Homework? Again, I plan to get both varieties of educators in this
The biggest complaint I hear from parents of children in public schools in my area is the amount of homework children bring home. Now, I remember being in school, I’m old but not that old. And, I remember having homework. But, I had to carry all the necessary items for my homework home with me on a bus. I had to lug them from the time school let out until the bus arrived at school which was about 40 minutes. Then, another 30 minutes of pulling and tugging and dropping and picking them up while on the bus. Then, the quarter of a mile walk from the bus stop to the house (this was before backpacks were an “item”). The, I had to lug them back to my mom’s car when she picked me up after work, then lug them back in the house when I got home, do my homework, get the books together and lug again the following morning.
So, you know what? I did as much as I could possibly do while I was at school. Give me a free 5 minutes at the end of class, I’m getting that homework started and maybe finished. Especially if I got 10 minutes at the end of my next class. That was one set of books and notebooks that didn’t have to go home.
But the kicker that I see these days? Once I got all that hauling of books done and I was home for the night I HAD TO DO MY OWN HOMEWORK. I am so not kidding when I tell you that 99% of the parents I talk to have this complaint, “we sit at the table and do homework every night for at least 2 hours”. What’s this “we” stuff. I didn’t have a “we” when I was doing my homework. I had someone to ask if I was stuck on a question. But for the most part, if I asked more than 2 or 3 questions, I was reminded that it was MY homework, not my moms or dads.
I hear parents talking about their child having to do these projects and how it took them (the parent) 2 hours to do that blame poster. My eyes gape open like I just heard someone say the world has ended. My parents never picked up a stick of glue or a pair of scissors for any of my projects. Not in 12 years did either of my parents say, “we have to do homework for ___ hours every night”.
I can almost guarantee you that neither of my parents even knew when I had homework and when I didn’t other than the stack of books I was lugging around. Oh and for the record, I didn’t make a “B” until I was in the 9th grade. And after than I only made 7 or 8 of them in the next 4 years. And, I promise you, it was NOT because my parents had that “we have homework” mentality.
So, for you public school parents? Please tell me and be honest which category you fit into. Do you just let your children do their thing answering an occasional question or are you one of those “we had 2 hours of homework” parents?
And, for you homeschool parents, how does homework even work? I did read a couple of research articles where it discussed the importance of giving your children homework and believe it or not, the main topic of this article had a theme something like this, “yes you are home schooling your child, that does not mean you are responsible for standing over them or doing their homework for them”.
I’m just wondering what part of that sentence the public school parents missed. I’m completely bumfuzzled every time I hear that “we” phrase so I’m curious how that works in the homes where home schooling is the way to go and especially when there are children in more than one grade. Teach me, as the time may come that I have to homeschool, I’m certainly not ruling it out. I just need to learn more about it and you are the people who can teach me.
So, please, let me know what you think?
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August 28th, 2008 at 8:24 am
If you are referring to homework as a project that kids are doing on their own, over and above what is normally expected, then we have homework.
But the idea of homework (as most folks use the term) is ludicrous. I can’t even imagine giving my kids more to do after they have completed their work for the day and shown they are grasping the material. Homework for traditionally schooled kids is usually because it is impossible to get a decent block of true instruction time in during the length of a regular class period.
It’s hypocritical, actually, because during a traditional school day, only about 64% of the time is spent on academics (according to Time Diaries from a National Sample of Elementary School Teachers” (2003)). That is why they have to assign homework, and because they are trying to address the fact that not all kids are going to understand the material, and they hope that the parents will help out, or that the child will get it on their own.
Homeschoolers can spend as much time as necessary on instruction and academics. If the child understands the concept after 5 minutes, you can go on to the next. If it takes 3 days, it takes 3 days. There is no one here to tell me that I have to allow my kids to remain in the dark because they have to keep up with the rest of the class or fail.
In addition, I reward my kids with free time, and I do not punish success with extra work.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
LOL - homework is not part of our homeschool vocabulary.
The kids what on whatever until it is finished as part of “school,” there’s nothing left to be considered “homework”
August 28th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Sunniemom
Thanks for commenting. I’m going to give my personal thoughts on this in my next post, even if I get ripped for it. Thanks again for commenting.
Meg L.
Thanks for commenting. I agree with you, I just want teachers to do more during their time even though as a public school teacher in the past, I know that there is never enough time. But, I’ll reveal the rest in my next post. Thanks again for commenting!
August 29th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Thank goodness you wrote this post! Now, I am not the only person saying that parents should not sit with their kids while they do their homework; they should not do their projects; they should not constantly hover over their children. The thing is, I have saying this to parents whose children attend school. It never occurred to me that homeschooling parents did the same thing. When do those children ever have a chance to work independently if not at school nor at home? And, the person that commented that s/he wishes “teachers would do more during their time”- you have got to be kidding, right? They don’t have any time, and that is one reason they send hours of unfinished work home.