure. So flexibility (as one PP, a teacher, mentioned) is very important. I often remind those not in the profession that we're not creating Widgets; we're dealing with human beings who learn at different rates and who come to us with different skill sets. And sadly, many children in my particular school are already "damaged goods." |
Anonymous
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Every homework policy I've heard of (and backed by research - of which I don't have links, so feel free to seek it out yourself) suggest 10 minutes of homework for each grade in school. So, no first grader should be doing an hour of homework at night.
If that is the case, it may be an issue with the individual teacher. Sometimes teachers don't realize how long an assignment can take. Talk to the teacher about it. Not in an accusing way, but by asking what the policy is, and then citing any discrepancy you see. A good teacher will work with you to make it work for all involved. As a teacher I certainly don't intend to make life miserable for children or parents, so if that's the case, I would hope to be made aware of the situation. |
Anonymous
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5 minutes or practicing math facts at home doesn't sound unreasonable to me.
I will say, the problem with your curriculum seems to be yo uhave to teach too many different strategies. Your school district should figure out which strategies are the most efficient, and just teach those. |
Anonymous
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Unfortunately, when all is said and done regarding the homework issue many area families will still supplement their children's education particularly in the area of mathematics a subject that is treated superficially in the school systems. This supplementation is not overkill as witnessed by past performance on national exams. Indeed, many schools in MCPS and PCPD like to claim responsibility for the present "success" (on State exams/ of many of their students who may spend more time getting supplemental help from parents, tutors and Kumon/Score/ type establishments and not fromtheir teachers and school assignments.
In other words, if the teachers didn't give any homework (easier workload for them since they do not have to grade these exercises) , many children will find a way to do > 1 hour of homework to gain mastery and depth particularly in subjects like math and science. |
Anonymous
I (as well as my team members) completely agree. We find that some children just aren't developmentally ready for everything we teach. Unfortunately. when we are compared to other countries, our test scores come up short. So, the curriculum is getting pushed down further and further, even though it doesn't make sense. They don't seem to take into account all the factors that go into the scores of the other countries' test scores. For instance, the TIMSS study showed that in Japan, teachers get about half the day to plan. I could come up with some fantastic lessons given that time! There are many other factors, too. We were recently told the 6th grade curriculum will soon be taught in 5th grade. It's absurd! I love my job though, and I'm going to do it the best I can. Sorry, I become pretty passionate about these types of issues. I'll slowly back away now... |
Anonymous
I don't know that MCPS really is experiencing great "success" in math right now -- are you sure about that? I seem to remember hearing somehting about declining math test scores. |
Anonymous
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Unfortunately, I agree with this assessment. My kids go to school for socialization. They follow an entirely different and more advanced curriculum at home because of the slow pace and superficial content at school. They do all their homework before they get home during down time in their classes. Their compact curriculum is efficiently done by the children in 1 to 1 and 1/4 hours per night.
We anticipate the pace and depth at school will pick up in middle or high school. |
Anonymous
Who ARE you? obviously not an educator |