Reply to Has anyone boycotted homework?

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, why did SACC change its structure so there is no longer someone who oversees homework and helps the kids stay on task? Why the change to the melee in the gym, which clearly is not something most kids this age can block out enough to do homework there on their own? I would have talked with the SACC program coordinator to find out why the change took place and whether there is ANY option for at least some kids to be in another place with an adult (doesn't have to be a teacher) who will ensure the environment is calm and kids use the homework time for homework. Did your SACC lose a staff member or otherwise have a change that meant kids are now just herded and not made to spend certain time on homework?

I would be sure that next year in SACC, you talk very early on about how your son needs the homework time to BE homework time and you find out if SACC is just going to be babysitting or if it's going to provide any kind of environment that will help your son get things done.

SACC alone can't be the whole issue, though. Completion of classwork IN class is an important skill to learn before middle school arrives. Does the teacher say that most or all other kids are completing work in classroom time? If you know the parents of your son's classmates, do they also see the homework as too much, or do they say that their kids don't bring home classwork but only have homework and are fine doing it in the allotted time the teacher suggests? While each kid is different, it can help to get a read on our own kids' work habits and homework if we talk with other parents whom we trust to give an objective assessment of how their kids are handling things. If my kid were in a class and having your son's issues, and my friends with children in that class said their children were doing OK with completing things without as much stress, I'd be looking first to find out why my child wasn't working at the same pace as the rest of the class, rather than focusing on the number of worksheets, etc.  Have you been able to talk with other families and see how they view this?

I understand your anger at the teacher and the worksheets, but this late in the school year, the amount of homework she sends is probably not going to change, and a boycott may not do anything other than dent your son's grades and -- to be really blunt -- put your son and you on the radar for next year's teachers, and not in a good way. It also sends a message to him that he can drop things that frustrate him or that seem unfair or onerous. There will be times coming up in middle and high school when he will encounter teachers who assign tons of homework with no regard for what other teachers might assign, or who seriously drop grades if classwork AND homework don't get done, and boycotting will not be an option. Maybe it sounds fine in fourth grade when some parents say "Homework doesn't matter," but the [i]practice[/i] of doing it in elementary does matter, and teaching kids it's optional if it's a problem for them is not a great precedent to set.
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