Do You Hate Homework?

on April 3, 2009 at 12:14 PM

homework

Blogger mom Katie Allison Granju does. Quietly, I'd bet she has a whole lot of company from moms of big kids. Katie warns moms of younger children who don't understand where she's coming from that "homework will become an extra job for you."

Here's her argument.

Many experts are coming to the same conclusions I've personally held for some time: the way our educational system does homework is counterproductive. There is far too much of it, and it's assigned to children who are too young to be expected to sit still all day, and then sit down and do more work when they get home. It's unfair to children who don't have parents at home who can or will help them with their homework each night. It takes away from important family time (and in our family - with two working parents - those three or four hours before bed are all we get on weekdays - and that has to include cooking and eating supper), and it prevents children from discovering and creating and reading on their own; they are too busy memorizing lists of vocabulary words.

My son is in kindergarten and gets no official homework, but the sight words and enrichment things we do definitely take time. It's not a stretch for me to get Katie's take on the burden of homework--at all. As our educational system improves, here's to finding ways to make homework efficient and effective--and less of a chore for moms.

Is homework an extra job for you? Come on, tell us, do you hate it?

Filed Under: education, homework

Comments (23)

KTMOM

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:03 PM

My son is in third grade and homework is not an issue for us. He gets a packet the preceding Friday that has to be completed by the following Friday, as well as reading minutes to log for each night (at least 30 mins). I find it reasonable and not a huge inconvenience. I have a feeling though that next year there will be more, and the year after that there will be more.... Hopefully it will still be reasonable though.

Report this comment

RainingHeart

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:20 PM

I think my son's 3rd grade teacher sends exactly the right amount of homework. She is really consistent and even sends home a printed out homework notebook for parents to sign each night. They read and study spelling words each night (M-F), have handwriting homework Monday and Wednesday, Math homework on Tuesdays, Science, social studies, or Health on Thursdays, and Current Event homework on Friday. He is responsible to do it--I don't fight him--he sits at the table doing nothing else until it is done! Takes about 35 minutes--5 minutes for the worksheets and 30 minutes on independent reading.

I don't think kids should have homework before 3rd grade, though.

NrsRoushay

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:22 PM

I agree. I have become a professional tutor. The homework for my 6 and 7 yo is more that a continuation of practicing what was learned. There are entire books for the Kindergartner, and books with chapters for my 1st grader. I don't mind doing the work, but I prefer to cook with my daughter, play with my son, and have a slow paced conversation at dinner.

mom2twobabes

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:32 PM

Of course we would all love time to play with our kids instead of doing homework. But our kids need to see that we value education. And we as parents need homework to keep up with how well our kids are learning and if we feel they need extra help with a particular thing.

Education is an "all for one" endevor and if its done in the right way, homework can be a benifit to all.

- Kindergarten teacher

May-20

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:35 PM

I really think that the homework load is excessive. My 5th grader's teacher said that she'd never assign more than an hour's worth of homework per night, and that's just not the case. My daughter (who is a motivated and intelligent child) often spends two hours a night on her homework. Being in school for 7 hours a day, then spending 2 more hours on homework is ridiculous to me. When I have addressed this with the teacher, she has shrugged me off with "I'm preparing them for middle school". If the kids don't finish an assignment, they get a memo. Three memos in a grading period equals a detention. One night, she brought home puzzle that had to be returned solved by the next day. She worked on it by herself for 90 minutes, then she and I worked on it for another hour, then her father joined us and spent another hour. Just on one assignment! The teacher's response? "I am teaching them to be problem solvers." I have never disliked my child's teacher -- until this year. I will be very glad when 5th grade is over.

RanaAurora

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:42 PM

My child doesn't have homework yet, but I think homework is f**king ridiculous. I think it should ONLY be assigned if the child is NOT grasping the subject manner DURING classtime. If they are flying throught their classwork and doing great, there's no reason to give them MORE work to do at home.

Mom2BKM

on Apr 3, 2009 at 1:57 PM

I think homework is a crock. Most teachers that I know will readily admit that homework doesn't accomplish a lot, as far as learning goes. Why?Because, in the end, they can't use homework to evaluate a child's progress because they don't know how much help the child received. What if his/her parents fed them answers? Or what if they simply looked up the answers on a computer (yes, it's possible to do that). Also, if a child doesn't understand a skill or needs help, Mom and Dad won't always be able to help. Then the child is frustrated and worried, because homework is part of his/her overall grade yet here they are, unable to finish their work or do it well. Most of the teachers I know would rather not assign homework at all. WHen I asked one teacher why he assigns it, he said that people (parents and the principal) expect him to.