Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:23     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
If my son gets homework in K and it is stressful we will not do it. I am a rule follower but have read enough to know it's not worth the stress at that early age. He truly is exhausted from school. I will talk to the teacher about it.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:21     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:Growing up in Asia, I have to laugh at these kinds of posts. 20 minutes a day of homework is nothing. This is why the US consistently ranks so low compared to other industrialized nations.


+1

Although I must mention, I had little to no hw in K. First grade, in the other had, was HW every night until dark. I immigrated to the US and had my long division down while the kids here were doing 2+2. Unreal.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:17     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
If you're not going to do it, I would schedule time with the teacher to discuss. For me, part of the deal is that I put my trust and respect in my children's teachers. That doesn't mean I abdicate my own judgement or opinion, but it means that I work hard to develop a relationship with their teachers and to reinforce the relationship between my child and their teachers. Homework is part of that.

I feel like part of what has gotten minimized here is that it is due weekly. That means that you don't actually have to cram it in on weeknights, if you can't do it. You could have Saturday morning homework time. For our K student (who, yes, has homework), it's about how we position it - so it's not a stressor, it's not a big deal, it's just a responsibility that he has. Akin to setting the table or putting away his toys. I do happen to think right-sized responsibilities are a good thing for kids and that's where I get value out of his having homework. The amount is not a lot for him on a daily basis, so that's how we do it, though it is also due weekly.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:17     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Growing up in Asia, I have to laugh at these kinds of posts. 20 minutes a day of homework is nothing. This is why the US consistently ranks so low compared to other industrialized nations.


Except that it's not. Research shows homework in the early years doesn't lead to academic improvement- so why do it?


Agree with the Asian PP. Just because there's a weak/negligible association with academic outcomes doesn't mean it isn't useful for other purposes. We've found it helpful for knowing what our kid is actually working on, establishing a routine, and showing our kid that I'm interested in her work. It doesn't take long, and it's party of our pre-dinner routine.

Also, just because there isn't a strong association overall, doesn't mean there isn't a stronger association for some types of students--for example, I'd imagine it'd be helpful for kids having difficulty with a certain topic, or kids from low SES backgrounds, etc. I've found it helpful for my kid, although she doesn't fit these categories (although I'm sure that at some point, she'll have a little difficulty with a concept, and HW will allow needed practice).

Yes, we've had one teacher (PK4) that I felt assigned pretty unhelpful, "busy work" type HW assignments, but overall the HW has been worthwhile for the reasons above.


PP here. Further, not ALL studies have found no relationship between HW and academic outcomes at the elementary level--some have found that a weak relationship exists, and that gets stronger in middle. Other studies have also found a significant relationship in elementary students for certain subjects. For example:

Our investigation revealed that there was an overall small and positive relationship between homework and academic achievement in math/science. Our investigation further revealed that the homework – achievement relationship in math/science was stronger for elementary and high school students than for middle school students.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X16300628

So it seems inappropriate to conclude that there are NO positives for HW practice when the studies are inconclusive in this regard. I agree that HW should be given in manageable amounts, if given at all, but I reject the notion that there are no benefits.

Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:10     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
I want to stick THIS thread, among others, so I can link to it whenever you people with options say with a straight face:

Private school in elementary is silly.

There is no appreciable difference between a JKLMxyz and an independent school for the early years - save your money.

Ross/Janney/Brent is just like getting a private school education for free!!!!!!!!!!!


Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:08     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Growing up in Asia, I have to laugh at these kinds of posts. 20 minutes a day of homework is nothing. This is why the US consistently ranks so low compared to other industrialized nations.


Except that it's not. Research shows homework in the early years doesn't lead to academic improvement- so why do it?


Agree with the Asian PP. Just because there's a weak/negligible association with academic outcomes doesn't mean it isn't useful for other purposes. We've found it helpful for knowing what our kid is actually working on, establishing a routine, and showing our kid that I'm interested in her work. It doesn't take long, and it's party of our pre-dinner routine.

Also, just because there isn't a strong association overall, doesn't mean there isn't a stronger association for some types of students--for example, I'd imagine it'd be helpful for kids having difficulty with a certain topic, or kids from low SES backgrounds, etc. I've found it helpful for my kid, although she doesn't fit these categories (although I'm sure that at some point, she'll have a little difficulty with a concept, and HW will allow needed practice).

Yes, we've had one teacher (PK4) that I felt assigned pretty unhelpful, "busy work" type HW assignments, but overall the HW has been worthwhile for the reasons above.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:08     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you really don't like it, don't do it. It's kindergarten. It's not going on their permanent record.


OP here. Thought about this but my kid was obsessed. Anticipating it, talking about it, stressing about it when they couldn't get onto ST Math the first day - seriously tried for hours on end and cried and cried when couldn't get on.


I am a little confused about how this fits with narrative that you need to bag to get him to do it.


Novelty vs eventual drudgery
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:07     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:Growing up in Asia, I have to laugh at these kinds of posts. 20 minutes a day of homework is nothing. This is why the US consistently ranks so low compared to other industrialized nations.


Lol it's all because those Asians did homework in Kindergarten!

Oh wait - how do you account for those Finns then? Oops.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:06     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else agree that it's ridiculous for kindergartners to have daily homework? That this puts unreasonable stress on kids and families - ultimately being detrimental to both.

We go to a school in NWDC and KINDERGARTENERS are suppose to do daily worksheets (packets due weekly not daily), ST Math, and keep a reading log. At back to school night the teacher tried to assure us that it was just "20 minutes a day". Even if it doesn't take up more than 20 mins a day, that 20 minutes a day is

1) Taking away from the already vary short amount of family time that we get together.
(With work, we get from 6-8 with our children each day. That's important time to bond and to work with our children on their emotional needs and unique interests. Please don't take that away from us.)

2) Creating family discord
(Kindergartners are not at their best from 6-8 PM. "20 minutes" of work will require 20 minutes of nagging, reminders, encouragement, frustration, threats, tears)

3) Increasing mental load for parents with little ROI for kids
(The mental load for parents overseeing this is substantial. And there's no ROI. No study says that homework in Kindergarten improves overall education)

4) Creating unnecessary and detrimental competitiveness and labels among kids
(The teacher noted that kids know how far everyone gets in ST Math and that their identities start to form about being "good" or "bad" students)

Our friends who went through Kindergarten last year confirmed that it was a big issue for them for all the reasons noted above. I know there are educators who think this is ridiculous. I could tell our kindergarten teacher was unsure/uneasy about it. The hostility from parents in the room when this came up was palpable - our guts know it is wrong. This is HARMFUL not helpful to kids and to families.

Shame on DCPS. It's a detriment to DCPS reputation and trust among stakeholders.

I'm very tempted to just refuse to participate but my kid is a rule follower and that will devastate him. What to do? Get a petition going to make homework optional? How much support is out there for this?


Yes. I agree. It is ridiculous. Especially your #4. Can you raise with the PTA?
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:01     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:Growing up in Asia, I have to laugh at these kinds of posts. 20 minutes a day of homework is nothing. This is why the US consistently ranks so low compared to other industrialized nations.


Except that it's not. Research shows homework in the early years doesn't lead to academic improvement- so why do it?
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 10:00     Subject: Re:Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Growing up in Asia, I have to laugh at these kinds of posts. 20 minutes a day of homework is nothing. This is why the US consistently ranks so low compared to other industrialized nations.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 09:36     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don't do it. Take the packet the day it is sent home. Write a note on it saying that in your family you are choosing to reinforce learning in other ways.

Send it back when it is due so your child has something to hand in.

OR - just throw it out. We did. Our upper NW school still allows us to re-enroll.

Totally agree. Do what’s right for you’re family and ignore PPs who try to shame you for working outside the home to to do things like, you know, put food on the table. You should probably let the teacher know not to expect homework packets completed regularly. Be kind. Don’t get up on your high horse though (ie don’t make most of the arguments in your OP to the teacher).


Oh please. Can you not read or are you just too busy being a martyr? Nobody is shaming working parents. Somehow thousands of other families are able to squeeze in some reading and worksheets under the very same circumstances so OP's argument doesn't hold water.


I dont believe all kindergarteners get homework. Nowhere close. Seems like the very rare exception and PPs are right to be frustrated.


And I've talked to friends whose kids had homework in K. They might "squeeze it in," but they hate it and it's often stressful and miserable. Some of them don't do it, some of them will set a timer and do it for ten minutes and then just turn in however much gets done, and some of them make their kids do it all, but they don't all like it and many find it frustrating.

We did not have any homework in K. It's definitely not universal.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 09:30     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't think that a reading log and a math work sheet every night is that big of a deal. Kids learn through practice.

The homework, including reading, for a kindergartner shouldn't last longer than 30 minutes a night.


And, for the record, I'm a SAHM.


What if you weren't?


This would still be my approach. Kids do better when they practice at home. That was true for me when I was a kid and it's been true for my own children.



No doubt. But we are only talking about kindergarten homework here. You had homework in kindergarten? You support homework in kindergarten?


Yes, I actually had to cram the summer before K because I didn't know all of my upper/lower case letters. Once K started I began to learn sounds which took some practice at home.

I didn't have assigned reading but my parents read to me every night because that's what they did. Once I had my letters and sounds down I picked up reading easily.

My own kids went into K knowing their letters/sounds and they brought home some simple homework during K plus some beginner reader books. We set aside a small amount of time each evening to do their homework. Within a few weeks they were reading. If we hadn't done any of the homework, they still would have learned how to read and do simple arithmetic that year, it just would have been a slower process for them.

Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 09:28     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
Anonymous wrote:Homework in kindergarten is just an assignment for the parents. No homework yet for our first grader (at a charter). We read books at bedtime and try to get him to read the book at least a couple times a week, but that's all.


+1

Our first-grader does not have homework (NWDC). On Friday, we sometimes get a small assignment for over the weekend. One was, "We are going to make ABC books. Please help your child brainstorm a theme and a word for each letter." Or "We will be talking about numbers. Please help your child fill out this sheet asking how old they are, how tall they are, etc." There were like five items. So far, they are things we could do in 5-10 minutes, and we have all weekend or even longer.

Otherwise, they recommend that you read to or with your child for 20 minutes a night, which is basically bedtime stories + a little independent reading while I'm making dinner.

Older kids can do homework more independently--read the assignment, fill out the sheet, whatever. And many of them can likely get it done in aftercare. That's not true for little kids, who also have earlier bedtimes.
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2018 09:27     Subject: Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!
My DC’s kindergarten and 1st grade teachers both told us that the daily 20min of reading included parents reading to children. So if you already read with your kids nightly, logging it shouldn’t be a huge burden.