How much homework is enough?

[SkinsHokieFan]

I got consistent HW from 3rd grade on. Nothing that I couldn't handle, and certainly never took me 2 hours a night (but then again I do work very quickly, a gift and a weakness)

2 hours for a 6 year old is absurd

[MikeSellers45]

I can't believe he has that much homework a night. The amount of my howework as varied over the years, but I don't think I ever really had 2 hours of homework especially in first grade. I think it is stupid thought because this year and my school, all classes are supposed to assign homework everyday. Even the gym and art classes are supposed to.

[Warhead36]

I never had that problem in elementary school. **** I never had that problem in HS. Then again I just did all the HW in school in other classes anyway. :laugh:

[Bang]

That's a lot of homework.

A good solid 30 minutes of homework to drive home the lesson of the day is a good thing. If my son comes home with less, he gets some from me. This keeps him sharp, lets me know where he's weak, and it also teaches him to get responsibilities done first, before play. (PLUS he reads each night for 30 minutes, but i never have to force that,, he loves to read. AND he has to practice his saxophone 4 times a week AND he's got two karate classes per week. BUSY kids stay out of trouble, i believe.)

I do agree, they have to have time to be a kid. I make sure Max has plenty of play time, and I like to play video games with him. Good quality time playing Madden with my 11 yr old. We have a blast.

Blondie's right. It is different. What is expected of them is much higher than when we were kids. The world is HYPER-competitive, and the more they learn to stay on top of things, the better off they'll be.

~Bang

[Destino]

expectations are higher... that's great.

The problem is that smarter kids don't do well with lengthy repetitive assignments because when you already know the stuff, doing it over and over again is brutal. People learn differently and some much faster then others. Homework is a one size fits all forced activity. Some feel working for the sake of working is a good quality... wisely spending time and thinking however will get your father then simply doing what you're told when it's clearly unnecessary IMO (which is arguable, I know).

When I made it to college the change from homework to self study and testing felt like I was released from prison. Bad highschool grades changed into mostly A's and a rare B.

[Tastes Like Chicken]

My 18-month old daughter was learning sign language about 3 months ago or earlier (she's not deaf). Right now she's learning her alphabet and colors.

My son is 4yrs and 4 months, and is in private preschool. He can write his name, and can read 3-4 letter words. He takes extra classes for science and computers. He can add and is working on subtraction. He knows more Spanish than I do. It's pretty scary. He's almost 4 feet tall and is close to 50 pounds. I'm thinking future left-handed QB of the Redskins.

[Blondie]

My 18-month old daughter was learning sign language about 3 months ago or earlier (she's not deaf). Right now she's learning her alphabet and colors.

My son is 4yrs and 4 months, and is in private preschool. He can write his name, and can read 3-4 letter words. He takes extra classes for science and computers. He can add and is working on subtraction. He knows more Spanish than I do. It's pretty scary. He's almost 4 feet tall and is close to 50 pounds. I'm thinking future left-handed QB of the Redskins.

Sign!!!

Great!!

Children learn languages much easier than adults. They have critical language periods and they absorb like little sponges.

Teaching sign to hearing children is great. Long before they can talk to express feelings or needs, they can express through their use of sign. Really assists if children become easily frustrated.

Congrats on giving your child these opportunites.

[Tastes Like Chicken]

Sign!!!

Great!!

Children learn languages much easier than adults. They have critical language periods and they absorb like little sponges.

Teaching sign to hearing children is great. Long before they can talk to express feelings or needs, they can express through their use of sign. Really assists if children become easily frustrated.

Congrats on giving your child these opportunites.

Thanks, she's pretty amazing. She taught us the sign for "more" at snacktime.

Blondie, next year our son will start kindergarten. What's your opinion on public vs private, and what are the important things to look for in a public elementary school?

[Blondie]

Thanks, she's pretty amazing. She taught us the sign for "more" at snacktime.

Blondie, next year our son will start kindergarten. What's your opinion on public vs private, and what are the important things to look for in a public elementary school?

Look at the curriculum.

What benchmark testing is conducted....what enrichment options are there?

I believe in public school.....there are usually many more options.....diversity.....etc.

And does the curriculum contain phonics. I AM A BIG BELIEVER IN PHONICS.

I love my job.......and since I work with deaf children.......they cant hear phonics....but..........I work with dyslexic children also.....so that is why I think phonics is so important.

Good luck.

[No_Pressure]

I wish I had learned German at a young age, cause I'm learning it now and finding it a little difficult

[PokerPacker]

depending on the size of each of those assignments (which i'm assuming aren't all that short since you've decided to start a thread about it) I'd say they're giving too much homework. it might not hurt to have a discussion with the teacher about it.

[PokerPacker]

I wish I had learned German at a young age, cause I'm learning it now and finding it a little difficult

german's not so bad if you have a good teacher. my highschool german teacher did was pretty good and has written a few books on teaching german.

[PokerPacker]

I don't think there should be homework in college either but apparantly when you try to explain this idea to a proffessor your suddenly viewed as "lazy" and need to "stop falling asleep in class and take some notes". What is this world coming to:rolleyes: (btw I remember going through that in elementary school and the teacher is likely very lazy and will make the kids feel really guilty if they miss any assignment)

i agree with you to an extent. Some classes like English need homework such as writing essays, or maybe writing programs in computer science. other classes don't need homework (and so far for me, those other classes haven't really done so). i get a little engineering from time-to-time that shouldn't be necessary, but aside from that, not too much.

[Tastes Like Chicken]

Look at the curriculum.

What benchmark testing is conducted....what enrichment options are there?

I believe in public school.....there are usually many more options.....diversity.....etc.

And does the curriculum contain phonics. I AM A BIG BELIEVER IN PHONICS.

I love my job.......and since I work with deaf children.......they cant hear phonics....but..........I work with dyslexic children also.....so that is why I think phonics is so important.

Good luck.

I'm also in favor of public school. Luckily, my sister-in-law is a teacher and her son is starting kindergarten at the same school this year, so she'll be a good barometer for the quality there.

Thanks

[RonJeremy]

2 hours?? That is crazy! My son is in 3rd grade and has about 30 minutes of homework a night...occasionally 45 minutes TOPS! He has homework Monday-Thursday ONLY...nothing on the weekend...the way it should be for an 8 year old. He has spelling/vocab, math, science/social studies, and a little independent reading. Like I said 30-45 minutes....covers all of that.

Homework for a 1st grader shouldn't be that involved where it takes 2 hours.

:2cents:

[PleaseBlitz]

Thanks, she's pretty amazing. She taught us the sign for "more" at snacktime.

You're going to regret teaching her that one when she's a teenager and you are in the poorhouse. :laugh:

[Tastes Like Chicken]

You're going to regret teaching her that one when she's a teenager and you are in the poorhouse. :laugh:

:doh: Ugh, dont remind me.... :laugh:

[bschurm]

I am surprised by many reponses to this subject. Our school systems are being criticized, yet when our children are finally held accountable and made to do some work, we are quick to criticize that.

Trust me, I think doing a lot of homework sucks, I have 15 books I have to read this semester. But at what point do we say something needs to be done about the lack of educated in this country and accept that it takes work.

[mojobo]

I am surprised by many reponses to this subject. Our school systems are being criticized, yet when our children are finally held accountable and made to do some work, we are quick to criticize that.

Trust me, I think doing a lot of homework sucks, I have 15 books I have to read this semester. But at what point do we say something needs to be done about the lack of educated in this country and accept that it takes work.

the criticism of our schools isn't coming because 1st graders aren't doing 2 hours of homework a night, its more because the schools have a lack of funding and they have teachers that either dont want to teach or have some sort of power trip that nothing gets done. Not to mention that many parents either ignore their kids education and simply want them out of the house or think that if they beat them instead of helping them with their work that they will do better in school (at least thats what I've seen happen to many of my friends who have not finished high school). Pretty unfair to say that unless we start over loading homework on 6 year olds we continue to fall behind the world in education.

[stevenaa]

I somewhat disagree here with the general tone. Although I believe 2hours per evening is highly excessive for that age. American children and youth are falling further and further behind intellectually to peers in other countries. I had lots of homework, projects,and reports before 6th grade and it was a good stepping stool (not sure if a private school has anything to do with it). By 7th grade, I was much further ahead of my peers in other schools. Maybe my response is more directed toward junior high and highschool. I had a study hall every other day and still had over an hour of work to do every evening. The habits you develop young will stay with you throughout higher education. Highschoolers in general are not challenged enough and if they can go through a whole week of school without doing homework something is wrong. I just finished grad school in a fine institution and I can see standards dropping there as well. Back to the point , for that age, I think no more than 30 minutes a night is appropriate

American kids are falling behind because they get taught to the lowest common denominator to try and pass as many as possible. Instead, they should be teaching the subjects and letting kids fail who can't get it.

[Blondie]

American kids are falling behind because they get taught to the lowest common denominator to try and pass as many as possible. Instead, they should be teaching the subjects and letting kids fail who can't get it.

Remember the NO Child Left Behind?

We are required to teach on grade level.....and IF children fall behind and do not pass the standrardized tests, or have too many dropping out because they cant or have too many in special education or have too many absent we, as schools, are penalized.

It is very difficult in education today.

As an educator of students who are deaf.........who are often 3-4 years behind before thier parents will allow us to work with them.......and they have had no formal communication before then.........can you even IMAGINE how hard it is to get THOSE children on grade level.

It is so very hard.

[Mufumonk]

That much homework? Entirely too much structure for kids that age. Completely robs them of their creativity and passion.

[PeterMP]

In general, this stuff is only "homework" if you think of it as "homework". Reading should be/is a fun thing at any age. Checking the weather can be turned into a fun thing you can do w/ your kid. If you were saying they had to come home and write each letter 30 times, I'd be more apt to agree.

[dfitzo53]

Sounds like you've got a lot of homework for a 2nd grader Z. Like someone else suggested, I'd make an appointment to have a frank conversation with the teacher before you go over his or her head. I'd ask the teacher straight up what he or she thinks the purpose of the work assigned is.

I wish I had learned German at a young age, cause I'm learning it now and finding it a little difficult

If you want some help, PM me. I minored in it and I'm pretty good with it. (I'm not a native speaker, but if you have questions about grammar, spelling, reading strategies, etc. I'm happy to help.)

American kids are falling behind because they get taught to the lowest common denominator to try and pass as many as possible. Instead, they should be teaching the subjects and letting kids fail who can't get it.

I agree with part of what you say, and disagree with part of it.

Sometimes kids who should be failed are simply passed along to the next grade. I encountered it a lot during my student teaching. In a 9th grade remedial algebra class I had students who couldn't do basic operations with fractions or negative numbers. For that matter, they used a calculator for things like 5x2. At that point it's too late for me to correct all of the problems, and certainly too late for me to teach algebra in a 6-week summer course.

However, most students can learn the material, at least well enough to pass on an honest test. Rare is the student who truly "can't get it." Many are hurting because they've had teachers who expected little to nothing from them. In some cases, as you alluded to, they've had the standards brought down to them, rather than building themselves up.

My team teacher and I were commiserating about our students who turn in sloppy homework when they could be doing much better. She said, "Maybe it's because the state standardized tests have told them 60% is good enough."

Going back to the original topic for a minute, I think kids should have homework in elementary school. Not as much as Zguy was complaining about, but enough to instill a routine of nightly practice. In lower grades, this could be as little as 15 minutes. It also serves, as Bang pointed out, to demonstrate to the parent areas where the child may be having problems. I say this knowing full well that kids also need to be kids.

[Reic]

take away the book and one math, and you're set.

Kids take more in at a younger age, the recording the weather every night should take less than 5 minutes, hit weather.com np.

one math assignment and once science is very doable. The one book a night is a bit much, I would have them read one every 2 weeks. Reading a book has a direct effect on a person's vocabulary.

I had to do that in 6th grade, and enjoyed it.