“But when it is too complex for a student to complete even with parent support, it raises the question as to why it was set as a homework task in the first place”
In other words it is not homework that is the problem, it is homework that was set at the wrong level.
“The last thing teachers want to do is disadvantage girls“
And there it is.
My daughters are out of college now, but 15 years ago they brought home textbooks and methods that made my physics major brain swim with a complete and abject ignorance of whatever it was they were trying to do.
I wasn’t allowed to teach them my way or they’d have been penalized for not following the method taught. I apologized to them and said I can solve the problem, but not using the method they want you to...because to me it’s much less efficient.
They got through...but I could tell for a period they thought I might not be as smart as they originally gave me credit for...which is exactly what I think the point is.
They don’t want parents to know what they are teaching them.
Lol my kids went to Mom for help with the math. They definitely didn’t ask me because they wanted a semblance of accuracy.
In my day, it seemed as if they were teaching to the smartest kids in the class. The rest of us had to keep up.
That new math again. It’s a problem.
Homework is all stupid. If you can’t get it done in 8 hours of “education” five days a week, it isn’t necessary.
Our kids were homeschooled. Their school was 2-3 hours a day normally, sometimes more sometimes less. Among my kids, the Astronautical Engineer and the Book editor may choose to disagree with the need for hours of homework.
Homework nowadays is about getting the kids to do all their learning of the core subjects at home, while the school hours are meant for the teachers to indoctrinate the kids with their progressive/liberal/communist/DEI big government requirements. Indoctrination takes precedence.
funny how for hundreds of years kids learned the same arithmetic the same way, now they can’t... what’s changed???
The problem with ‘publik skoolz’ math is that ‘twould appear that it was oozed from the feeble brains of ‘eddikashun majors’. Sorry, but I’d take the old math teachers of the mid 20th century over any of the tripe that currently exists.
I was a rebel. I taught them real math and told them to solve that way and pretend to use new math if teacher asked.
After I explained to my son’s 2nd grade teacher that he needed to add up his groceries in his head before he got to check out to be sure he had enough money and that her methods wouldn’t allow that task she shut up.
It’s been going on for decades now - the way even simple math, mul/div, is taught is confusing and not ‘easier’ than what I was taught. Then you can’t help them either.
It has to be by design. If Latisha can’t do calculus then NOBODY gets to do calculus. Lower all the boats - communism in action.
I realize that most parents, even here, REFUSE to accept the fact that school curricula are intended to FAIL, particularly math Curricula, which is why I don’t even bother commenting on most ‘education’ related articles, as I always get some nutcase convinced that the school he sends his kids to is in the 1% that hasn’t been corrupted. LOL!
The reason why math was taught ONE WAY from counting to calculus for 99% of recorded history was that ONE WAY worked best. The Leftists who took over education FULLY understand that, which is why they changed it. It’s THAT SIMPLE.
“But when it is too complex for a student to complete even with parent support,
My kids were in ‘new math’.
they would come home with an ‘average’ problem, an ‘area’ problem, a ‘fractions’ problem.
I would try to help, starting with the theory of average, area, ...
The kid would say, just give me the answer.
It turns out that the real lesson was some other level of math that they only got at school.
The parent (me, college level math) did not know what they were trying to teach or what concept.
I can still add, but I use my fingers.
Field-hands in the Workers Paradise have no need of math. /sarc
I think the teacher/school is at fault then for not teaching math.
At home you can Google the answer.
“But when it is too complex for a student to complete even with parent support, it raises the question as to why it was set as a homework task in the first place.