Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get letting kids learn from their mistakes, but in our school system we are expected to have a homework helper for our kids (they actually ask for the name of the helper at the start of the school year).

APS? That's where we are. I put "An available member of the family" as the homework helper. I love APS, but this is bullshit for which I blame the superintendent. If my answer is a problem, I'd be happy to stop my Mr. Murphy's office for a chat.

Yes, it is APS. I have wondered what, if anything, they do if you don't return that sheet. I think it's really just a heads up to those people who aren't aware that they are expected to help with homework if need be, and maybe to ID those kids who don't have help outside of school.

I think my DS may have dysgraphia. How do you go about getting a diagnosis and what is the IEP for such. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:I get letting kids learn from their mistakes, but in our school system we are expected to have a homework helper for our kids (they actually ask for the name of the helper at the start of the school year).

APS? That's where we are. I put "An available member of the family" as the homework helper. I love APS, but this is bullshit for which I blame the superintendent. If my answer is a problem, I'd be happy to stop my Mr. Murphy's office for a chat.

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader has atrocious hand writing.

I help by reading over the homework and reading aloud any messily written words the way the look to me based on the bad handwriting.

Nearly all of my child's mistakes are due not to actually making a mistake, but due to terrible handwriting.

If your fifth grader has handwriting that is difficult to read even after a lot of help you may have him tested. He/she may have Dysgraphia.

Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write primarily in terms of handwriting, but also in terms of coherence.[1] It occurs regardless of the ability to read and is not due to intellectual impairment.[2] Dysgraphia is a transcription disability, meaning that it is a writing disorder associated with impaired handwriting, orthographic coding (orthography, the storing process of written words and processing the letters in those words), and finger sequencing (the movement of muscles required to write).

I get letting kids learn from their mistakes, but in our school system we are expected to have a homework helper for our kids (they actually ask for the name of the helper at the start of the school year). They stress that the point of homework is to reinforce what is taught in class. For that reason I treat the homework as an endgame; the teacher may look at it, but won't do much with it unless there are serious, consistent problems. At the beginning of last year (1st grade), I didn't correct DS's spelling or punctuation in his writing workbook, but the teacher later indicated that it should be corrected/guided by the homework helper. The helper functions as a tutor to reinforce what goes on in the classroom. If there were a topic that my son absolutely didn't get I would contact the teacher to let her know and ask for guidance rather than rely on his homework mistakes to inform her. Again, my oldest son is in 2nd grade, so I can't comment on what would work best for a child in a higher grade or what the school's expectations would be for those kids, but for younger ones we are definitely expected to be working with them on the homework.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with letting kids fail, however do teachers these days even have the time to look over homework with close to 30 children in their classes? I'm not sure the teacher will even be able to spend the time reviewing my child's wrong answer and spending more time with him going over what he doesn't know. My kids are just starting out and I see their homework for now as practice work for them to do with as little help from me as possible but not as a mini test with no help whatsoever. Don't they still do tests in school for assessments?

Ha! Former teacher here and the answer is there is no time to individually go over homework. Most got corrected in class with the whole group so I coud get a sense of what topics the majority of kids needed help mastering. Other homework just got checked in. I review every piece of homework that my kids complete to make sure it is all correct. If it isn't I help them review their errors.

I agree with letting kids fail, however do teachers these days even have the time to look over homework with close to 30 children in their classes? I'm not sure the teacher will even be able to spend the time reviewing my child's wrong answer and spending more time with him going over what he doesn't know. My kids are just starting out and I see their homework for now as practice work for them to do with as little help from me as possible but not as a mini test with no help whatsoever. Don't they still do tests in school for assessments?

My 5th grader has atrocious hand writing.

I help by reading over the homework and reading aloud any messily written words the way the look to me based on the bad handwriting.

Nearly all of my child's mistakes are due not to actually making a mistake, but due to terrible handwriting.

We help by checking over work or helping to explain concepts that she may not understand.

Math is easy because it is checked and we indicate what she got wrong and she goes back to correct it. We don't do it for her.

I have a VERY hard time when it comes to writing or anything like that because I never know how much to help. When she did poetry and creative writing last year (which is my thing, but not hers), I had a really hard time letting her do what SHE wanted the way she wanted and not the way that *I* would do it. I survived though, and only corrected her for spelling and punctuation, or if she wasn't following the rules of the assignment.

I learned that she will never be into writing like I am (she HATES it), but as she is a fifth grader that has surpassed what I remember of math, we are even. Thank GOD for my math oriented husband.

3rd & 5th graders here. I have them do their homework, and then look it over. If I see mistakes, I'll circle them to be redone, but I make them come up with the answer. The 3rd grader just started AAP with compacted math, so I will review concepts with her if there is something that is missing. For all tests except the 5th grader's math &vocab, I have them quiz each other-- call out spelling works, ask science questions from the review sheet, etc. it helps the 5th grader review, and doesn't hurt the 3rd grader.

For projects, I have them develop a plan at the beginning, which i approve, and then sign off at each step before they go on to the next-- e.g., I approve the book before it's read, the project script before the video is shot, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You've got to give them some autonomy and be willing to let them fail if you want them to learn how to achieve real success.

I understand where you're coming from but if you see they aren't completing their homework correctly why not support them with a little help? Not do it for them but guide them in the right direction. Rather than allow them to continue to learn the wrong way potentially making it even harder to master the concept.

I side more with letting them fail. If my child needs extra help understanding a concept, then I will help by reviewing the material taught in class. But at a certain age, it's the child's responsibility to find their own motivation to do the work and do it well. I'm definitely not going to grade my kid's work and have him correct it! That's practically cheating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You've got to give them some autonomy and be willing to let them fail if you want them to learn how to achieve real success.

I understand where you're coming from but if you see they aren't completing their homework correctly why not support them with a little help? Not do it for them but guide them in the right direction. Rather than allow them to continue to learn the wrong way potentially making it even harder to master the concept.

NP here -- so the teacher can see it through the results of the homework. How does the teacher see that a child is having trouble with the homework if it gets turned in with all the correct answers? How will that help the child during an assessment or a test?

Anonymous wrote:You've got to give them some autonomy and be willing to let them fail if you want them to learn how to achieve real success.

I understand where you're coming from but if you see they aren't completing their homework correctly why not support them with a little help? Not do it for them but guide them in the right direction. Rather than allow them to continue to learn the wrong way potentially making it even harder to master the concept.

I say discuss it with your child, but don't do it for him. Since homework doesn't count towards the elementary student's academic grade (in Fairfax County Schools), maybe more parents will be willing to allow the child to try it on his/her own and return it to school as it is completed, without corrections.

You've got to give them some autonomy and be willing to let them fail if you want them to learn how to achieve real success.