Anonymous
Post 03/08/2015 15:18     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And I think 2 -3 hours of homework after a 7 hour school day is bullshit. What the hell are they being taught in class anyway if kids can't have a life outside the classroom. You' re not getting much value for money. Most of the crap being taught with exception of a few doesn't fit 21st century needs anyway and can learned online. I have my own curriculum for my kids, they go to school but I sweat the homework the way I used to.


1. They are not in class for seven hours. If they are using free periods the nightly homework load diminishes. Typical class time for Upper School would be 250 - 300 minutes of instruction a day (4 - 5 hours).
2. You can't have humanities classes -- papers, reading longer literary works -- without spending time at home. Theoretically it's possible for classes depending on problem solving to do more of that in the classroom.
3. In public schools no extra-curriculars are required; there are private schools with no sports requirement and a modest (say 2-3 hours per week) PE requirement; and even schools that require sports/PE generally have an option that is not time-intensive (for example, the PE option at Sidwell; Personal Fitness at NCS; intramurals at St. Albans). If your child is not doing a sport (your and their choice) they will have even more time for homework. And does your child do a club sport? Why is 4 hours a day of soccer (school plus club practice) more important than 2 hours of homework?
4. You can home school.

Bottom line, the American secondary school model includes homework. It hasn't really expanded over 25 years, either -- kids are taking longer to do it, by and large, because of interruptions (texting, YouTube, etc). There are some options if you don't like it, but you can't expect to apply to a prestigious school that has a significant amount of homework and then demand that they change their educational model.


New poster here - I have no issues with any of your comments (in fact they are mostly spot on) but I would not say this statement is necessarily true - I never had nearly as much homework as kids have today. It wasn't even close.
Anonymous
Post 03/08/2015 15:12     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
My husband and I talk about this quite a bit. My father and grandfather went to the same Ivy. My husband and I went to Ivy-equivalents. None of us had such large degrees of homework as my kids today. We were all highly successful in school and afterwards. We feel that today's homework levels takes away from developing creativity and innovation in my children's generation. You can't really problem solve without time to truly think. Of course, today's cell phones/Internet also take away from this. However, with that said, you need to play the game. Until the whole system changes, you need to put the hours in to get into the same schools today that we got in with an easier work load.
Anonymous
Post 03/07/2015 07:14     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Thank you STA families!
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 23:37     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And I think 2 -3 hours of homework after a 7 hour school day is bullshit. What the hell are they being taught in class anyway if kids can't have a life outside the classroom. You' re not getting much value for money. Most of the crap being taught with exception of a few doesn't fit 21st century needs anyway and can learned online. I have my own curriculum for my kids, they go to school but I sweat the homework the way I used to.


1. They are not in class for seven hours. If they are using free periods the nightly homework load diminishes. Typical class time for Upper School would be 250 - 300 minutes of instruction a day (4 - 5 hours).
2. You can't have humanities classes -- papers, reading longer literary works -- without spending time at home. Theoretically it's possible for classes depending on problem solving to do more of that in the classroom.
3. In public schools no extra-curriculars are required; there are private schools with no sports requirement and a modest (say 2-3 hours per week) PE requirement; and even schools that require sports/PE generally have an option that is not time-intensive (for example, the PE option at Sidwell; Personal Fitness at NCS; intramurals at St. Albans). If your child is not doing a sport (your and their choice) they will have even more time for homework. And does your child do a club sport? Why is 4 hours a day of soccer (school plus club practice) more important than 2 hours of homework?
4. You can home school.

Bottom line, the American secondary school model includes homework. It hasn't really expanded over 25 years, either -- kids are taking longer to do it, by and large, because of

interruptions (texting, YouTube, etc). There are some options if you don't like it, but you can't expect to apply to a prestigious school that has a significant amount of homework and then demand that they change their educational model.


Have it how you want, however, I am still not impressed. I feel largely, homework are primarily busywork and I can't no longer buy into that. I don't stress my kid about doing homework. he test very well, but he is mostly a B student because he doesn't alway do homework, But he generally test at or above 95% range in standardized test. I do homeschool my kid. He uses the homework time to learn other skills, that, along with test scores he will have a competitive resume for college. Letter grades can be subjective. I am not just going to go along with this ridiculous homework system


If this isn't a phony post, just an FYI that high test scores with not impressive grades are the reddest of red flags to colleges. Throw in recommendation letters that boil down to "smart, but doesn't do his work" and that is the farthest thing from a "competitive resume" for college.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 23:35     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Replying to the STA/NCS threads posters.

There's a different schedule this year. In a 7-day period (it's a block schedule rotating on 7 days), a student who is taking 5 classes has 25 total class meetings and 5 free periods (of 65 minutes each). That averages out to about 3.55 classes per night. The student will have a free period 5 out of every 7 days that is 65 minutes long. The student will have 200 minutes of additional free time if they aren't in orchestra/chorus, as their are dedicated class periods for music that are free periods for other students.

So they're not prepping for five classes a night. Generally it's four and sometimes it's three.

And god bless the STA handbook, but the typical STA student does not do anything like an average of one hour per homework per class per night.

If this worries you, talk to a range of families.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 23:27     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And I think 2 -3 hours of homework after a 7 hour school day is bullshit. What the hell are they being taught in class anyway if kids can't have a life outside the classroom. You' re not getting much value for money. Most of the crap being taught with exception of a few doesn't fit 21st century needs anyway and can learned online. I have my own curriculum for my kids, they go to school but I sweat the homework the way I used to.


1. They are not in class for seven hours. If they are using free periods the nightly homework load diminishes. Typical class time for Upper School would be 250 - 300 minutes of instruction a day (4 - 5 hours).
2. You can't have humanities classes -- papers, reading longer literary works -- without spending time at home. Theoretically it's possible for classes depending on problem solving to do more of that in the classroom.
3. In public schools no extra-curriculars are required; there are private schools with no sports requirement and a modest (say 2-3 hours per week) PE requirement; and even schools that require sports/PE generally have an option that is not time-intensive (for example, the PE option at Sidwell; Personal Fitness at NCS; intramurals at St. Albans). If your child is not doing a sport (your and their choice) they will have even more time for homework. And does your child do a club sport? Why is 4 hours a day of soccer (school plus club practice) more important than 2 hours of homework?
4. You can home school.

Bottom line, the American secondary school model includes homework. It hasn't really expanded over 25 years, either -- kids are taking longer to do it, by and large, because of

interruptions (texting, YouTube, etc). There are some options if you don't like it, but you can't expect to apply to a prestigious school that has a significant amount of homework and then demand that they change their educational model.


Have it how you want, however, I am still not impressed. I feel largely, homework are primarily busywork and I can't no longer buy into that. I don't stress my kid about doing homework. he test very well, but he is mostly a B student because he doesn't alway do homework, But he generally test at or above 95% range in standardized test. I do homeschool my kid. He uses the homework time to learn other skills, that, along with test scores he will have a competitive resume for college. Letter grades can be subjective. I am not just going to go along with this ridiculous homework system


Whatever. Why are you posting on a private school forum if you homeschool?
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 23:23     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Junior at at Sidwell. Gets home by 7 or 8 pm after ECA/sports and works until 1 am most nights. works all day Sat. takes most of sunday off. very good student who wants As/B plus in all classes. hard to do at Sidwell US. volunteers Friday nights. wants to prep for SATs but difficult to find time. enjoys studying because material is interesting and teachers are good.


Never texts or uses his phone or watches videos on the computer or plays video games because he is not a normal teenager, but is in fact an ALIEN.

Most students significantly underestimate how much time they lose through "multitasking," in particular using social media, so it's not surprising that their parents also think that a kid can work from 5-6 hours and isn't spending any real time diverted by social media/gaming.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 22:52     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anyone know about homework at STA for US? Our commute will be pretty long. With the sports requirement and any other ECs, it will be a long day before he even gets home.


STA's handbook says that upper school students should plan on doing an hour for each subject every night. So if they get home at 7 from sports, which is pretty typical they need to work straight from 7-11/12 every night.

I don't want my kid to have this kind of HS experience.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 22:21     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:This is all very sad. When I went to high school 20 years ago we had nothing like this. Maybe an hour a night and a bit more if I was studying for a big test or finishing a project. I was successful in college and after and then career. I would hate to think of these current kids just peaking at hs. Life is more than homework and sleep for kids is important.


+1

Talk of getting used to the rat race early.. This just seems like a pretty depressing way to spend your high school years. I suspect that most kids come out of this not all that interesting.

I hardly ever worked for more than an hour, if that, when I was in high school in Europe; I even went to my favorite live music venue on one school night every week (admittedly I was tired the next day). Exam prep was done mostly on my 30 min tram ride to school. Interestingly enough, I, and many of my overseas peers, found college a lot easier and, on average, did better, than many students who had attended US high schools. (It was an Ivy, so I assume it meets the DCUM standards of rigor.) Something seems very wrong with US education.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 22:08     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
This is all very sad. When I went to high school 20 years ago we had nothing like this. Maybe an hour a night and a bit more if I was studying for a big test or finishing a project. I was successful in college and after and then career. I would hate to think of these current kids just peaking at hs. Life is more than homework and sleep for kids is important.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 18:26     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
NCS has a homework limit of 42 minutes per subject per night. 5 subjects= 210 minutes per night. That is 3.5 hours before studying for tests. That is the limit. Makes you wonder what was going on before the limit.

I have heard multiple people say Sidwell's workload is very heavy. freshman up until midnight. That sounds crazy to me. And so unnecessary.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 17:41     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And I think 2 -3 hours of homework after a 7 hour school day is bullshit. What the hell are they being taught in class anyway if kids can't have a life outside the classroom. You' re not getting much value for money. Most of the crap being taught with exception of a few doesn't fit 21st century needs anyway and can learned online. I have my own curriculum for my kids, they go to school but I sweat the homework the way I used to.


1. They are not in class for seven hours. If they are using free periods the nightly homework load diminishes. Typical class time for Upper School would be 250 - 300 minutes of instruction a day (4 - 5 hours).
2. You can't have humanities classes -- papers, reading longer literary works -- without spending time at home. Theoretically it's possible for classes depending on problem solving to do more of that in the classroom.
3. In public schools no extra-curriculars are required; there are private schools with no sports requirement and a modest (say 2-3 hours per week) PE requirement; and even schools that require sports/PE generally have an option that is not time-intensive (for example, the PE option at Sidwell; Personal Fitness at NCS; intramurals at St. Albans). If your child is not doing a sport (your and their choice) they will have even more time for homework. And does your child do a club sport? Why is 4 hours a day of soccer (school plus club practice) more important than 2 hours of homework?
4. You can home school.

Bottom line, the American secondary school model includes homework. It hasn't really expanded over 25 years, either -- kids are taking longer to do it, by and large, because of

interruptions (texting, YouTube, etc). There are some options if you don't like it, but you can't expect to apply to a prestigious school that has a significant amount of homework and then demand that they change their educational model.


Have it how you want, however, I am still not impressed. I feel largely, homework are primarily busywork and I can't no longer buy into that. I don't stress my kid about doing homework. he test very well, but he is mostly a B student because he doesn't alway do homework, But he generally test at or above 95% range in standardized test. I do homeschool my kid. He uses the homework time to learn other skills, that, along with test scores he will have a competitive resume for college. Letter grades can be subjective. I am not just going to go along with this ridiculous homework system


pp , that's a little startling that you would steer your kid away from the curriculum of the teacher and try to force your kid to divert that time to do homework that " you assign". And you are doing this in High School ?? I can see adding an enrichment activity, but telling them"no" don't do that busy work crap" , do "my assignment" is just wacky ESPECIALLY if you are paying tuition. I am surprised the school has not pulled your contract.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 17:27     Subject: Re:Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And I think 2 -3 hours of homework after a 7 hour school day is bullshit. What the hell are they being taught in class anyway if kids can't have a life outside the classroom. You' re not getting much value for money. Most of the crap being taught with exception of a few doesn't fit 21st century needs anyway and can learned online. I have my own curriculum for my kids, they go to school but I sweat the homework the way I used to.


1. They are not in class for seven hours. If they are using free periods the nightly homework load diminishes. Typical class time for Upper School would be 250 - 300 minutes of instruction a day (4 - 5 hours).
2. You can't have humanities classes -- papers, reading longer literary works -- without spending time at home. Theoretically it's possible for classes depending on problem solving to do more of that in the classroom.
3. In public schools no extra-curriculars are required; there are private schools with no sports requirement and a modest (say 2-3 hours per week) PE requirement; and even schools that require sports/PE generally have an option that is not time-intensive (for example, the PE option at Sidwell; Personal Fitness at NCS; intramurals at St. Albans). If your child is not doing a sport (your and their choice) they will have even more time for homework. And does your child do a club sport? Why is 4 hours a day of soccer (school plus club practice) more important than 2 hours of homework?
4. You can home school.

Bottom line, the American secondary school model includes homework. It hasn't really expanded over 25 years, either -- kids are taking longer to do it, by and large, because of

interruptions (texting, YouTube, etc). There are some options if you don't like it, but you can't expect to apply to a prestigious school that has a significant amount of homework and then demand that they change their educational model.


Have it how you want, however, I am still not impressed. I feel largely, homework are primarily busywork and I can't no longer buy into that. I don't stress my kid about doing homework. he test very well, but he is mostly a B student because he doesn't alway do homework, But he generally test at or above 95% range in standardized test. I do homeschool my kid. He uses the homework time to learn other skills, that, along with test scores he will have a competitive resume for college. Letter grades can be subjective. I am not just going to go along with this ridiculous homework system
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 17:14     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Junior at at Sidwell. Gets home by 7 or 8 pm after ECA/sports and works until 1 am most nights. works all day Sat. takes most of sunday off. very good student who wants As/B plus in all classes. hard to do at Sidwell US. volunteers Friday nights. wants to prep for SATs but difficult to find time. enjoys studying because material is interesting and teachers are good.


Ouch!! Does he catch up on sleep on the weekends or does he need little sleep.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2015 17:09     Subject: Typical nightly homework load at various Upper Schools?
Junior at at Sidwell. Gets home by 7 or 8 pm after ECA/sports and works until 1 am most nights. works all day Sat. takes most of sunday off. very good student who wants As/B plus in all classes. hard to do at Sidwell US. volunteers Friday nights. wants to prep for SATs but difficult to find time. enjoys studying because material is interesting and teachers are good.