What happens in MCPS (and others) if your child does not do the homework,

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am a teacher...the one who has to reteach math to hordes of kids that never learnt it and so desparately want to move ahead.

[Anonymous]

And who are you...an educator?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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...

I have found the conversation to be very interesting! Thank you for taking the time to write.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

If this is your approach then why on earth do you send your kids to school to begin with? Do you view it as nothing more than childcare?

[Anonymous]

They get to meet grown-ups like yourself, interact with kids in their neighborhood and develop friendships, participate in after school activities through the school. We are not complaining about where are tax dollars are going. Are you? Do you object my sending our kids to your school? If so, send us a refund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is what we do. I teach my kids better than the school can.
I would like less homework so that we can do our stuff. I think the parents at Kumon feel the same way. School gets in the way of teaching my kids.

[Anonymous]

I think this is great and that you can manage it. Go for it. Don't wait to be led!

[Anonymous]

This is what we do. I teach my kids better than the school can.
I would like less homework so that we can do our stuff. I think the parents at Kumon feel the same way. School gets in the way of teaching my kids.

I can't imagine how children in your situation/setting would find school homework a burden...I should be a piece of cake if you really know how to teach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is what we do. I teach my kids better than the school can.
I would like less homework so that we can do our stuff. I think the parents at Kumon feel the same way. School gets in the way of teaching my kids.

I can't imagine how children in your situation/setting would find school homework a burden...I should be a piece of cake if you really know how to teach.

No, the problem is volume, plus it does not follow with what we are doing.

[Anonymous]

What system are you talking about?

If MCPS elementary school system I have 2 kids in the system -- volume of homework is not an issue for them. They get most of it done while at school before they get home at 3:20 pm. Perhaps time management, discipline and efficiency is the issue.

Now some of what they call homework is useless ... I agree with that...but it is easily handled by the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What system are you talking about?

If MCPS elementary school system I have 2 kids in the system -- volume of homework is not an issue for them. They get most of it done while at school before they get home at 3:20 pm. Perhaps time management, discipline and efficiency is the issue.

Now some of what they call homework is useless ... I agree with that...but it is easily handled by the kids.

I also have 2 kids in MCPS and I think how homework is handled really depends on the school/teacher/student. Not all teachers give their students a chance to work on homework in class. Both my kids are GT and the difficulty of the homework is not the problem, it is the sheer volume. They are also ADHD so asking them spend 45+ minutes a night to do large amounts of homework that they already understand has done nothing but make them both hate school. They do get their homework done because they fear the repercussions.

Back to the original question on this post: What happens if they don't do their homework? In our school, they are kept in for recess until they finish it.

[Anonymous]

I agree. There are many variables and the student is certainly a critical determinant.

[Anonymous]

If you think your children have voluminous and unmanageable homework in MCPS elementary school you don't know what will hit them in MCPS high school...if they are college bound.

[Anonymous]

From one teacher's perspective, I give out homework that is both optional and required. Students know the ground rules at the start of the term and how much, if any, the required homework will count towards their grade. If the student chooses to habitually fail to turn in required work this will be reflected in their final grade, unless there is justification. Rules don't change in midstream to accommodate a single student with a different philosophy about homework. You have 3 choices, find another classroom, accept the consequences of your decision, or appeal. If you can't provide justification the student is back to square one. I try to keep the playing field even and fair for all the students and if others can get the required homework done they get credit. Those that don't will not get credit. No favoritism.

[Anonymous]

I did not a stitch of homework until 8th grade. In elementary school, I flunked everything, and could barely read at a 3rd grade level by 6th grade. In 9th grade I put it into high gear and worked very hard. I graduated with straight A's in 11th and 12th grades. I eventually finished med school in the upper 20% of the class. My friends who were study-holics in elementary school seemed to burn out by college. I sometimes think that there might be a correlation.
I will never forget those wonder years in elementary school when I goofed off and had a blast. I didn't like all the nagging and sometimes shouting I got from parents and teachers, but I understand why they worried.
My advice to all, at least keep the child up to par on the basics, teach them how to solve problems, work on their people skills, so that when they decide to fly right, they have the tools.