Posted on 08/23/2016 3:43:43 AM PDT by Zakeet
Homework used to be the time when the kid gets to practice what he learned during the school day, and build upon it.
Nowadays, homework is nothing more than regurgitation that requires no thinking and understanding whatsoever and as such, it is basically useless. In that sense, I agree with this teacher.
You don’t become a great athlete by watching football games on TV. You don’t become a great musician by watching music videos. You don’t become a great writer by composing texts.
Physical exercise makes your body stronger. Mental exercise makes your mind stronger.
Both forms of exercise are what kids need to discover what they are capable of doing, and that is exactly what education is supposed to be doing.
I’m not apposed to homework in general - kids need to hone the skills they learned through practice and repetition.
The thing I HAVE learned, from my home-school friends, is how much time is WASTED in public schools every day. Kids do not need to be there 7 hours, as they are now. After paying attention to it, I see the point - so much time is wasted on useless courses, assembly, announcements, teacher dithering, and especially discipline and order in class.
You are correct. So much of what kids learn and achieve is just about raising their expectations. Treat them like losers or delicate flowers - and thats how they will turn out.
Kids and their parents who have ambition will still put in the extra work. And those same students will be prepared for the demands of college, where “homework” (really dorm room and library stacks work) isn’t going away.
We used to have “study hall”...at least in high school
” School is not an ideological day camp therefore you can leave out any ‘units’ on the joys of homosexuality, the dangers of climate change, and if my child so much as mentions white privilege one time you & I will be having a very early, unscheduled parent-teacher conference. Enjoy the school year.””
When my son was in high school, I was called to the guidance counselors office for a confab with the principal, vice principal, guidance counselor and the science teacher to discuss my son’s attitude. Apparently he questioned his science teacher about global warming. Simple question. “How much will it cost to fix and what happens if they cool the earth too much and we all freeze to death?”
The teacher didn’t like his attitude so they brought me in to have a “discussion” which really meant they wanted to suspend him. Sitting down, I asked the science teacher the same question and the response was, “well, we do not know these things at this time and it is very complicated.” I looked at the principal, said “she’s a moron, fire her or I am filing a lawsuit” and left.
My son was never bothered again.
Well that is what a test is. Implementing on a small scale and gathering data.
I pretty much never did homework as a child, anyway. Couldn’t see the point of most of it, which nothing but make-work - repetitive drills and such. Drove my teachers crazy because when called on I could pretty much always give the answers. But I was quick learner - I suppose some kids probably need the extra practice.
“Let’s see, now. Which of these candidates do we hire? Priyanka and Rohit were first in their classes and obviously worked their butts off to achieve what they did. Or should we hire Bobby or Sue who ate dinner with their families every night and excelled at capturing lightning bugs?”
I should say that I barely even considered assigned reading of fiction, or even of sections of text books, to be homework. I loved reading and could quickly plough through anything assigned.
Sure, some things required repetition to memorize (like the times tables) or master (some mathematical techniques). Or spelling (another skill apparently no longer considered necessary).
Probably part of the problem was that I was insufficiently challenged in the earlier grades, and even for the most part in junior high and high school. I never developed much of a study habit, because I mostly never needed it. Probably the only courses in school that I found somewhat challenging were French (taken from grade 7 onwards, from grades 10 to 12 by my choice), as I’m not naturally gifted with languages, and honours mathematics in grades 10 and 11. The latter, particularly, was the first time I ever ran into anything that required significant effort on my part outside of class time to master the techniques and skills we were learning in class.
I wish I had been challenged like that a lot more in public school, because I was in for a rude surprise when I hit university. I did eventually learn how to stude on my own, but it took a while.
So I guess I’m not against homework, per se, but against homework that isn’t productive. Having a child spend time cranking through endless drills/worksheets on a subject that they have already mastered is not useful, and arguably harmful, as it can build resentment against the school system and their teachers.
Lots of kids are spending time on their electronics and playing sports instead of studying. I can’t see how this is a good thing.
How can homework not help? Anything that reinforces what you have learned has to help. Yes, it is a long day in school, most of it wasted. There is very little serious work done. There is certainly no repetition of what is taught.
All of my child’s work is homework. She is homeschooled.
An 8 hour day is sufficiently for most adults.
You are fortunate to have been from a different culture—and not having TV or cell phones is certainly a large part of it.
I imagine because of the tendency to automatically pass people, half of the second gradesrs this teacher is dealing with still can’t really read. Probably not a problem that your second grade teacher had to deal with.
An applied subject matter like math usually requires more work outside the classroom than other subjects. My opposition to piles of homework really applies to young kids who are still learning basic life skills.
Even in many specialized professions, most of the skills required for success involve things that sports coaches call "intangibles."
If a classroom full of kids is getting several hours of homework every night, I seriously question whether the teacher is even reviewing and grading the assignments well enough to make them worthwhile for the student.
Incredible...you have just described the NYC schools' philosophy. "Do things that LOOK like we're educating the students so we can't be blamed for their eventual failure." Teachers are constantly actively threatened by the administration for giving honest grades or in many cases, for documenting student absences, misbehaviors, or non-completion of work, so most just fall in and go along with passing students whose averages are in the 40s or even less. The NYC Bored of Ed is simply a criminal organization with City letterhead.
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