To Homework or Not to Homework? That is the question.

[psychoslice]

Still the kids shouldn't have to wear the burden, 7 hours of school is enough without sending them home with the worry of homework.

[bennyboy]

My issue with this is it caters to the lowest common denominator without trying to improve their situations. It is basically throwing up our hands and saying, well poor kids with 2 working paents or a single working parent cannot do homework, so we just won't give any kids homework, even if it is shown to help the kids who CAN do it.

Yeah, that's right. Some kids are losing out because others are in bad circumstances. But on the other hand, some kids are losing out because they themselves are in bad circumstances. My personal opinion is the lucky ones can get extra assistance at home. In that case, not having to do pointless homework could free up your kids' time so they can do whatever cool and better thought-out stuff you want to do with them.

I should think a better solution would be to provide some sort of after school program or help for children who cannot get help at home, and still give them homework.

I agree, that would be better. But how are you going to pay trillions of dollars to bomb brown people overseas, and then expect to have a budget for properly educating American kids (or even worse, brown immigrant kids)? Where are your priorities?

P.S. I'm disabled and poor as dirt, but I do have TIME for my kid, and realize that is a crucial factor. I also have a degree (earned before my disability) and a passion for learning. I realize my child, though poor, is one of the advantaged ones. I would gladly donate an hour a day after school to help those less fortunate kids get their homework done! I'm sure I'm not alone.

Yes, being poor doesn't necessarily mean that parents can't take care of their kids. When I've been out of work, I took it as a chance to spend a little more time with my kids, even though I had to tighten the belt buckle a couple notches for a while. But not everyone gets that luxury, or is capable of organizing any kind of home study.

In the end, I don't think homework vs. no homework is the big problem. The big problem is not enough teachers, not enough OT hours for the ones willing to put in extra time, not enough teachers dedicated to special needs or to ESL, in short-- not enough money. If you go to Canada, there are also some teachers/districts which have a low-homework policy. But they also have a lot of extra resources to fill in those gaps you're talking about.

[Aroura]

My issue with this is it caters to the lowest common denominator without trying to improve their situations. It is basically throwing up our hands and saying, well poor kids with 2 working paents or a single working parent cannot do homework, so we just won't give any kids homework, even if it is shown to help the kids who CAN do it.

Yeah, that's right. Some kids are losing out because others are in bad circumstances. But on the other hand, some kids are losing out because they themselves are in bad circumstances. My personal opinion is the lucky ones can get extra assistance at home. In that case, not having to do pointless homework could free up your kids' time so they can do whatever cool and better thought-out stuff you want to do with them.

I should think a better solution would be to provide some sort of after school program or help for children who cannot get help at home, and still give them homework.

I agree, that would be better. But how are you going to pay trillions of dollars to bomb brown people overseas, and then expect to have a budget for properly educating American kids (or even worse, brown immigrant kids)? Where are your priorities?

P.S. I'm disabled and poor as dirt, but I do have TIME for my kid, and realize that is a crucial factor. I also have a degree (earned before my disability) and a passion for learning. I realize my child, though poor, is one of the advantaged ones. I would gladly donate an hour a day after school to help those less fortunate kids get their homework done! I'm sure I'm not alone.

Yes, being poor doesn't necessarily mean that parents can't take care of their kids. When I've been out of work, I took it as a chance to spend a little more time with my kids, even though I had to tighten the belt buckle a couple notches for a while. But not everyone gets that luxury, or is capable of organizing any kind of home study.

In the end, I don't think homework vs. no homework is the big problem. The big problem is not enough teachers, not enough OT hours for the ones willing to put in extra time, not enough teachers dedicated to special needs or to ESL, in short-- not enough money. If you go to Canada, there are also some teachers/districts which have a low-homework policy. But they also have a lot of extra resources to fill in those gaps you're talking about.

I agree, but it is a symptom of the problem. And yes, he problem is even deeper than not enough money. I think the article I linked earlier really does a great job talking about the many linked faucets of this problem, and how they might be fixed.

But the current problem facing me is that my kid is getting no homework, and how I think that is kind of a pop psychology bullshit answer, or at best a bandaid, to an issue of inequality in schools.

I can give her some, but it is going to be difficult to make sure it is matching what she is doing in school, and make it effective and engaging. After all, I'm not a trained teacher. Still, I guess it is up to me (and other parents) to fill in the widening gaps in the public school system. To be clear, gaps I do NOT blame on teachers.

[naimless]

no homework

spend the time asking your kid what they wanna do for a living

then work on helping them achieve that

no point in teaching them extra algebra if they wanna be a musician in their heart

[Exian]

My kids in 4th grade this year. Starting in 2nd grade, she started to get pretty hammered with homework. Nothing too bad. But once she started 3rd grade, homework is all the poor girl did from the time she got home to the time she went to bed. At first I didn't mind it because I thought maybe she just wasn't doing enough of it at school. Basically being lazy. Come to find out she was skipping both of her recesses to work on it and doing some on the bus ride home. And still had a full night of homework to do. Meanwhile, I have to get dinner ready, do the dishes, get laundry done, and maintain a third shift sleep schedule. So my opinion is that there's a little too much at this early age.

[bennyboy]

I can give her some, but it is going to be difficult to make sure it is matching what she is doing in school, and make it effective and engaging. After all, I'm not a trained teacher. Still, I guess it is up to me (and other parents) to fill in the widening gaps in the public school system. To be clear, gaps I do NOT blame on teachers.

I guarantee you, if she is developing normally, then just keep moving through mathematical and other material at a steady pace, and she'll leave the crowd far behind in a couple years.

On a personal level, you can think of the poor education system as a benefit to your daughter-- she will get a huge leg up on the competition, putting her in the market for a good school, a good job, and hopefully a good marriage and fincancial prosperity.

Be careful what you wish for, because in Canada, so many go to university that a Masters degree is the new high school diploma.