French President Proposes Banning Homework

[stripe]

http://abcnews.go.com/news/t/blogEntry?id=17503056

 

 

His rationale is that education is a societal program, and pushing it off to home is therefore inappropriate, and gives wealthier students an edge.

 

He is also proposing adapting the schedule so that students attend nine half-days of school per week, the specific days and arrangement of, school districts would work out with parents.

 

I think it's an interesting idea and am glad to see it being discussed, instead of the status quo staying as it is simply because it's always been that way.

[SeekingSimplicity]

Interesting. Kids are in school 8hrs a day, I've never understood why there was so much homework when it doesn't take near that long to do a days worth of school work.

[Cassy]

The schools I attended here in the UK during the 70s and 80s never gave any homework until around age 14. I now feel quite let down by that policy. In my very working class home academics didn't feature at all, but I believe that if homework had been given my mother would have taken it seriously and would have been more supportive and encouraging of my schoolwork. As it was I did very well compared to my school friends, as I was fairly self-motivated, but I do have a sense of regret for what might have been :001_unsure:.

[lailasmum]

I don't really understand why they have so much homework when they are in school for such long hours. My friend's dd recently went back to school after being home educated from 5-10yrs. Even though she likes it there she has commented that it feels like they do all the actual work as homework.What on earth do they get up to all day?

[Cricket]

I don't get the need for all that homework either but I think his reasoning for banning homework is ridiculous.

[SKL]

I tend to agree that it makes more sense to make the teachers accountable for advancing a child along the school curriculum than delegating the job of teaching to parents. They might need to extend the school day, though, to fit everything in. It's very true that not all parents are equally capable of supporting their kids' homework. Also, keeping all work within school hours prevents teachers from overstepping reasonable homework bounds, so kids still get time to play, exercise, relax, eat, and sleep - all necessary for learning.

[Sahamamama]

The schools I attended here in the UK during the 70s and 80s never gave any homework until around age 14. I now feel quite let down by that policy. In my very working class home academics didn't feature at all, but I believe that if homework had been given my mother would have taken it seriously and would have been more supportive and encouraging of my schoolwork. As it was I did very well compared to my school friends, as I was fairly self-motivated, but I do have a sense of regret for what might have been :001_unsure:.

 

Cassy's post made me rethink this issue. In my working class family here in the US, there was an emphasis on "doing well" in school, but no practical support for it. So when I came home with Geometry or Algebra or Chemistry homework -- that I could not do -- I was told, "Well, we never had those courses in school, how can we help you with the work? Geometry? When are you ever going to use Geometry? Just do your best with it." :001_huh: My best effort was going to have me fail. I was not supposed to actually need help, but at that same time, I was not allowed to get anything less than a B+. :tongue_smilie:

 

I remember begging my parents to get me a tutor for Geometry. Refused. "We're not made of money, you know. Tutors are expensive! Just do your best." :glare: That was their way of brushing me off, I suppose? Then don't act surprised at how your honors student -- who gets A+ in everything else -- consistently comes home with Ds in Math.

 

In general, I don't agree with Monsieur that the goal of education is egalitarianism. However, I do remember my resentment during high school that (a) the wealthy/upper middle class students DID have tutors and/or parents who could (and would) explain the work to them; and (b) the misbehaving, juvenile delinquents who never brought a pencil to class were given FLYING LESSONS over the summer, while I slaved away in an Italian deli making pastrami sandwiches, to save up money for college.

 

There, I've finally gotten that out after all these years! :lol:

 

But I will say that what FINALLY turned it around for me in Math was confronting my math teacher with the question, "Why can't you teach me? What is so hard about Algebra for you, that you can't explain it to me?" Yes, I said that to her. And we worked out a system whereby I stayed after school to work through the homework problems, she corrected them and RETAUGHT what I didn't understand, then I worked some more until I had them correct, then I went home and worked them all. In the morning, I came by early to have her correct them, then had the rest of the day to fix any errors in my work. Only in this painstaking way did I manage to go from failing Algebra II to earning As in the course. So, I had to basically force my teacher to teach. She would not have done so, otherwise.

 

Perhaps making teachers TEACH IN SCHOOL is not a bad idea. :glare:

Edited October 18, 2012 by Sahamamama

[Tap]

DD13 just switched from a school with Very Little homework, to a traditional school.

 

I have to say, that I think the lack of homework really hurt her. For her, it created a situation where she had learned concepts, but never practiced them.

 

For example: in her old math class, they did concept based math. They learned a concept, applied it to a few bigger problems and then didn't really use the skill beyond that. They built on the skills, but didn't go back and use them in their raw form. They were allowed to use calculators for working with large numbers and so they had little practice with that. Now that she is in a traditional program, she has found that she had lost A Lot of skills and the ones she did retain, are slow. For the first month, it would take her 2hours a night, just to do her math homework. Now, a month later, it takes her about an hour.....and the newer concepts are harder than the earliest ones. The old style of math was good for her, in that she is great at word problems and big complex problems but it came at a high price. Since her old class was lecture and group work based, it didn't leave much time for computation.

 

 

I do think that her current school assigns a bit too much homework, but I do not think that getting rid of it in its entirety is a good answer either.

[kroe1]

Well, at least we aren't the only country dumbing down our students.

 

:)

[dangermom]

I think the idea is going to backfire on him and have the opposite result. The parents who already help their kids with homework are thinking "Cool, now we'll have time to do extra study at home!" Those kids will still get more practice with skills and help with studying. The kids whose parents are not able to do that, who should be given homework that they can do on their own for practice in solidifying skills, won't get that practice.

 

There are certainly arguments to be made over the value of homework, but making sure that no one gets support at home is not one of them. You can't legislate ambitious parents out of trying to get their kids prepared for life.

[medawyn]

It is an interesting concept, and perhaps tenable in the elementary and early middle school years (I'm not familiar with the French system of grade levels, etc.) but once students enter the high school years - and perhaps even late middle school - I'm just not sure it is possible to receive a good education at the secondary (and post-secondary) level without homework.

 

With the exception of math and sometimes science classes - which still followed the traditional lecture-work problems-go home and practice model - most of my high school courses required outside preparation. There is simply not enough time to study several novels in a school year if students are not doing the bulk of their reading outside the classroom, or if all writing happens only in the assigned 50-minute daily blocks. The same is true for the study of foreign language; time for practicing fluency is lost if all studying of grammar and vocabulary is limited to class time.

 

The question of whether or not students will complete said homework is separate to the question of whether homework should be banned. Neither does a ban solve the problem of not properly scaffolding learning so that students are able to complete homework, whether that work is practice of introduced concepts or preparation for lecture/discussion. A ban on homework does nothing to ensure quality teaching.

[celticmom]

I think the idea is going to backfire on him and have the opposite result. The parents who already help their kids with homework are thinking "Cool, now we'll have time to do extra study at home!" Those kids will still get more practice with skills and help with studying. The kids whose parents are not able to do that, who should be given homework that they can do on their own for practice in solidifying skills, won't get that practice.

 

There are certainly arguments to be made over the value of homework, but making sure that no one gets support at home is not one of them. You can't legislate ambitious parents out of trying to get their kids prepared for life.

 

:iagree:I wonder how much growth the tutoring industry there will see. I would imagine alot.

[Stacia]

Good thing my high school-aged dd is taking French. I think she'll choose to move to France tomorrow! :tongue_smilie::lol:

[Roadrunner]

Well, at least we aren't the only country dumbing down our students.

 

:)

 

That was my first reaction.

 

There are many good arguments against homework, but social justice/equality isn't one of them. This argument sounds to me like the first legalization of "no child get ahead" policy.

[Arcadia]

The parents who already help their kids with homework are thinking "Cool, now we'll have time to do extra study at home!" Those kids will still get more practice with skills and help with studying.

You can't legislate ambitious parents out of trying to get their kids prepared for life.

 

:iagree:especially prevalent in silicon valley.

[Mommy22alyns]

That was my first reaction.

 

There are many good arguments against homework, but social justice/equality isn't one of them. This argument sounds to me like the first legalization of "no child get ahead" policy.

 

Good point.

[stripe]

What about the idea of a flexible schedule -- where schools could meet for half days some days, and six days a week?

 

I think it'sa good thing if we revisit our ideas of education, even if we end up going back to the old way. It's not good to be locked into the status quo.

 

I also think there's a difference between homework that reviews or extends concepts in a meaningful way, and junk to fill time because otherwise kids would "get into trouble."

[Χά�ων]

I am 100% against any type of homework. If my DS went to public or private school I would not allow him to bring home any homework and I would not allow him to suffer any consequences from not doing homework.

 

My view stems from my experience. In 7th grade each teacher assigned 20-30 problems each night, the next day we passed the paper to the person behind us and graded the problem. Then we were assigned the next chapter and 20-30 problems and within 5 minutes the bell rang. That 5 minutes was sold to the parents as ample class time to complete the assignment and if we did not complete it it was our own fault and we were expected to finish it at home. I deeply resented having to take all my books home every single day, teach myself the concept and do the busy work on my own time. It was pretty much the same in each subject, every.single.day with the exception of one teacher and she gave one homework assignment per chapter. She was awesome and made everything hands on. I still remember some of the things we did in class.

 

7th grade sticks out in my memory because that is when I gave up. I begged and begged and begged for them to just give me the assignments and let me work at my own pace and not sit through class after class after class where I didn't learn anything and just wasted my time. I was told that people do not learn that way and that I had to do it their way. I stopped playing the game at that point. Homework did not reinforce what I was taught in school, homework was me teaching myself what the teacher did not teach in school that day AND doing busy work to show I that learned it. Why on earth did I spend 8 hours at school that day if I have to go home and teach myself the days lesson?

 

I do not ever recall having daily homework that was any different. Yes, I took home projects to finish such as posters or large scale projects but those were very rare and added on top of the daily homework.

 

 

FWIW: I attended one of the best public school districts in my state.

[Joker]

What about the idea of a flexible schedule -- where schools could meet for half days some days, and six days a week?

 

 

I don't like the idea of school six days a week at all. Dh only gets a few hours in the evening with the girls as it is, and I don't like the idea of taking more time away on the weekend.

 

Older dd is in middle school and they only go six hours a day four days a week and one day is only five hours. She has homework every day after school but is able to get it done before dinner. Our district is top in the state, and I've been impressed with what and how they're learning.

 

I also can't imagine how many parents would juggle that kind of schedule with work.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I am 100% against any type of homework. If my DS went to public or private school I would not allow him to bring home any homework and I would not allow him to suffer any consequences from not doing homework.

 

 

But how exactly would you not allow him to suffer any consequences? The teacher assigns a three-page report which must be done outside of class, due on a particular day, but your kid isn't allowed to do homework so he doesn't write it. Then what?

[missmoe]

I am 100% against any type of homework. If my DS went to public or private school I would not allow him to bring home any homework and I would not allow him to suffer any consequences from not doing homework.

 

My view stems from my experience. In 7th grade each teacher assigned 20-30 problems each night, the next day we passed the paper to the person behind us and graded the problem. Then we were assigned the next chapter and 20-30 problems and within 5 minutes the bell rang. That 5 minutes was sold to the parents as ample class time to complete the assignment and if we did not complete it it was our own fault and we were expected to finish it at home. I deeply resented having to take all my books home every single day, teach myself the concept and do the busy work on my own time. It was pretty much the same in each subject, every.single.day with the exception of one teacher and she gave one homework assignment per chapter. She was awesome and made everything hands on. I still remember some of the things we did in class.

 

 

 

I'm sorry this is the way it was for you. And I'm sure their are others who have had/ are having this same experience, but I don't think it is the way it works for most students.

 

Currently, I have two students I homeschool and two students attending a bricks and mortar school. Teachers teach there. Some classes are better than others. Some homework assignments are better than others. Yes, my two at school spend a lot of time on homework--sometimes several hours an evening. That is what we signed up for. My dd is taking 5 AP classes. With that commitment comes lots of homework!

 

I don't think doing away with homework all together is a good idea. I do think at the elementary level most homework could go away. But at a certain point individual work needs to happen. Perhaps, Mr. French President could instead figure out how to "retrain" those parents who can't or won't help their kids. Would people accept a law for mandatory parenting classes?!

[Χά�ων]

But how exactly would you not allow him to suffer any consequences? The teacher assigns a three-page report which must be done outside of class, due on a particular day, but your kid isn't allowed to do homework so he doesn't write it. Then what?

 

What is the teacher going to do to him? Mark his grade down? Fail him? I would rather my child fail every class then spend every second doing school and neglecting real life. I would insist that his final grade not reflect any assignments not done in school.

 

The school has 7-8 hours to teach what they need to if they cannot they are doing something wrong. They should not expect the child to take on their job at home. Where I live DS would be on the bus 2 hours a day, his age needs 10 -12 hours of sleep that leaves 2-4 hours to do EVERYTHING else. He is not a morning person and would need a good 45 minutes to an hour in order to wake up in the morning and get ready so that leaves just 1-3 hours in the evening to eat dinner, spend time as a family, take care of personal hygiene and actually be a contributing member of the household (ie very minor chores) and be a child and explore his own interests.

[Farrar]

Honestly, I don't see the value of it in the elementary years beyond say, "read for xxx minutes" or "practice your times tables one time" or "bring this thing from home" or something really simple like that. I think the majority of work should be done in class. I especially think projects should be done in class and I think one of the reasons they've moved home is that teachers still want to do the cool stuff but can't because they are forced to do so much more test prep now.

 

I also think with the lack of outside time and exercise that most kids get now, that homework is the wrong conversation to have. Ban the homework for elementary school and get those kids outside moving instead. I volunteered for awhile at a free afterschool tutoring program here and I simply couldn't cut it. Most of those little kids had been in class all day then had to sit and do silly homework and then sit and read quietly and not get home until 5:30 or 6:00 and it made me nuts. I wanted to send them all outside to run around.

[Cricket]

But how exactly would you not allow him to suffer any consequences? The teacher assigns a three-page report which must be done outside of class, due on a particular day, but your kid isn't allowed to do homework so he doesn't write it. Then what?

 

My dh told all of his teachers that he was no going to do any homework. That if they couldn't teach him in the 7 hours a day he was at school, then too bad. I couldn't imagine ever saying something like that to my teachers! He graduated high school just fine. He wasn't too interested in college. I think the only teacher that gave him an F was his Spanish teacher. I'll have to ask what he did about research papers.

[Χά�ων]

I'm interested in the op's answer too.

 

The scenario here is that the child is expected to use his lunch and study hall to get the work done. If he doesn't, he gets an incomplete and the taxpayers pay for him to go to summer school and finish the course, if it is a course that culminates in a Regent's exam. Or he can elect an alternative setting, in which all hw is done with a teacher supervising.

 

You all must have a longer lunch. The kids here get 24 minutes and that includes the time it takes to get to the lunch room, buy lunch, find a seat, eat and return the tray. I remember the teen who baby sat me in 4th grade talking about study hall but by the time I got to high school they had done away with study halls. Just for fun I checked the local high school website, they do not offer a study hall or period.

 

There are no formal high school exit exams here. Heck, reading and being able to do math are not required in order to recieve a high school diploma.

[Χά�ων]

My dh told all of his teachers that he was no going to do any homework. That if they couldn't teach him in the 7 hours a day he was at school, then too bad. I couldn't imagine ever saying something like that to my teachers! He graduated high school just fine. He wasn't too interested in college. I think the only teacher that gave him an F was his Spanish teacher. I'll have to ask what he did about research papers.

 

That is awesome! I didn't have the guts to be that direct with my teachers, I just refused to do anything. I am interested in what he says about research papers.

[Starr]

9 half days is going to be a lot of hours in school. If you do a half day on Saturday you still have 3 extra long days.

[Χά�ων]

That's easy to say as a homeschooler. Really, it just doesn't work this way. I homeschool in part because I don't want to follow the rules either, but I know that if I put my kids in school I really just don't get that kind of say over stuff like that. And I certainly would not want to make my child's time in school miserable because I have a problem with the rules.

 

I don't disagree with what you are saying, but I'm just saying a school will find ways to make the child and family miserable if they don't follow the rules.

 

You know the sterotypical small town mentality about the football players? That is here. DS's father made the varisty football team as a freshman and rarely actually even bothered to show up for school. All they cared about that he wad good and made practice. DS doesn't play football (thankfully, he has no desire to) and doesn't have the health, but if I can pretend he is in school I can pretend he is healthy and wants to play and considering genetic factors, current size compared to kids his age and late birthday etc. I highly doubt they would give him too hard a time. They want the winning football team and will do whatever they can to get it. Heck, they have already tried scouting DS for the football development program (the kids play with the kids they will go to high school with from the time they are 3).

[Cricket]

That is awesome! I didn't have the guts to be that direct with my teachers, I just refused to do anything. I am interested in what he says about research papers.

 

He said he only worked on research papers during class time. And he said he did make an exception once to read a biography on Alexander the Great because he liked him. He said he was plenty fair. He gave the teachers their time. :lol: He also read a lot on his own and still reads a lot.

 

ETA: He always aced his Spanish tests but the teacher still flunked him because he refused to do the homework--out of principle. And what's funny is that she was one of his favorite teachers.

[Anne in CA]

Homework did not reinforce what I was taught in school, homework was me teaching myself what the teacher did not teach in school that day AND doing busy work to show I that learned it. Why on earth did I spend 8 hours at school that day if I have to go home and teach myself the days lesson]

 

 

This was my experience with home work also. My parents did not help me with home work. My mother could have helped me with language arts, she was a language major in college with an extensive vocabulary. She knew Latin inside and out. But she had that blue collar value that said children must struggle on their own. She really stunted the life I could have had, almost on purpose. Neither of my parents could have helped me with math though, and I was stuck unable to do any math beyond algebra. The math teachers I had beyond algebra were awful. One was a football coach and I doubt he knew geometry himself.

[missmoe]

Will you hire stand-ins for those whose parents are ill, deceased, or away on the job? How much will that cost? What will their qualifications be?

 

Hey, we are trying to make things all equal, right? So yes, hire parents to fill in for those that don't have them available.

[mommymilkies]

The reasoning is weird, but I like the idea of much less or no homework. I don't know how people actually have time to do homework.

 

:iagree: My dd had about an hour of homework a day for Kindergarten. And this was a class in a failing school that only got to the alphabet and numbers 1-10 in January. The schools IME give too much homework. I can see research papers, etc. but for younger grades it is just busy work which cuts into family time.

[stripe]

I think it's interesting, maybe it differs what schools/society see as outside activities and whether they are worthwhile. Maybe for most Americans the assumption is dumb tv shows. So, as homework > cartoons, let's load 'em up with homework! Therefore homework fills a void. But maybe if the assumption is kids will be playing outside, visiting with their family, participating in cultural activities, or reading a book, homework would take away from something valuable.

[momacacia]

I don't really understand why they have so much homework when they are in school for such long hours. My friend's dd recently went back to school after being home educated from 5-10yrs. Even though she likes it there she has commented that it feels like they do all the actual work as homework.What on earth do they get up to all day?

The kids just need to get smarter at using their time. There's no reason they can't do their Chemistry homework in World Views class and pull an A in both, and still have time in the evenings/weekends to ride horses competitively. Ask me how I know. :lol: Go ahead, use that wasted time in class for something profitable. It's good practice for life!;)

[FaithManor]

I don't get it. So, a kid who has parents who will pick up the slack should be penalized because others don't? Dumbing down the curriculum will not raise the level of the lower kids. Never has, never will. Funny---I always thought the point of education was to educate--NOT to strive for elusive social justice. That's yet another reason my children are educated at home. I've seen what's happened in our local district. The vast majority of resources are directed towards the struggling kids. There's basically nothing for the gifted kids.

 

eta: I see this as a power play by the teachers' unions. It would require more contact hours, thus more pay.

 

Totally true! While I think that homework is not the issue, but allowing schools scheduling flexibility could be a very good thing, the reality is that Margaret has hit the nail on the head. You just can't equalize it no matter how much you desire it.

 

What you can do is punish the other kids. This is what has happened in our school district "No Child Left Behind" has forced the school to eliminate ALL AP and honors classes and dual enrollment, in exchange for those resources being devoted to remediation. I question the "behind". The kid who enters high school needing the challenge of harder courses ends up behind where they should have been four years latter. However, that is apparently not important to anyone. That is not a definition of behind that concerns the district.

 

Public education is no longer actually about education. There is a social agenda undergirding current policy that has nothing to do with reading, writing, and mathematics. It is ruining everyone's chances of becoming truly literate.

 

Dear France, be very, very careful that you do not tank your educational system by using it for social engineering. You may look back and regret your decision.

 

If you want to have flexible scheduling, have flexible scheduling. Abolishing homework because you perceive an advantage for upper middle class and wealthy students, is NOT wise.

 

Faith

[Bluegoat]

I am not a huge fan of homework for a few reasons. I don't think it should happen beyond things like reading assignments for elementary school. And I think for older students it should mostly mean things like studying the material taught in class.

 

The reasons I don't like it are similar to what has already been said. I think kids already spend seven hours a day in school and that is enough. They also need to do things like play, be outdoors, take music lessons or other extracurricular activities, spend time with family, and contribute to their home life. It doesn't take much homework for those things to be compromised.

 

I think that homework has very limited effectiveness in helping kids get better at work. In most classes teaching should involve some sort of explanation, demonstration, and then practice with the teacher watching. It is not helpful for kids to do their practice at home if they haven't understood, or they are making an error.

 

I don't think people should be so quick to dismiss the problem of parents who are unavailable to help as if that is some attempt to dumb everyone down to the same level. I think it is an immensly practical point. There are all kinds of reasons parents may not be able to help, even if they are engaged and want to. The assumption that there will be someone at home to help is simply incorrect, and if the work given depends on that it will not be helpful. Many parents work until late, or they don't really know the material, or they have other responsibilities that limit their participation in homework. It is totally different to ask a parent to help a child by making sure they read a passage and asking them to help a child struggling with a math concept.

 

If kids were only in school for an hour a day, maybe this sort of difference of resources would be an issue to solve to allow homework to be done, but since they should have ample time in school, I am not buying that argument.

 

I think that what would be a good thing would be helping those families with fewer resources by sending home or making available lots of interesting reading material, or making sure students have time to get one on one help in school, or allowing kids to stay for a while in a school library or at extra-curricular clubs of various kinds. Maybe cutting back some of the more esoteric offerings, and for sure making schools and classes smaller, is going to result in far more effective learning than sending home work for students.

 

These solutions however would require more real resources and less political garbage involved in public education.

[LeslieAnneLevine]

The kids just need to get smarter at using their time. There's no reason they can't do their Chemistry homework in World Views class and pull an A in both, and still have time in the evenings/weekends to ride horses competitively. Ask me how I know. :lol: Go ahead, use that wasted time in class for something profitable. It's good practice for life!;)

 

They don't really have time. School in France ends late, elementary schools either run from 8:30 to 4:30 or 9 to 5. Either way, they'll get home around 5 or later. They have a couple of hours before dinner (and they really need this downtime after such a long day at school) and maybe a half hour or so after dinner to wind down and then it's to bed to be up early for school the next day.

 

French parents are also notorious for "helping" the children with their homework too much (as in, doing part or all of it for them). What the French president is saying isn't quite as ridiculous as it sounds. (eta: but, I don't 100% agree with his reasoning on this point and I really don't agree with all of his and his party's views on schooling)

 

I don't think older high schoolers could prepare adequately for their exams without some homework, but homework could probably be safely done away with in the elementary and middle schools.

Edited October 19, 2012 by LeslieAnneLevine

[felicity]

My 7yo dd is at a ps this year. She has homework every night. She has a page of math problems, spelling, and reading that she write a response to. Her spellingis more than"spell these words," it's rainbow writing and pyramid writing. It takes her about an hour, which doesn't sound like much until you realize that she'd already been at school from 8:45-3:10.

 

I am all for banning homework at the elementary and possibly the middle school levels. She gains nothing from that hour. Her spelling test grades aren't enhanced by writing the words in different colors and the math just takes too long. The reader and response are fine. If she had the work on alternating days, it would be better.

 

High school is a different story. I taught high school history and assigned chapters 2-3 times a week. That way we could jump into actually discussing the topics. Just my two cents.

[wintermom]

Honestly, I don't see the value of it in the elementary years beyond say, "read for xxx minutes" or "practice your times tables one time" or "bring this thing from home" or something really simple like that. I think the majority of work should be done in class. I especially think projects should be done in class and I think one of the reasons they've moved home is that teachers still want to do the cool stuff but can't because they are forced to do so much more test prep now.

 

I also think with the lack of outside time and exercise that most kids get now, that homework is the wrong conversation to have. Ban the homework for elementary school and get those kids outside moving instead. I volunteered for awhile at a free afterschool tutoring program here and I simply couldn't cut it. Most of those little kids had been in class all day then had to sit and do silly homework and then sit and read quietly and not get home until 5:30 or 6:00 and it made me nuts. I wanted to send them all outside to run around.

 

:iagree: In our elementary schools, there is less and less time for physical activity, and no qualified phys. ed. teachers actually teaching the phys. ed. classes. Then with homework to do at home, there's little time to be active after school either. No wonder there are more and more kids being medicated so that they can sit still all day, and the obesity rates are increasing.

[Roadrunner]

My 7yo dd is at a ps this year. She has homework every night. She has a page of math problems, spelling, and reading that she write a response to. Her spellingis more than"spell these words," it's rainbow writing and pyramid writing. It takes her about an hour, which doesn't sound like much until you realize that she'd already been at school from 8:45-3:10.

 

I am all for banning homework at the elementary and possibly the middle school levels. She gains nothing from that hour. Her spelling test grades aren't enhanced by writing the words in different colors and the math just takes too long. The reader and response are fine. If she had the work on alternating days, it would be better.

 

High school is a different story. I taught high school history and assigned chapters 2-3 times a week. That way we could jump into actually discussing the topics. Just my two cents.

 

We must me in the same school. :D

 

And yes, please don't send home projects that only parents can really do and requires hours of work.

I think we should distinguish mindless work (like writing out spelling words in any shape and form that you already know how to spell) and productive work (reading lit, working on writing). I am puzzled why individual teachers/schools can't tell the difference between, or don't seem to care making that distinction.

I think some work doesn't land well to the classroom setting. Alone time is a must for essay writing (I can't imagine sitting in the class of 25 while writing a composition), reading, narration... So I think homework has place in schools and a blanket ban on it isn't the wisest in my opinion.

I want to know why nobody thinks 6 yours in school for a first grader is excessive. In my dream world, a first grade would only be in school for 3-4 hours.

Reading a bit about Frances stance on homework appears to be more related to "equalization of opportunities", which I just can't wrap my mind about as part of this argument.

[AHASRADA]

Has anyone heard of "flipped" classrooms as an alternative to traditional homework? I listened to a story about it on NPR a while ago, and while it was being tried in poor/underachieving schools, it sounded like a great option in general.

 

Basically, class lecture time and homework practice time are "flipped". The students watch the teacher's lecture online at home, then come to school and work through practice problems under the teacher's supervision and guidance. Failing kids became B students with this system. Some complained that their parents never graduated and couldn't help them with, for example, Algebra homework. Now their parents can watch the videos alongside them and pick up on things they themselves missed in high school. The student is then able to ask questions of the teacher and catch mistakes and misunderstandings while they're doing the work in class, not 2 days (or more) later where they receive their corrected homework.

 

It was explained how they made allowances for students who didn't have internet access at home and had to use school or library computers, etc.

 

I'm sure it has its flaws, as in all systems, but it was refreshing to see some schools willing to turn the status quo on its head in a way that actually might benefit students.

 

If a reasonable solution could be found for internet access availability, this sounds like the closest method to "equalizing" education one could find.

Edited October 19, 2012 by AHASRADA

[missmoe]

Has anyone heard of "flipped" classrooms as an alternative to traditional homework? I listened to a story about it on NPR a while ago, and while it was being tried in poor/underachieving schools, it sounded like a great option in general.

 

Basically, class lecture time and homework practice time are "flipped". The students watch the teacher's lecture online at home, then come to school and work through practice problems under the teacher's supervision and guidance. Failing kids became B students with this system. Some complained that their parents never graduated and couldn't help them with, for example, Algebra homework. Now their parents can watch the videos alongside them and pick up on things they themselves missed in high school. The student is then able to ask questions of the teacher and catch mistakes and misunderstandings while they're doing the work in class, not 2 days (or more) later where they receive their corrected homework.

 

It was explained how they made allowances for students who didn't have internet access at home and had to use school or library computers, etc.

 

I'm sure it has its flaws, as in all systems, but it was refreshing to see some schools willing to turn the status quo on its head in a way that actually might benefit students.

 

If a reasonable solution could be found for internet access availability, this sounds like the closest method to "equalizing" education one could find.

 

I love this idea. We have a school in the poorest part of our city that receives grants towards technology for every student. So every student has some sort of notebook/laptop computer. Perhaps, this method could utilize something like that and have internet included with the computer.

[HS Mom in NC]

Yes, I've heard that some schools are assigning the kids a Khan Academy math instruction video to watch for homework then the next day the kids do an assignment in class to practice. If they get stuck there's a teacher there to help answer their questions and further explain. The kids that don't need help can just get it done on their own. I would hope they would be allowed to finish other assignments from other classes or read on their own. It's got potential but it's still a family time eater after school. Family life in the US is falling part and cutting into family time with more homework isn't making it better. It's burning kids out.

 

Test scores in the US in all subjects have been stagnant overall since the 1970s in spite of tripling the funding and increasing regulation (the Cato institute has the data) and I would add increasing the volume of homework. We need to try other things. Maybe a variation of the flipped approach could be part of the solution. Homeschoolers know there's no need to assign every problem. Once the kid gets it, it's time to move on.

[stripe]

Yeah you said it. And so what if they watch some dumb TV shows. I do sometimes. And usually that's with my kids. I believe school is important, but what about the rest of one's life? There should be value in that too.

 

Maybe we need to ban stupid tv shows! ;) or make more, high quality ones. We need to raise the status of couch potato!