Homework | Imamother

mommy24

Thu, May 11 2006, 6:31 pm

I haven't ever quoted so I hope I did this right. here goes,

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Regarding preparation-obviously that's only for older students, usually in high school

I know some ppl were talking about older kids and others were talking about 1st graders that is why I put it in.

[/quote]Does that mean an hour of homework for a 6th grader? That's really difficult especially when 6th graders don't just have 2 teachers.[quote]

I agree it is very difficult to have to do especially when coming home from a very long day at school. I'm just telling you what I learned in school, I don't know what should be done in junior high or high school, as I have only taught the younger grades. Its a problem when there are so many teachers and they assign too much homework due the same time period, the kids feel totally overwhelmed, and it really is too much for them. But, the review is important.

gryp

Thu, May 11 2006, 6:37 pm

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You wouldn't need an hour, you would need probably an hour and a half. And then you'd be stuck cutting out subjects...which ones should go?

probably how long you would need would depend on the subject. halacha and chumash you can definitely spend more time on than other subjects.

im sure we can all think of subjects in school we had which were either a waste of time or a joke.
or perhaps the entire curriculum should be revised, and the schedule set up differently.

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So then kids will cover even less than they already do. <sigh>

there seems to be an urgent need and pressure to "cover."
as long as the teacher is "covering" material, everything is fine and dandy.
in reality the teacher is "covering" and most of it is going in one ear and out the other.
the students should be learning, not sitting as part of the scenery in the classroom.
the teacher and principal is so worried about "covering," when realistically, come on, will it make a difference in ten, twenty, thirty years in the students' lives?
what will the students remember, the material the teacher hurried to cover? the time wasted? or material that was well taught, ingrained in, and personalized to each student? or midos tovos displayed by the teacher, the emunah and bitachon she displayed, and her ahavas yisroel.

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And in the olden days, most didn't go to school or stopped before they were high school age...

and they came home a while after lunch.

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So when are they supposed to have the discussion if they're spending the time preparing?

the day after.
or have longer periods, prepare during the first half and discuss during the second.
we actually did that in sem all the time.

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How would you propose to teach history, Chumash, halacha...?

thats a different long discussion, but not with homework, and with a minimum of tests as possible.

btw, I was a teacher too, and I loved teaching.
but I stopped to stay home with my kids.

mali

Thu, May 11 2006, 6:45 pm

as a kid, I hardly ever prepared homework, and b"h I did very well in school. the teachers deducted a bit off my final grades because of it, and that was it.
now, my first grade son is following suit, but his teacher is much stricter about it. I find it so pressuring to have to convince/encourage/motivate, and, eventually, force him to do his homework every day. personally, I don't think it gives him anything, but if he won't prepare at home, he'll lose his recess, and have to do it then. when he's home, he always gets carried away with a million other things, and forgets the consequences. once the mission is accomplished, I feel drained. this repeats itself day after day, besides for those days when I just can't deal with it and I let him get away with it - until tomorrow's recess.
I'm really at a loss! I don't want to be a nudge, or overprotective. I definitely don't want to do his homework instead of him. but I don't like the idea of him losing his recess either. when I discussed it with the teacher, he said quite disbelievingly, "in all my years of teaching, I've never come across such a phenomenon". oh well!

Crayon210

Thu, May 11 2006, 6:57 pm

I don't think there has to be pressure to cover material, but some progress needs to be made, and it is difficult enough for teachers to cover the bare minimum without cutting out at-home preparations and reviews...

Perhaps the system needs to be fixed a bit, but if the overall system stays the way it does now, then homework is a necessary part of that system.

I also had longer classes during seminary, but the day was also longer and we had fewer classes. Also, the preparation in class system would probably not have worked in high school, since students would likely have wasted the time socializing or something similar.

Regarding children who are advanced--agh, this is my pet peeve, kids who chap all the information the first time having to do it again and again and again. I think that teachers have to be understanding about that and figure things out for those kids, especially when they're little and bored.

gryp

Thu, May 11 2006, 7:07 pm

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when I discussed it with the teacher, he said quite disbelievingly, "in all my years of teaching, I've never come across such a phenomenon". oh well

im sure your son is not the only one in his class who doesnt want to do his homework!
this is one of the most common scenarios.
mali- if he gets distracted, why not sit him down somewhere free of distractions until he finishes?

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I dont agree that the "bare minimum" is really the bare minimum.
have you never heard of teachers who waste class time towards the end of the year in case they finish the material too fast, and there will be nothing left to teach?
ive heard it dozens of times.

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Perhaps the system needs to be fixed a bit, but if the overall system stays the way it does now, then homework is a necessary part of that system.

yes, the system needs to be fixed.
I dont agree that homework is always necessary though. many times it wont make a difference if the students answer the 10 question worksheet the next day in school.

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I also had longer classes during seminary, but the day was also longer and we had fewer classes

did we go to the same place, by chance? Wink

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Also, the preparation in class system would probably not have worked in high school, since students would likely have wasted the time socializing or something similar.

depends if the teacher allows it.

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Regarding children who are advanced--agh, this is my pet peeve, kids who chap all the information the first time having to do it again and again and again. I think that teachers have to be understanding about that and figure things out for those kids, especially when they're little and bored.

I was one of those in elementary school who would quickly sneak in the answers to the questions on the homework sheet while the teacher was explaining each question.

chen

Thu, May 11 2006, 7:44 pm

mali wrote:

he said quite disbelievingly, "in all my years of teaching, I've never come across such a phenomenon".

what--he never had a student who refused to do HW? baloney--unless this is his first year teaching.
This must be one of those stock phrases they teach you in teachers' college. when ds was in preschool, he had a run-in with the morah, who told me in conference "In all my years of teaching I have never had a child who......". Oh, please.

Crayon210

Thu, May 11 2006, 8:03 pm

GR wrote:

Never had that problem in school; davka the opposite.

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I dont agree that homework is always necessary though. many times it wont make a difference if the students answer the 10 question worksheet the next day in school.

But classtime is so short as it is, the ten-question worksheet may take 20 minutes out of 40 to do (!)

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did we go to the same place, by chance? Wink

Dunno.

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depends if the teacher allows it.

Of course, but in some settings it's easier to enforce than others...

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I was one of those in elementary school who would quickly sneak in the answers to the questions on the homework sheet while the teacher was explaining each question.

Me too.

granolamom

Fri, May 12 2006, 5:14 am

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I'm really at a loss! I don't want to be a nudge, or overprotective. I definitely don't want to do his homework instead of him. but I don't like the idea of him losing his recess either. when I discussed it with the teacher, he said quite disbelievingly, "in all my years of teaching, I've never come across such a phenomenon". oh well!

I can't believe you are the only parent with this dilemma. You might be the only one who has mentioned it to the teacher. Maybe more parents should speak up and let the teachers know what really goes on homework time.

red sea

Fri, May 12 2006, 10:56 am

Okay then, let me rephrase

" I have heard among casual conversation with fairly intelligent American adults, that there exsists numerous exclusive private (and some public) schools that have no-homework policies, in the USA and other countries as well, where the students still excel among their peers nationwide and score very well on the standardized tests which are used to assess national rankings"

***Disregard any previous alternately phrased phrases indicative of this thought.***

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If this doesn't meet with your requirements for accuracy in gabbing about blatantly irrelevant, is not going to change a **** thing in the yeshivas, yentish nonsense which we are passionate about, maybe some of our imamothers lawyers will volunteer to help correct the way I present "my statement".

granolamom

Sat, May 13 2006, 9:35 pm

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If this doesn't meet with your requirements for accuracy in gabbing about blatantly irrelevant, is not going to change a **** thing in the yeshivas, yentish nonsense which we are passionate about, maybe some of our imamothers lawyers will volunteer to help correct the way I present "my statement".

it works for me
LOL

I may borrow the phrase 'blantantly irrelevant, yentish nonsense which we are passionate about' sometime. ok?
dh is so gonna like that one

amother

Sun, May 14 2006, 3:45 am

I actually did go to a top "non jewish" school reknowned for its academics. Almost 3/4 of my class was either a National Merit Finalist or Semi-Finalist, which is based primarily on PSAT score. There were many AP classes (I personally started college as a sophomore). About half of the students go on to Ivy League colleges. The girl who graduated last in my class went to a top 20 college.
...
I had less than half the homework that my children have. Already, they have a very long day at school, as well as school on Sunday. When do they get to be children? When do we get family time that isn't consumed by schoolwork, bathing, or eating dinner?