Mom Is Teaching

An interview with Sara Bennett and she explains so much that is amazing how it all came to fruition. 

Read it here…

Today’s brain teaser…

Ok, so tonight was parent visitation at my son’s school.  And, I know I said I was going to move this personal stuff to my personal blog but this was too good to pass up. 

You know how when someone is openly inviting folks to a “get together” and then they see someone that they don’t really feel good about inviting they get this look on their face…..kind of like they just swallowed a shoe or something?

Well, there were flyers at the front desk tonight.  We had to sign in at the front door, take a flyer and “keep moving”.  The flyer?  An invitation for all parents to attend a workshop at the school on such and such date regarding “how to make homework work”.

And, so, when the assistant principal eyed me placing my hand on the flyer, I could see that “I-just-swallowed-a-shoe” look on her face.  I didn’t take a psychic to see the words, “oh no, I  hope she don’t show up at that workshop” scrolling across the top of her forehead.  It was plain as day.

I don’t know how many of them read this blog but I do know that Walker’s teacher knows about it and “someone” tells her about it.  She knows how I feel about homework.  So, I’m fairly certain that most everyone in that building knows how I feel about it. 

Here’s the thing, we do it, mostly.  I mean, we kind of do what she asks.  I mean, we do things kind of like she asks.  For instance, she sends home these things to read, sometimes we read them, sometimes I let him pick his own books.  She sends home sight-words, some times we drill them, sometimes we just read more books.  She sends home sheets to practice for Diebels, sometimes we do them and sometimes…we just read more books.

Either way, it was apparent that the flyer wasn’t intended for my hands even though it was for everyone’s hands. 

Should I go or should I stay…dum dum dum dum dum?

We will see….later….closer to that time……

Hey, Sara, feel like making a trip to Alabama in a few weeks?  You know, for a seminar on “how to make homework work” even if you don’t actually do it…bahahahaha

I’ve been reading the second part of The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish.  And, after sitting in the neurologist office for 4 and a half hours today, you can figure, I made some good progress. 

Anyway, one of the most important parts of Part Two of this book is this, “KNOW YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS POLICY ON HOMEWORK”.  I’m sure you can see that it all starts and ends with that simple bit of information.

So, I came home and went straight to the “handbook”, you know the one they mailed me a page out of because my child was kept out of school and marked unexcused…yea, that “handbook” and it took me about 3 seconds to locate the topic “homework” in the front of the book.

Off to page 37 I go, looking for some information regarding MY SCHOOL SYSTEMS POLICY.  I was expecting something substantial.  Here’s what I got:

Homework

      The classroom teacher shall be left with the authority to determine actual homework assignments consistent with Walker County Board of Education Policies and Guidelines.

So, I am now in search of “Walker County Board of Education Policies and Guidelines” which….as of yet….doesn’t exist.  If this handbook that I’m looking at that is labeled “2008 - 2009 Student Handbook Walker County Schools” is not the same thing as “Walker County Policies and Guidelines”, I’m not sure where else to look? 

I’m no dummy.  This is their way of ducking the issue.  If a parent complains (and I’m sure she (me) will), she will be told that the homework assignments are left to the authority of the teachers within the guidelines of the WCBE Policies and Guidelines which says that the teacher has the authority to decide.

See, if I were a dummy, I couldn’t have even typed that last sentence and expected someone to think it made sense.  Go figure!

My son comes home from school and immediately I put him on his feet playing.  Go play, play outside?  Ok, let’s go.  Play at Nanny’s?  Sure, if she’s home.  Play in your room?  Yup, let’s go. 

However, he seems to be hooked on homework.  Yes, you read that right.  He comes home on homework days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday’s not Wednesday because remember, I live in the Bible Belt) and starts talking about when he is going to do his homework.  He knows that thus far we’ve had a routine, he plays, dad cooks while he does his homework and Jace is in tub (that means it is quiet - when Jace is around, there is no such thing as quiet).

Yet, today for instance (it’s 4:30, he got out of school at 2:30), he has already asked me 4 times if it is time to do his homework.  Is that weird?  Should I just let him go ahead and do it although I know that it won’t be sit down quiet concentrating participation in the homework.  I know that the reason he wants to do it now is because he likes to have an audience and he knows if he does it now, Jace will be watch, comment, and try to do the same things. 

What to do?  Sara, I bet I even got you on this one eh?

I know you guys are really sick of this………so if you wanna read, go over here…..I’m gonna put some of this on my personal blog for a while……

I have a couple of other topics that I’ve researched (or someone else has researched for me) that I want to discuss. 

I try to write each of my posts with my original thoughts somewhere in there.  Lately I’ve talked in depth about several books and one of those is The Case Against Homework.   I want you to go to Stop Homework and read this one post, mmmkay?  Then, follow the directions there, mmmmkay?

Thanks!

I’m cross posting this on my Marital Talk blog for obvious reasons.  Or at least I think they are obvious.

It relates to activity level of children and also their sleep habits.  You knew I couldn’t let it go that easily didn’t you? 

TCAH quotes an Early Childhood Education Professor named Olga Jarrett,

“When kids are not allowed a chance to be playful, that playfulness tends to come out in negative, disruptive ways.”

I see this every day.  If Jace stays home with me, we stay indoors, he plays, I write, we read a book, we play, we eat, he plays, I write, we take a nap and when Walker gets home from school I swear it is like someone has fed him a hyper pill.  And, in the end, he gets in trouble.  Then, it is bedtime and he gets in more trouble.  It is a vicious cycle. 

Then, days like today (and most of this last week), the boys have played outside after Walker got out of school and Jace has been to my mom’s and played out doors some as well.  They come in, eat, take a bath and go to bed - exhausted.  And, they sleep well, remember.

Winter time is hard because it is more difficult to get him out and about for long periods of time and I’m sure it will affect Walker as well being cooped up in a classroom.

The bottom line goes like this:

an active child that gets the necessary physical activity does better when asked to do quiet activities and rests better after a day full of activity, mental and physical - pretty simple formula if you ask me.

My opinion goes back to a prior post where I said that my parents felt like it was my job to go to school and do homework and they didn’t intervene.  I feel very much like that.  The only job children should have is playing and learning and the more you can make learning look  like playing, the better off you and the child will be in the long run. 

Ok, stepping off my soap box.

I’m going to be brief mainly because I’m going to discuss this in more detail on my Mental and Emotional Health blog and I did just cross-post a big one so, no need in getting in trouble over multiple content.

For now, my last thoughts on Part One of TCAH go like this:

• do you think it is coincidence that the academic pressures increased and now we have more children with mental health issues?
• do you think that having a child move rapidly from one unrelated subject to the next makes learning more difficult?

Of course it isn’t coincidence and of course it is difficult.  And, then we want to go and blame it on the child when we, as adults, should know better, right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My last parting thought goes like this (just for Part One mind you),

“…..other kids drive themselves - but that doesn’t mean they’re enjoying the learning process.  “All my daughter cares about is her grades….for her, it’s not ‘this new Greek unit is really interesting.  It’s all about the number of points she can get.  She just crams the information, then drops it like a stone as soon as the test is finished.  She isn’t having fun, so good grades are her only reward.  I’m worried it won’t be enough.”

Let me say that that person being interviewed in that last paragraph could have been written by either of my parents.  And, you know, what, I’m living proof that the answer to her fear that “it won’t be enough” is that no, it won’t, it simply won’t be enough.  One day, information will need to be retained…and cramming and forgetting won’t work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With that, I’m stepping off my soapbox and I’m going to learn and hopefully teach you a few methods on how to make some of this stuff go away!

Yes, you read that right, Homework Potato.  Kids need to run, they need to yell, they need to roll on the ground, dig in the dirt, make mud pies.  They need to be free for a little while.

And, so I give you Chapter 4 of TCAH entitled The Creation of the Homework Potato.  I won’t give away all their juice, but some things were staggering and I couldn’t resist.

• Since 1980’s, the number of overweight children it the U.S. has tripled. 
• Since the 1980’s, the number of children with diabetes has increased dramatically.

Some more food for thought:

• homework is a major obstacle to kids who need to lose weight
• in many schools, recess doesn’t exist and physical education is only taught two or three times a week….

And, from TCAH says,

“…..4,600 U.S. elementary schools have no recess at all …..and physical education classes aren’t physical anymore….Even when kids do have physical education…..after teachers manage kids’ behavior and taught them rules, there was an average of 4.8 minutes left in class for vigorous activity”

People, I taught physical education.  My first year, there were two p.e. teachers and 600 children a day.  I am not kidding you. 

How many of you would volunteer to work at the McDonald’s play area for 8 hours a day, five days a week with anywhere from 80 to 120 different students coming in one door and going out another every 30 minutes?

Unfortunately, that’s what physical education has come to these days…thus we get that “homework potatoes”.   Don’t let it happen to your kid!

I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t get in trouble at school.  I was obedient, respectful and I knew that teachers and administrators had the most authority.  So, if my respectful and obedient actions holds true, I will turn into what is deemed a “helicopter parent”.

Definition of Helicopter Parent:  Parent(s) that hover over their children, scooping them up before they can make a mistake. 

What is the end result?  Children who become adults and cannot cope with failure.  Does any of this start to ring true for you?  Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish put into words the very things I’ve tried to say many times.  I’m just a bit wordy (you know, like I talk too much).  They accomplished putting into words so many of my thoughts, it is odd. 

TCAH quotes a parent as saying, “We made our daughter do the homework even though we didn’t believe in it because we were obedient parents, which I really regret, and because I was worried about what would happen to her.”

Sound familiar?  Don’t we all do this to some degree in one facet of our child’s life or another?  But, the homework issues don’t have to go that far.

Another parent was quoted as saying, “Homework seems to have supplanted teaching.  Whatever the teacher hasn’t finished becomes homework”

What does that mean?  That means that the parents are expected to take up the slack.  And, if this is the case, I’d rather homeschool any day so I could work on my time frame as opposed to allowing someone to half-way do their part and want me to pick up the pieces in a hour or two in the evenings…all at the expense of the child.

From

TCAH

“…study after study shows that homework has no or little effect on kid’s overall achievement until high school, a review of 850 studies by the CDC showed that physical activity has a plosive impact on everything from grade point average, scores on standardized tests, and grades in specific courses in concentration, memory, and classroom behavior”

Yea, that!

I had a foster child that lived with me when I was a teacher.  I was 25, 26, 27 or so and she was 15, 16 or so.  She had lots of issue that are not appropriate for me to divulge here, but let’s just say, she had issues ok. 

She also had a few other things, she was smart, she was conniving, she thrived on attention.  Thus, those ridiculous amounts of homework that she would bring home was like gold to her.  First of all, she could do the work, but, if she could convince someone (her behavior aid) to sit at the table with her, talk her through it, listen to her stories from the day, etc, then she could have the behavior aids undivided attention. 

She would also have 50 percent of my attention.  She loved it.  Why wouldn’t she? 

More from TCAH and I’m gonna just put out some shouts from the book and some shouts from myself based on personal experience.

Parental Quote:

“The principal told me that it is really the parents’ job to educate their children and that his teachers are only facilitators.”

Errmmm no, that would be homeschooling, the parent is the facilitator, the guide, the one who helps the child learn.  Public school teachers, which is who is references in the quote obviously, are the teachers.  We do not give them that “title” of “teacher” for them to be facilitators while the parents do the teaching.  UGH!  That’s all I can say on that one is UGH!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another parent:

“If I wanted to be a teacher, I would have gone and gotten a teaching degree.”

Well duh, that’s all I can think of, is duh.  And, I have a teaching degree but duh, what are our public educators thinking?  Wait, are they thinking at all?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TCAH says, “…if we wouldn’t want an unqualified person teaching our kids during the day, why would we want one doing it at night - especially when that person is also tired and distracted”

I mean, come on, again, is this brain surgery?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A parent who admits to reading to her children often and being a math teacher herself says,

“I think homework assignments should be for the child.  If a child cannot do the assignment alone, then it is parent homework”

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. If you are a parent of a publicly schooled child (which I want you to remember is still my preferred method if it works, if it doesn’t that’s another story, for some people it doesn’t work and homeschooling is so much better, but….) and your child can’t do the homework alone….just send it back to school with a note stating that you (the parent) are not in such and such grade and the child was unable to do it, thus it remained unfinished.  Period. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One more quote and I’ll hush on this for today……

Another parent quote:  (this one made me see red)

“I was in the middle of a parent teacher conference when, out of he blue, the teacher says, ‘Listen, if you don’t work with your daughter’s penmanship, I’m going to have to send her to occupational therapy’. 

And the parent asked,

“Well, at what point did she fail to keep up with penmanship in class?”

And the idiot teacher (sorry it makes me emotional):

“We don’t teach them penmanship.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s the problem, teachers who are slacking are making the ones who aren’t (such as a host of teachers I had in my life time) look really bad.  That’s when people start talking of unqualified teachers and highly qualified teachers (remember Mac from yesterday?), etc.  Absolutely ridiculous. 

Ok, so remember, I’ve told you my son talks a lot.  And, when report cards came home yesterday, my thoughts were thus far confirmed.  No problems with staying on task, cleans up after himself, works independently.  Does that sound like ADD to you?

It doesn’t to me.  It doesn’t to his teacher, thank goodness.  So, I’m thrilled beyond belief to know that he is just a chatter box and for now, we have no problems.  I know that doesn’t mean we are scott free forever, but it is a nice start.

And, add to that, the post about the ADHD Diet over on Mental & Emotional Health and you can see that I’m not very fond of this ADD, ADHD blanket diagnosis.

And, in this post, About that other book, I had this to say,

“There are entire sections devoted to homework. E.g., classroom management has a section on homework. Here are some quotes: (Whoa, classroom management and homework are not synonyms…classroom management does not equal homework, sorry)”

And, I meant it.  And, if anyone thinks for one minute that medicating a child for ADD or ADHD or assigning homework is a good way to work out classroom management problems, that someone would be seriously delusional.

Then, in this post, I tell you about a teacher who yells a lot.  And, her classroom management style is to yell abusively at the students.  Sure it works, they must be scared to death.  She scares me.  She too, in my opinion, needs to return to college for that class on classroom management….I had one, I know she had one…but I’m thinking that was a class she skipped out on a lot because she knew she could just yell at those 6 year olds and they would be ready to stand on their head if she bellowed. 

And, that’s all I’m saying for now on classroom management..simple, ritalin does not make every child in the room behave…now does it?

Remember, The Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish equals TCAH for the remainder of the post and unless otherwise stated, the information in quote came from their book, the other stuff is my nonsense babble.

Let’s talk about parental involvement for a minute ok?  Many of you may remember when I first took over this site, I referenced a couple of posts.  You can read them here and here and they are about parental involvement.

Now, after you skim through that, you can see that I wasn’t delusional with my thoughts.  TCAH says that in the 1990’s, parental involvement and parent-teacher partnership were big buzzwords.  And, then, then the quote comes, (amazing how they can say in a few sentences what it took me two looong posts to say, eh?):

“Moreover, few parents would call what we have with our kids’ schools a “partnership” when we rarely have a say about our “part” or whether we want to turn our homes into second classrooms at night.  Yet, many feel we have no choice.” 

Yea, what she said!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t get me wrong, (or TCAH), I don’t think that the idea is that the child never ever brings another book or assignment home.  The idea is that teachers return to a time when the

“whole point of homework is for a child to become an independent learner…..If he’s got to have his mother or father sitting beside him, it defeats the whole purpose.”

Now, that said, I might be wrong but I do believe that the very people who are crying out over the insane amounts of homework that our children bring home would not be so vigilant about it if they felt assured that the above quote were true…homework is to help the child become an independent learner….

Is that brain surgery?   Apparently it may be!

The bottom line here is this, and I quote again, from TCAH,

“I think that schools are depending upon parents for a lot of the teaching…..”

And, you already know how I feel about that.  If not, read here, here, and here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ll try to move right along……