Kids and their homework,,

[TPC]

I dunno if it's a change in school policy or the luck of the draw of teachers, but it seems the kids have far less homework than in the past.

The last few kids we ran through seemed to have always been bogged down with hours and hours of it..
It occasionally got really stressful for all.
Daughter had AP classes and that meant bringing her homework on the boat with us mid-summer when school wasn't even in session.

Maynard came home with a note saying if the kids bring in a ream of paper they get one homework pass.
"Teacher says the school is all out of copy and notebook paper. They starting to use the back of yellow scrap paper."

I was at Staples, and they had cases of printer/copy paper cheap, and wide-ruled notebook paper cheap by the case too. Way cheap-o deal.
What the hey, I bought a few cases of each to donate to Maynards classroom.

I wasn't thinking of the get out of homework dealio. Just thinking his teacher needed paper.
Maynard was thinking it was a no-homework-for-life jackpot when the cart rolled in to his class with all the cases of paper.

"No, it's only a one time one ream deal" the teacher told him.

 

[RogerThat99]

One of my kids is in 6th grade (Middle School) and I swear she has 3 hours of homework per night. I think it is way too much. She get great grades, but she works very hard for them.

 

[shintoooo]

I think it depends on the school. My kids go to private school and they have a lot of homework. They never even have a chance to watch TV during the week which is fine with me.

Public schools suck now a days. They just try to get away with the bare minimum. My sisters kids go to public school and when I compare their homework assignments to my kids homework assignments it's amazing how far advanced my kids are versus hers. They are two to three years ahead depending on the subject.

It also comes down to parent involvement making sure that the kids do their homework etc... I'm lucky that my wife is a teacher which helps out a lot when it comes to checking the kids homework and staying on top of that stuff.

 

[RiverOtter]

My kids are in a private school and have hours of homework nightly.

 

[SBjet]

In elementary school, the teacher loads the parent down with homework, stuff they didn't get to during the day. Some parents respond, some don't. The schools are trying to raise their FCAT grades, cuz it means millions of dollars. Oy.

 

[linus3]

My kid is private also. (2nd grade). Homework is an understatement. Thats all we do during the week, 2-3 hours a night. Not to mention the side projects. Its sad to hear of a school that does not have paper. Good job stepping up and buying paper for your kids class. :thumbsup

 

[shintoooo]

Its sad to hear of a school that does not have paper. Good job stepping up and buying paper for your kids class. :thumbsup

x2 :thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[Moody]

Private schools cost 12K to 15K a year. Seem like a lot of money to me.
The public systems say they are broke.
I would sure like to see a audit of the public system and find out how much they spend per kid.

 

[rvrmom]

My kid is private also. (2nd grade). Homework is an understatement. Thats all we do during the week, 2-3 hours a night. Not to mention the side projects. Its sad to hear of a school that does not have paper. Good job stepping up and buying paper for your kids class. :thumbsup

2-3 hrs in 2nd grade. Wow! Mine's in 2nd has no where near that amount. We struggle, read: he whine's about doing homework, it's a battle, big battle. He just claims he doesn't know 'how' to do it and try's to con us into us helping him. Honestly, like a worksheet or two and he reads nightly.

Bake to the op, our school is constantly looking for school supply donations.

 

[BarryMac]

My GF is an Elementary School Principal, you should hear the horror stories. SDUSD just laid off over 700 teachers and 800 "other" staff due to this budget crisis. Her teachers spend a lot of money from their own pockets for their classrooms. It's really a sad deal.

 

[rivermobster]

One of my kids is in 6th grade (Middle School) and I swear she has 3 hours of homework per night. I think it is way too much. She get great grades, but she works very hard for them.

Same here. One kid in middle school, and one kid in grammer. Easy 3hrs each. Public schools, but thats the main reason we moved to Glendora. We have an awesome school district here.

Kinna pisses me off how much homework they get, but I have to admit, the stuff they are doing is MILES over my head. They dont even bother askin me for help, they know the answer is gonna be...

No idea, go ask you mom!

 

[primetime]

My kid is in 4th grade at a private school and has about 2-3 hrs a night plus a book report every week and a big project every two months. I think it is to much, does not allow for sports or most important desert season.

 

[PolarBearKing]

It's gonna get worse before it get's better.

They are talking about shortening the school year by another month to cut the teachers pay even more :thumbsdown.

However the standards are suppose to remain the same. Something is gotta give...

 

[CALJAMR]

Thats awesome you donated two boxes of paper. Teachers love that.

My wife is a 3rd grade teacher and i've heard all the horror stories. They get 2 reams of paper, 2 boxes of tissue, one container of clorox wipes etc... then they have to hope parents donate the rest.
Hearing her stories i know why public schools SUCK. It's a thing called "No kid left behind". If you make it too hard then too many kids fail and that means no money. Two kids she has this year, one has never been to school and comes from a crack whore who has 21 kids and they found this kid and his sister under an overpass. So then got sent to a foster parent and sent to school. They have no manners and no education and are wild and abusive. So she has to take her time away from the other kids to deal with this kid. Then there is the kid that just migrated from Mexico and 3rd grade is his first day of school. Oh and he doesn't speak a word of english and my wife doesn't speak spanish. So theres another kid taking away valuable time she could be teaching. Also, forgot to mention she's had the same kid in 3rd grade for 3 years. He's 17 years old and he's retarted. But he has the same right as another kid because "No kid left behind". So when you say the school sucks, i say the system sucks.

Again thanks for donating whatever you can to teachers

 

[Cdog]

Is it just me or is homework BS. It should be limited to 30 minutes max. They have the kids for 6 hours of teaching time. If they can squeeze in enough teaching within that time period then maybe they are doing something wrong.

 

[River918]

My 2nd grader has two hours of homework each night, not including her reading that takes another 30 to 45 minutes... Hell, they're doing algebra in the freakin' 2nd grade!!!

 

[shintoooo]

My 2nd grader has two hours of homework each night, not including her reading that takes another 30 to 45 minutes... Hell, they're doing algebra in the freakin' 2nd grade!!!

You are not kidding. My middle son, first grader, learned to write cursive in kindergarden which my daughter attends now. My 7th grader has incredible amounts of homework and plays baseball for his school and an outside league. I personally think it's good for them. Keeps them away from all the facebook, TV & other nonsense crap that will not do anything to help them later on in their lives.

Kids are much smarter than we think they are and they can handle way more information than when we used to go to school.

Public schools are so sad. Specially LAUSD. How can a teacher teach a class where half the kids don't even speak English??

 

[Deano]

Thats awesome you donated two boxes of paper. Teachers love that.

My wife is a 3rd grade teacher and i've heard all the horror stories. They get 2 reams of paper, 2 boxes of tissue, one container of clorox wipes etc... then they have to hope parents donate the rest.
Hearing her stories i know why public schools SUCK. It's a thing called "No kid left behind". If you make it too hard then too many kids fail and that means no money. Two kids she has this year, one has never been to school and comes from a crack whore who has 21 kids and they found this kid and his sister under an overpass. So then got sent to a foster parent and sent to school. They have no manners and no education and are wild and abusive. So she has to take her time away from the other kids to deal with this kid. Then there is the kid that just migrated from Mexico and 3rd grade is his first day of school. Oh and he doesn't speak a word of english and my wife doesn't speak spanish. So theres another kid taking away valuable time she could be teaching. Also, forgot to mention she's had the same kid in 3rd grade for 3 years. He's 17 years old and he's retarted. But he has the same right as another kid because "No kid left behind". So when you say the school sucks, i say the system sucks.

Again thanks for donating whatever you can to teachers

X2. It's a joke. I could go on and on about how much my wife and I pay "thousands" for her teaching supplies and all of the time she spends in meetings with advocates and attorneys to make sure the system and her time is getting milked for all it's worth.
No kid left behind = Well behaved, smart children suffer!
1/2 the blame is on the lazy parents that think it's the schools job to teach their child everything, including good manners.

 

[CALJAMR]

X2. It's a joke. I could go on and on about how much my wife and I pay "thousands" for her teaching supplies and all of the time she spends in meetings with advocates and attorneys to make sure the system and her time is getting milked for all it's worth.
No kid left behind = Well behaved, smart children suffer!
1/2 the blame is on the lazy parents that think it's the schools job to teach their child everything, including good manners.

So true.

I've come to find out there are three different types of parents:

1) Parent takes a really active part in their child and school. (this parent questions why little Jimmy received a 97% on their quiz)

2) Parent takes absolutley no interest in their child or school and are too busy partying.

3) Parents are in prison and the grand parents are taking care of the child and take just enough interest in the child and school.

You would be surprised what ratio of #2 and #3 make up the public school classrooms.

 

[DaveC]

I really like all your takes on this subject. I knew I liked you people.

X2 on the homework thing. My 3rd grader gets alot.

I knew that public school system would be a problem. But it really seems to vary depending on where you live.

So we did some research and moved into a school district that has a better "class of parents" in the surrounding neighborhood. (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). So far so good. :thumbsup

Plus here the parental involvment is legendary. :thumbsup That really helps those poor teachers.

It cost us a ton to move but the schools are great here.

Otherwise I would be forced to go private as well. :thumbsdown

 

[Performance Boat Candy]

One of my kids is in 6th grade (Middle School) and I swear she has 3 hours of homework per night. I think it is way too much. She get great grades, but she works very hard for them.

X2!

 

[Hugh Jascaulk]

I have 2 high school kids, a freshman and a senior, both great students that carry tremendous work loads from school. Older one will graduate high school with 15 completed and passed AP courses. All throughout high school, it was homework 7 days a week until at least 1:00 am. The competitiveness to excel in high school and get accepted to the best Universities is unbelievable these days. I always felt bad when they had to bring homework out on the boat, even during the summer. I was lucky, they are self motivated, didn't need any pushing.

I'm happy to say the hard work has paid off. Now that it's the 2nd semester of her Sr. year, all the college applications are in, she is finally taking a break. So far she's been accepted to every school she's applied to, but still waiting on her top 3.

 

[shintoooo]

I have 2 high school kids, a freshman and a senior, both great students that carry tremendous work loads from school. Older one will graduate high school with 15 completed and passed AP courses. All throughout high school, it was homework 7 days a week until at least 1:00 am. The competitiveness to excel in high school and get accepted to the best Universities is unbelievable these days. I always felt bad when they had to bring homework out on the boat, even during the summer. I was lucky, they are self motivated, didn't need any pushing.

I'm happy to say the hard work has paid off. Now that it's the 2nd semester of her Sr. year, all the college applications are in, she is finally taking a break. So far she's been accepted to every school she's applied to, but still waiting on her top 3.

Congrats :thumbsup

 

[BarryMac]

:grumble:

Did they lay them off or just pink slip them. The trick up in LA seems to
pink slip 4-5000 of em and never actually lay them off? The pol's always
make major cuts to increases but it's still always an increase on smaller
scale. I really don't know the truth, not that it matters much.

Laid off. They went back 9 years in seniority.

 

[craiger88]

When we lived in So Cal we had are kids in private school. Unfortunately, we moved to the Central Valley a few years ago. To my surprise when we moved we researched the schools and one of the public school district here is actually really good. When my 3rd grader came home last year and was explaining how they were learning about all of the branches of government I thought back to when I was kid...I don't think I learned that stuff until Jr. High???

As for homework, it is definitely over an hour plus 30-45 minutes of reading a night. Our big push (for our 4th grader) is to keep his grades up so he can participate in his sports interest. So far so good. Parents these days absolutely have to be involved!

 

[Yellowboat]

A hour or 2 a night when I was in school.

some where around a 30-45 mins of standard home work,20-30 mins reading and 15-20 working on a longer term project, is about right. Some where between the 1-2 hour range is great. still gives kids plenty of time to play and be kids.

I am not a fan of teachers sending home "busy work". Stuff that is not either practice or application of skills should never be sent home( or done in school, but thats another story)

 

[C-2]

Private here and about 1 hour a night averaged out; but crammed into one big session after the brawl.