OT - too much homework?

[Stubs]

[quote="NumeroUno"][color=#0000BF][i][b]I think 3 to 4 hours of homework a night is ridiculous. How many of you go to work all day come home and work 3 to 4 more hours? The problem is most schools are not efficient, my daughter had a test on Theodora in the year 532, who gives a sh!t about Theodora 1400 years ago. Teach her about the way the stock market works, the way the brain functions, the way to communicate with people. How about the way to motivate people and getting the best out of every individual. My sister has 6 kids, very involved with the church, they all play sports and take music lessons. They are not nerds or freaks and are socially very acceptable. Not one of her kids ever spent one day in school, she home schooled every one of them. The first day they ever stepped one foot in a class rooms was college. Two have graduated already, one with top honors and the other one with about a 3.4 gpa. She would teach them more in 4 hours at home than you would learn at school in 2 days. Why does everyone want their kid to grow up so fast? You are only a kid a very small part of your life, let them enjoy it. Help them stay young, adulthood is not all what is it made up to be.

I agree. Eliminate all the federally mandated/ politcally correct mumbo-jumbo and teach these kids something that they can use. I have come to the conclusion that we should make sure that every kid that comes out of HS should know how to manage/balance a check book, credit cards (and the problems they can cause), starting a retirement fund at an early age.... Dave Ramsey has a program that some schools in the US are teaching. If you ever have the opportunity to attend his classes (that are usually offered at many local churches) you should do it. Lot's of common sense.

[NuNu's Dad]

This is maybe the most ridiculous post I've ever read.....YOU are the reason why our country struggles academically compared to some of the other large countries....

.....10 minutes of homework?? That school district should be ashamed of themselves!...Really...

2nd most ridiculous post. Our country may struggle in academics, because we allow everyone the opportunity to participate. Everyone is free advance their education whether they have a IQ of 60 or 160. The more people who participate, the lower the average. Kind of like the dilution of travel Softball.

BTW, I think it was 10 minutes/grade level. That would be 90 minutes for a freshman and 2 hrs for a senior. Those are average guidelines I'm sure. That means anywhere from 1 to 3 hrs per night. On average that could take kids anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 hours depending on their relative intelligence. Sounds about right to me.

What is not right is when you have one teacher who assigns that much just in one class.

Just like in softball, you don't want to drive off kids by turning learning into the "Bataan Death March". Learning should be reasonably interesting otherwise people stop learning at some point in their lives.

[Skarp]

She would teach them more in 4 hours at home than you would learn at school in 2 days.

Exactly. Which is why homework is even more vital. If you're relying on the dim bulbs yammering in front of the class to teach your kids what they need to know, you're in for a disappointment.

The Western canon (including learning about Theodora in the 6th century) teaches students to think. The problem is that we've gone away from that too much, focusing on discrete information deemed useful (or socially desirable) to know. Teach them to think and they can succeed in any environment.

[NumeroUno]

I'm with ya and I think some homework is good I think 3 or 4 hours is not. You can teach them to think with out Theodora. I won't lie when I read her report is was very interesing

[HoosierCoach]

My DD is in fourth grade, and routinely has 2 hrs of homework / studying per night. The teachers race through the chapters in order to get all the curriculum completed 1 1/2 months before the end of the school year. That way, the rest of the time can be focused on studying for the standardized tests that determine funding and payraises.
I enjoy helping my DD with school work. But I get tired of having to TEACH her the lessons because her 'curriculum presenter' did not.
They are not even required to READ thier science and history textbooks. They are given 15-20 one line 'notes' that the tests are DIRECTLY derived from (rewritten as multiple choice questions). My wife and I have chosen the long road, thus we read them with her, and discuss it to ensure understanding.
Private school is looking more and more attractive...

[Skarp]

Our country may struggle in academics, because we allow everyone the opportunity to participate. Everyone is free advance their education whether they have a IQ of 60 or 160. The more people who participate, the lower the average. Kind of like the dilution of travel Softball.

Very true, and that's always been one of our major strengths. Lots of middling intellects have become hugely successful entrepreneurs, etc. The problem is that now this (like everything else of any value) has been turned into an entitlement--the absurd belief (and policy!) that every person is supposed to advance their education to the college level, and is entitled to public resources in order to do so.

The world needs ditch diggers too...

judge smails.gif (11.63 KiB) Viewed 3004 times

[jofus]

On a related note, the "No child left behind" doctrine keeps the kids who could be advancing at a faster rate down at a slower level, rather than helps the kids who need more help catch up.

My DD tells me all the time about classes where she finishes the work in 20 minutes, and then sits there for an hour (along with a couple other kids who also finish quickly) while the rest of the class struggles along, and then listens to them complain about not having enough time to finish. The bad thing is, while a few of the majority may actually be kids that need a little extra attention, most of them are apathetic or worse, and don't give a flying crap about school, and have no one at home to educate them about how important their grades are. They just want to get through the day so they can go home and sit in front of the computer/TV/playstation/cell phone/whatever.

When I was in school (long time ago, had to walk to school, uphill both ways, shared shoes with my brother, etc. ), we were always split up into a few different groups by ability/work ethics, and as far as I know, most of us turned out ok.

[BonezMom]

YOU GO HW!!!!!!!!

on behalf of teachers........ THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[weekend4trvl]

The government should have never got into the business of education , but I can't fault the teachers.

[Tucson]

Hoosier, you are exactly right. That is the type of district that my kids were in, in IL. Have you considered home schooling?

My son went to HS, just west of Springfield, IL. He set many goals for himself. After he graduated from the U of Chicago, I asked him about his HS education. He said that it did very little to prepare him for college. He said that the books that he read outside of his assignments, helped the most.

He did say, that the students that were in his classes that were from HS's like New Trier (Winnetka, IL) were very prepared.