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Post by cnu5000 on May 7, 2010 6:23:21 GMT -5
Here is an interesting article from Time on too much homework. www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990065-1,00.html From what I see at work this very much rings true. I think so much homework is a strain on parents since so many of the times both parents work. It makes me glad I am CF. I had always felt if I had a child I would want to give them more of a childhood than I had but nowadays kids are pushed. |
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Post by preraph on May 7, 2010 12:18:23 GMT -5
Homework is B.S., although it does serve one function, and that is to teach a person to self-discipline and work without supervision -- in theory. But since parents often end up having to ride the kids about it, it seems like if a kid isn't bent that way, they never stop having to be nagged, not like they eventually give up and just do it.
I do not understand why kids aren't in school eight hours so parents don't have to leave work to get them or put them in an after-school activity just for that reason. That time could be used to just do the assignments in class under the supervision of the teacher or her assistant or something like that, who could give library passes or whatever for those writing papers, etc.. Not study hall, because no one really studied! Then finish the work at school and have free time when home so tired working parents don't then have to hover and nag on their only friggin time off.
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Post by danisty on May 7, 2010 13:58:57 GMT -5
I have no idea what I would have done with an 8 hour school day! I always had all my homework finished by the end of class. I very rarely had to do any work at home. I suppose if there's more of it now then it could fill an 8 hour day, but why? Why have that much work in the first place? It isn't making kids any smarter or more focused.
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Post by happy2bchildfree on May 7, 2010 18:38:46 GMT -5
Homework is B.S., although it does serve one function, and that is to teach a person to self-discipline and work without supervision -- in theory. But since parents often end up having to ride the kids about it, it seems like if a kid isn't bent that way, they never stop having to be nagged, not like they eventually give up and just do it. I do not understand why kids aren't in school eight hours so parents don't have to leave work to get them or put them in an after-school activity just for that reason. That time could be used to just do the assignments in class under the supervision of the teacher or her assistant or something like that, who could give library passes or whatever for those writing papers, etc.. Not study hall, because no one really studied! Then finish the work at school and have free time when home so tired working parents don't then have to hover and nag on their only friggin time off. There has been talk of lengthening the school day here, but it hasn't happened. Both the teachers and the parents are generally against it. I think it's too long of a day. Even though I went to school in the 60s, I had way too much homework. The only thing it accomplished was to make me hate school even more than I already did. Once the school day is over, the kid's time should be his own. And I do think that kids are way too pressured and way too overscheduled. |
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Post by preraph on May 8, 2010 12:16:40 GMT -5
They may as well get used to a longer day if we're preparing them for adulthood. It's not any longer than if you did the homework at home, I don't think.
We weren't allowed to do homework in class. Class, you needed to be doing whatever the teacher was telling you to do.
Of course teachers don't want to do it because they are the only segment of the population who has been getting entire summers off and they also have a lot of homework. But again, maybe they could do their grading during work hours that way instead of taking it home and doing it. As long as they break up sitting class time with active class time, like labs and physical fitness, 8 hours shouldn't be too long.
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Post by danisty on May 8, 2010 12:49:54 GMT -5
They may as well get used to a longer day if we're preparing them for adulthood. It's not any longer than if you did the homework at home, I don't think. We weren't allowed to do homework in class. Class, you needed to be doing whatever the teacher was telling you to do. Our teachers weren't telling us to do anything. We were always supposed to start our homework in class after the lesson so the teachers could answer questions if we didn't understand it once we started. That's the way every single teacher I ever had did it. Classwork and homework were the same. You just finished your classwork at home. Of course teachers don't want to do it because they are the only segment of the population who has been getting entire summers off and they also have a lot of homework. But again, maybe they could do their grading during work hours that way instead of taking it home and doing it. As long as they break up sitting class time with active class time, like labs and physical fitness, 8 hours shouldn't be too long. Ugh, that's sounding worse and worse for the smarter students who can get their work done quickly. I could barely stand PE much less extra physical fitness. Plus what about the fact that a lot of students work better in less structured environments? I know whenever I did have any work to finish up at home, I did it at the kitchen counter with the radio on. I found the silence of school distracting and the background sound of music helped me stay focused. |
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Post by cnu5000 on May 8, 2010 16:13:37 GMT -5
We did not get homework until about the seventh grade. However, at work I always here of these joint parent/children's homework projects. I think schoolwork should reflect what children are capable of doing on their own. Even in the first and second grades I am hearing of joint projects. And then there are the endless afterschool activities children have. Children nowadays have long days even if it is not an official school day.
Also may children are used to being in school all day since they were babies because they have been in daycare.
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Post by happy2bchildfree on May 8, 2010 18:58:15 GMT -5
Ugh, that's sounding worse and worse for the smarter students who can get their work done quickly. I could barely stand PE much less extra physical fitness. Plus what about the fact that a lot of students work better in less structured environments? I know whenever I did have any work to finish up at home, I did it at the kitchen counter with the radio on. I found the silence of school distracting and the background sound of music helped me stay focused. It has its good and bad points, and like everything else, would be good for some and not so good for others. For myself, I despised school and having to spend even more time there would have been pretty awful, but it would have been worth it to get all my work done at school and not have to deal with it at home. I usually got my work done quickly when I was in elementary school. My "reward" for doing this was having more and more work heaped on me. It got so bad at one point that my normally timid mother went to the school and demanded that I stop being given so much work because I was always upset and stressed out and had no free time after school. After that experience I quickly learned to play "stupid" because I realized that the more I did, the more I would be expected to do. Screw that. I never liked school as it was, and that experience turned me off of school for the rest of my life. |
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Post by danisty on May 8, 2010 19:03:03 GMT -5
Ugh, that's sounding worse and worse for the smarter students who can get their work done quickly. I could barely stand PE much less extra physical fitness. Plus what about the fact that a lot of students work better in less structured environments? I know whenever I did have any work to finish up at home, I did it at the kitchen counter with the radio on. I found the silence of school distracting and the background sound of music helped me stay focused. It has its good and bad points, and like everything else, would be good for some and not so good for others. For myself, I despised school and having to spend even more time there would have been pretty awful, but it would have been worth it to get all my work done at school and not have to deal with it at home. I usually got my work done quickly when I was in elementary school. My "reward" for doing this was having more and more work heaped on me. It got so bad at one point that my normally timid mother went to the school and demanded that I stop being given so much work because I was always upset and stressed out and had no free time after school. After that experience I quickly learned to play "stupid" because I realized that the more I did, the more I would be expected to do. Screw that. I never let my teachers know I finished in class.  My parents never would have stood for me having extra work anyway though. They'd have been down there complaining to the administration as soon as it started happening. My parents were very involved that way. I'm afraid even if they extended the school day so kids could do that work at school instead of at home, the teachers would just start giving even more work to do after school. Plus being there for extra time to do the homework would only make it more obvious that some people finish much earlier than others. |
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Post by happy2bchildfree on May 8, 2010 21:25:35 GMT -5
I never let my teachers know I finished in class. I don't know how they knew, but they knew. It wasn't like I announced that I had completed my work. |
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Post by happy2bchildfree on May 8, 2010 21:54:30 GMT -5
And then there are the endless afterschool activities children have. Children nowadays have long days even if it is not an official school day. I hate it that kids are so overscheduled. I didn't enjoy being a kid at all, but the one good thing about childhood was having lots of free time to do what I wanted. |
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Post by cnu5000 on May 10, 2010 6:38:20 GMT -5
Though it has was not a factor in my decision not to have children, I don't like the present way children are being raised and makes me be glad to be CF :-). If my child was anyone like me they would not like the present kind of child environment.
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Post by cbushin on Sept 2, 2010 16:27:05 GMT -5
It seems like children are forced to be too much like Tracy Flick from the movie "Election." This can't be good for them.
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Post by cnu5000 on Sept 22, 2010 6:03:04 GMT -5
I think adults are passing their very busy and scheduled life down to their children. I know children even when they are under six are told they have to compete in the global economy.
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Post by preraph on Sept 24, 2010 13:54:44 GMT -5
Well, most of them are certainly putting them on the run constantly and not giving them any down time to be introspective, which isn't healthy.
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My parents never would have stood for me having extra work anyway though. They'd have been down there complaining to the administration as soon as it started happening. My parents were very involved that way.