Basis and work loads

[Anonymous]

My child is in Basis and she is struggling a lot to keep up with the amounts of work assigned. She is often up late trying to get everything done. She is in sixth and didn’t have any issues last year at Basis. I know homework is supposed to ramp up slightly between years but this seems dramatically different. I also am aware that virtual learning might be part of the issue but she is having a rough time. She is supposed to start a sport she really enjoys in the spring and I worry that it isn’t possible with this much amount of work. For what it worth, her grades are high and she is doing well on tests and quizzes but the actual day to day works is overwhelming us. Any insight from other Basis parents?

[Anonymous]

I hear you. My child works straight through from 8:30 to about 6 every night, with maybe one night a week till 8 pm. Barely stops for lunch. She doesn't generally do anything on weekends though. She loves it, but it does seem like a lot. She did cross country as a 6th grader, and it was a lot. But, again, she thrived doing it, so I have no complaints.

[Anonymous]

I think DL has very much exacerbated the Basis workload this year. The kids spend so much time just navigating and figuring out where to be and what to do, that it's hard for them to be efficient at all.

I would talk to other 6th grade parents and get their read on it and then try to work with the teachers to smooth things out.

[Anonymous]

Keep track of how long it takes her to do the work each night per subject for a week or so and then talk to the teachers. Hard data will help demonstrate the problem.

Often teachers do not realize how long their assignments actually take to complete and appreciate the feedback and adjust. If they don’t go to the head of academic programs with your concerns.

The jump from 5th to 6th is really steep. The students have more teachers and more distinct classes than at many other schools. Most BASIS students do get the hang of it and a bumpy first grading period isn’t uncommon.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how efficient of a worker the child is. My 7th grader spends maybe 30 minutes/day on homework, as well as another 2-3 hours total over the weekends. This child is a very efficient worker and a strong writer.

I agree with the PP that you need to see if any specific subject is a huge time sink. Along the way, see if your child is being overly perfectionistic or overly reluctant in any subject. Some kids take much longer on assignments than they really need to be spending.

[Anonymous]

I would see how she is managing her time during the day. My daughter is also in 6th. She was pretty slow at getting things done last year, but this year I find they have much less HW, and she rarely has work to do after 4pm....today being an exception with a bunch of quizzes tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

My 6th grader has a ton of work but is able to manage it. She seems less stressed about work than during DL last spring. Thus far weekends have been pretty free.

[Anonymous]

We found 6th to be a ton of work, 7th was ok, then 8th was a lot again. Grades were excellent and he didn’t seem stressed but I hated that he lost part of his childhood to nightly homework. It wasn’t helpful to him when he went to a different high school. In my opinion, it was not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Are those kids still able to practice an instrument daily and do a sport?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found 6th to be a ton of work, 7th was ok, then 8th was a lot again. Grades were excellent and he didn’t seem stressed but I hated that he lost part of his childhood to nightly homework. It wasn’t helpful to him when he went to a different high school. In my opinion, it was not worth it.

Why did he go to a different high school? What is he looking at after high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found 6th to be a ton of work, 7th was ok, then 8th was a lot again. Grades were excellent and he didn’t seem stressed but I hated that he lost part of his childhood to nightly homework. It wasn’t helpful to him when he went to a different high school. In my opinion, it was not worth it.

So why did you stick with it? No good alternative you could afford or what? We turned down our 5th grade spot a week before school started. BASIS just sounded too dreary in 6th-8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We found 6th to be a ton of work, 7th was ok, then 8th was a lot again. Grades were excellent and he didn’t seem stressed but I hated that he lost part of his childhood to nightly homework. It wasn’t helpful to him when he went to a different high school. In my opinion, it was not worth it.

Why did he go to a different high school? What is he looking at after high school?

Left because the workload was not worthwhile to him, plus he wanted more variety and time to pursue extracurriculars. At a public school with plenty of APs and rigor, especially in the subjects where he excels. He’s a junior and the change was very positive for him, as he was fortunate to have a great school to go to after BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is in Basis and she is struggling a lot to keep up with the amounts of work assigned. She is often up late trying to get everything done. She is in sixth and didn’t have any issues last year at Basis. I know homework is supposed to ramp up slightly between years but this seems dramatically different. I also am aware that virtual learning might be part of the issue but she is having a rough time. She is supposed to start a sport she really enjoys in the spring and I worry that it isn’t possible with this much amount of work. For what it worth, her grades are high and she is doing well on tests and quizzes but the actual day to day works is overwhelming us. Any insight from other Basis parents?

Hmm. I have not found this to be the case with my 6th grader OTHER than the difficulty figuring out the assignments/what tabs/where to turn in, etc. And that part definitely takes a lot of effort to figure out an efficient/streamlined system. So that could be the problem - you may want to assist her in determining the best/most streamlined way to figure out (1) what is due; (2) when; (3) how to turn in. Those three things take much more time in DL than they would in a normal classroom setting. The other tip, like all us adults have to figure out how to do, is to not procrastinate. Get xx assignment done NOW in your downtime, even if not due until 11:59 pm the next day. This second tip relates to tip number one, in that procrastination during DL makes the assignment even harder b/c you have the added step of figuring out where the heck it is, buried in all the posts, different tabs, etc. This is my take as an adult trying to navigate the Teams system (over my kid's shoulder)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are those kids still able to practice an instrument daily and do a sport?

My kid was in 5th last year and did several sports and an instrument. It was crazy! Hard to say if the level of activity could have been continued in 6th in non-DL setting. Probably not.

But now in DL my kid is continuing same activities and even added another. I am good with this (for now) since there is no socialization going on in DL. gotta get it elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are those kids still able to practice an instrument daily and do a sport?

My kid was in 5th last year and did several sports and an instrument. It was crazy! Hard to say if the level of activity could have been continued in 6th in non-DL setting. Probably not.

But now in DL my kid is continuing same activities and even added another. I am good with this (for now) since there is no socialization going on in DL. gotta get it elsewhere.

My kid doesn’t have an instrument and now no sport, but had one before. Tons of online socialization during Dl though.