Berta Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Has anyone told their public school that your home is a "homework-free home"? I'm seriously considering sending a note to my daughters teacher declaring us a homework-free home. Her homework is just busy work for her. She is already 2 grade levels ahead of everyone in her class and has yet to bring home a math assignment that she couldn't ace. She is in 2nd grade and I put her in school because I have to work. Academically the school is awful. I think our state ranks 46th in the country where schools are concerned. The homework cuts into our limited family time and I'm really starting to resent her having to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 My mom told me that she declared ours homework-free until 3rd grade. I don't have the guts to do that. I like the concept, though. To be honest, my kids' teacher doesn't assign too much homework. If the timing could be more predictable, I'd be OK with the quantity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aly9712 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I think this could potentially become very messy. As long as you are willing to accept academic consequences- zeros for the missed homework, missing additional practice for that 1 area she really did need reinforcing, or just unintentionally giving your DD the impression that it's OK not to do assigned work because she already "knows" it. I agree homework can often feel like a waste of time. I would recommend she just get it done on the bus or right when getting home. I imagine it shouldn't take long since she sounds to be advanced. I would then after school with materials you feel are more appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMama Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 My 1st grader has very little homework. It's 100% busywork and way too easy for him, but I make him do it anyway. I figure it's good practice for real life. I have to do lots of easy, boring and repetitive things, so he might as well get used to it now :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLDebbie Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I wish I had the guts to do this sometimes. My younger son is in 1st grade and his homework is minimal, although I feel at that age, they don't really need it at all. Last year my older in 2nd grade had much more homework that really cut into family time, play time, and general down time everyone needs. He's now homeschooled so we don't have to worry about it. I dread next year when my other son is in 2nd and has much more homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 I do see some very valid points. She can't get out of doing something just because it's menial, I get that. What made me think about going homework free, along with the reasons I listed above, is because the teacher doesn't check the homework. She checks to make sure it's done, but not to see if it's correct. When my daughter had her homework in her folder all week long (we have been getting all the homework done for the week on the weekend) I asked her why it wasn't handed in. She said the teacher never asked her for it. I sent a note to the teacher asking if she had checked Lia's homework for the week and she told me that she only checks to see if it's been done, and that I should check to make sure it's done correctly at home. Why bother doing it if the teacher isn't worried about if she can do it or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Though I understand what you mean and agree with the philosophy behind giving up school homework, I would not do this with my son. We live in a "homework intensive" school district and we get regular homework + optional homework that is deemed challenging and meant for kids who are above grade level. It amounts to 20-25 minutes each day for my son. He finds the "challenging" homework trivial too. There are a few reasons that I insist on him doing all his homework: because he needs to develop the discipline of sticking to a task even if it is repetitive, boring and unstimulating (as an adult I do such tasks every day of my life because I have to and I am not given choices). Also, repetitive and easy homework acts as positive reinforcement and a confidence builder for small kids because they feel very successful if they can accomplish it easily and without mistakes - I always say "Wow, there is not a single mistake in your homework and you finished it fast too!". Doing homework no matter how easy it is also reinforces the respect for authority in the classroom - namely the children following the teacher's directions unquestioningly (at this age, that is very important). And most of all, even though my child is fast tracked academically due to afterchooling, I do not want him to be consciously aware of it and also not to stand out in class for not having to do the homework. It would be best to finish it all in one evening if you can and get on with the afterschooling for the rest of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I do see some very valid points. She can't get out of doing something just because it's menial, I get that. What made me think about going homework free, along with the reasons I listed above, is because the teacher doesn't check the homework. She checks to make sure it's done, but not to see if it's correct. When my daughter had her homework in her folder all week long (we have been getting all the homework done for the week on the weekend) I asked her why it wasn't handed in. She said the teacher never asked her for it. I sent a note to the teacher asking if she had checked Lia's homework for the week and she told me that she only checks to see if it's been done, and that I should check to make sure it's done correctly at home. Why bother doing it if the teacher isn't worried about if she can do it or not? My kids' teacher grades at least some of the homework. In fact, she knocks off 10% if it's a day late. I also agree with the comments above about respect for authority and the confidence a child gets from doing a little bit of easy work. As an added benefit, one of my kids does way better on work she does at home compared to work done at school. It seems she is too distracted at school or something. So homework actually raises her grades and encourages her. My other kid is a pain in the butt and way advanced, but I make her do her homework too. As has been mentioned, sometimes we have to do boring work. At least it isn't stressful. Maybe if she were my only kid, I'd leave it up to her to do it or not (i.e., let her teacher deal with her and ignore it at home), because her overall achievement would probably get her promoted regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I disagree with the argument that your child should do homework because you have to do boring work in life. If it were boring work that was somehow beneficial it would be one thing but to work 30 minutes on homework where your child learns nothing INSTEAD of using the time to afterschool at the child's academic level is frustrating for the child and for the parent. I can assign plenty of boring, beneficial drill that is at his level. The OP's child is using Everyday Math in public school (at least that is what she posted on the other afterschooling thread). If people could see how ridiculous some of the homework is, you might change your opinion. My kindergarten son is also using Everyday Math and the assignments are what a three year old should be doing. For example, go outside and count the steps to from your door to the sidewalk. Or get cereal, pasta, and crackers that have different shapes. String the cereal or pasta in a pattern on yarn or glue your pattern on a paper. Or guess what color car is more popular, then go to your street or parking lot and count the cars. Luckily, my son's teacher handed out the entire book and told the parents to keep the book at home. She sends home a note about what pages to work on but told us to keep the book intact and not to send in the completed work. So far my son has not completed one page in the book. I honestly now have no idea where it is. If she asks for the book to be turned in at the end of the year I can honestly say it is lost. I do understand that when you send your child to school there is an understanding you will play by the school's rules. So I do have my son do the other busywork because he would feel terrible if he were the only kid not turning in homework. Usually, it only takes a few minutes a day besides the requirement to read every day (which we have already were doing before he started school). However, if my choice were between 45 minutes of homework where my child learned nothing and 45 minutes of afterschooling at his level, I am going to afterschool and try to get the teacher to understand why my work would be more beneficial. I used to teach elementary school and I would have let any parent of a child working above grade level to substitute my homework with other work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I do boring stuff at work because I get paid. Also if I really couldn't stand it I could change jobs. This isn't the case for school children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kcenders Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I afterschool my DD and found the public school homework a nuisance as well. After a year of meeting with her teacher, meeting with the principal and speaking to the director of curriculum for our district - I was awarded the "green light" to incorporate her CTY lessons into her public school curriculum. Now - her "homework" from public school is just math (daily drills will help our kids no matter what they are doing) and corresponding coursework for her CTY. Love it! Her teacher is on-board and the load at home has been reduced so she can actually have some free-time to spend with friends a day or two a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 This is not the same situation, but my son was behind in reading in 1st grade. So, a lot of homework was inappropriately hard for him. It was not even homework. It was unfinished work not really at his level (aka too difficult). I had started a remedial program with him over the summer, that was working, and that also made it clear to me, that he was far from being able to complete the work. I spoke to his teacher, and she was very supportive. She did not send homework for him anymore. She was very pleased with the progress he made from the home program. He was able to start completing his work around half-way through the year. The second half of the year, she gave some math homework, but she told me, that he was above grade level for math, and she thought it would be better if he spent more time on reading, instead of taking time away from reading to do math he could already do well. (In practical terms, his attention span is only so long, and I am only willing to have him spend so much time, so adding math would mean taking away from reading, even though in theory more time would be spent overall.) She still sent home readers, but I used them as an optional item, depending on how they fit with the remedial program I was doing. She was very supportive, and focused on the goal of getting him to read. The class homework was not advancing that goal, so I think it was easy to put it aside for both of us. I have no idea what the same teacher would think if someone asked not to do unhelpful homework for another reason. I did have an attitude when I talked to her, this is what we are doing. So what if he gets a 1 instead of a 2 in reading. He is headed for a 1 anyway (with grades of 1, 2, or 3). I was just worried she might penalize him in some way, but she was actively supportive. She did a lot to help my son with his reading, too, she was very encouraging to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I do understand that when you send your child to school there is an understanding you will play by the school's rules. How far do we go with this, though? I maintain that my children are at school because I am delegating part of the responsibility for their education to the school. Playing by the school's rules can easily turn into abdicating responsibility for a child's education. I think schools often see requests by parents as a 'slippery slope' - when dd was in preschool I asked the teacher if she could have more than one reader a week as she was already reading well, and was told to take another when I wanted, but not to tell any other parents. On the other hand, we are now at a Montessori school where being responsive to individual students is entrenched in the teaching method, and the school seems to be able to meet a range of requests from families for flexibility (e.g dd arrived late one day a week for 6 weeks while she took a homeschool writing class, and several students leave early a couple of times a week to attend ballet classes). Has anyone told their public school that your home is a "homework-free home"? I'm seriously considering sending a note to my daughters teacher declaring us a homework-free home. If you're already afterschooling, why not take a more positive approach and ask if you can cover the homework areas in your own way and submit and outline of what you've done each week? This could conceivably include things like museum trips or board games, as well as any more traditional schoolwork you do at home. It might be looked on more favorably than simply asking to be excluded from homework requirements. Our school is homework free, and I'm not sure we could afterschooling effectively if it wasn't. I believe that in high school homework is assigned, but that a motivated student can complete the work during school hours, leaving afternoons free for other pursuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I wonder what kind of message we'd be sending our kids by saying "You're too smart/advanced to be wasting your time on this silly busy work. When the teacher assigns a paper, you're too special to do it. We have a homework free home." More than teaching our kids academic material, we are teaching them life skills. The bottom line is there is a teacher with authority in the classroom. Whether or not the child enjoys the material or requires extra practice, the true lesson could be that sometimes we need to do what is assigned to us, whether we see the value in it or not. For those whose homework is too easy, how time consuming is it really? Is 10-15 minutes out of the day so very valuable that they can't just go along for the sake of being a positive, contributing and responsible student? DD does Everyday Math, too, and I agree that especially in the early grades, some of the assignments are really inane. But they are easy and quick. And they are assignments. The lesson is, you do what the teacher assigns you because that is your role as a student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qtkimi Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I usually tell my 1st grader what to write on his homework otherwise we waste an hour with him moping over doing the homework. Boring homework from school gets done and I free up more time for us to afterschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think that if the homework is pointless busywork, it would be nice to get rid of it. But you have to balance that with the potential pitfalls, as already mentioned. Even if your kid is sufficiently mature and level-headed that you know she won't develop a bad attitude, it's possible that the teacher could react badly, and might even take that out on your daughter. I know it's eating into your valuable family time, but if she's so far ahead, surely it doesn't take her long to get through the homework? And have you considered whether it might be possible, or desirable, to get her put up a grade so that the work would be nearer to her current level? If that isn't possible or isn't something you want to pursue, what about asking the teacher to assign more challenging homework? (If the teacher responds with something along the lines of not having time to customize homework, that could be your cue to volunteer to set the homework yourself. If you prepared a stack of assignments that would suit your dd and gave them to the teacher, she could hand one out every time the other kids get homework and nobody else need even know the your dd's homework is different.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I told my son's private school that my son will not do homework for K and 1st. He did do homework at 2nd grade but he never bring it home. He usually finished when he still in school. ( Funny his teacher mever ever grade his homewor) We pull him from the private school due to the school has teacher quality issue ( the teacher is incredibly lazy) Now DS is in public school 3rd grade. About 1/4 the way through school, the teacher realized how advanced is my DS and she stop sending homework home. It is kinda funny since we never actually request it. His current teacher is really awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 My son has just started y2/g1. His homework is a couple of minutes a day like last year but with the addition of an optional challenge that is completely unchallenging except the effort it takes to interpret what they want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova mama Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I wonder what kind of message we'd be sending our kids by saying "You're too smart/advanced to be wasting your time on this silly busy work. When the teacher assigns a paper, you're too special to do it. We have a homework free home." More than teaching our kids academic material, we are teaching them life skills. The bottom line is there is a teacher with authority in the classroom. Whether or not the child enjoys the material or requires extra practice, the true lesson could be that sometimes we need to do what is assigned to us, whether we see the value in it or not. When my children were in school and received assignments that I thought were "goofy," I kept my comments to myself because I didn't want to pass that attitude on to my kids. It is true that in life you have to do things that are boring, or silly, or whatever. I have a great boss, a great job, and I don't plan to look for a new one anytime soon. But sometimes I do an internal eyeroll about things we are required to do, and honestly, I know sometimes he is rolling his eyes too, because he has to do it. That's just how it be sometimes. I do sympathize, though. I hope you and the teacher can work out a way to challenge your child and not waste precious family time. *hugs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova mama Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 OK, I didn't realize this thread was so old. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 OK, I didn't realize this thread was so old. :laugh: For what it's worth, the subject has been on my mind as we are a few weeks out from the first day of first grade. I was glad to see this thread bumped! I had planned to decline homework in kindergarten, but it was only issued once weekly and my son often enjoyed doing it so I didn't make a fuss. But I have no idea what homework will look like in first grade. I feel that homework in elementary school has ZERO benefit and lots of negative consequences when it pushes out more valuable uses of time, like family time and free play and free reading and afterschooling. If there is daily homework assigned, I may well kick up a fuss this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted August 16, 2013 Author Share Posted August 16, 2013 It's a year later and we DID go homework free after the first marking period. I sent a note to the teacher and told her that due to our family situation we will not be completing daily homework, other than projects and reports. The teacher sent me back my note with a smiley face on it, but no comment. My daughter got straight 100's on her first report card. Not doing the homework brought her grades down to 98's and 97's. I can live with that! This year we are back to homeschooling. I was able to quit my job and now she is back home. We won't be doing public school again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficbot Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Speaking as a teacher here :) It's all in how you approach it. If you go in for parent-teacher interviews are clearly explain what the issue is (it's busywork, the teacher isn't grading it anyway etc.) it's very likely the teacher will say okay, no problem and exempt your kid from doing it. They are catering to the vast mojority, not the special situation. But if you don't go in with a cooperative attitude, I promise you, you'll be labelled as 'so-and-so's annoying mother' and that won't help you OR your kid if something legit comes up. The first year I taught, we had a mother come in and say that her child was 'not particularly interested' in learning spelling words at home,, and we were horrified. It was a part (a very small part) of the program, the kids were all expected to do it, and in that grade, it was the only homework they had. If she had come to us and said 'look, we're having trouble motivating Kid to do it, can you give us some suggestions, or maybe leave some time in class to cover it?' that would have been one thing. But the idea that it was up to the seven-year-old to be particularly interested or not and that the parents would enable that was appalling. If I had gone home at 7 years old and told my mother I was not particularly interested in something at school, the lecture would have began with 'tough cookies, sweetie pie' and ended with a bit about how sometimes in life we have to do things we don't want to do, and that would have been it. But as I said; it's all in how you approach it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I wouldn't flat out declare it a "homework free" home. I think that sends messages to kids that you can disrespect authority. I agree with the previous poster that you want to avoid busywork that is already too easy for your child, you should discuss it with the teacher and come to an agreement. That said, I'd expect to go back to homework if the child it moving to more difficult work or not learning it well. I also don't think you should avoid projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 My daughter is in 6th grade and has some sort of homework every night. Last night math took a couple of hours to complete. If she didnt do her homework it would effect her overall grade in a big a way. I think in the younger grades, homework should be short and sweet though, if any at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeldaRules Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 I have 3 kids, I homeschool 2, and my developmentally delayed-special needs child goes to public school. He's 7 & in 1st grade. He has a special ed teacher and is mainstreamed with a regular teacher. He sees his special ed teacher for 3 hours a day for writing, language arts, and math. This week I got 2 pieces of homework from his regular teacher..math and writing. I don't understand why I got that from her since she does not have him for those subjects. I have talked with his special ed teacher about the homework she was sending...some of it was too hard, so she revised what she was sending. I told her I did a lot verbally and using manipulatively...so I write some of his answers, and he writes some. He gets very frustrated and cries when we do homework. Writing anything is a challenge for him. He knows he doesn't do it right and gets upset. Anyways, I emailed his main teacher and told her I thought the worksheets she gave were above his skill level. She asked him to write 3 sentences about his family. He can barely speak in complete sentences, so actually writing them would be impossible. I told her copy work of sentences would be better (it is what SWB recommends anyways). I told her if the homework she sent was above his skill level, it would not get done. To no disrespect to her, but it isn't worth the time and fight to do work he is not ready for. His homework grade is a reflection on me, not him. He should get homework of LA or math from his special ed teacher since she knows his skill level. I also told her that I had issues with homework in the young elementary grades, except for reading. I think he is exhausted from all the work he has done at school, and he sees more work and freaks. I told her I believe in the 10 minute per grade rule of homework.i said it all nicely with an explanation, and I hope I did not offend her. The battle to do homework with him is not worth it for me. If I have to spend a lot of time on the homework every night, then he is getting pulled and I will homeschool him. He has no concept of grades, so if he gets a bad grade, he won't know. I have issues with grades too in young grades, but I know they need to do it in public school. I just tell my homeschool kids to correct what they got wrong. I rarely grade anything. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uff Da! Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Vfnelson2- I hope the teacher responds well to your e-mail. Perhaps the homework sent home was mistakenly given to your son. We are not homework free and I do believe that the daily work brought home is supporting what is happening at school. The big challenge here is creating a pro homework atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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