London Moms Home

Ana · 08-02-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurensmom

From some parents, yes.

Whaddya think - maybe 1/2 of the parents? more? less?

laurensmom · 08-02-2010, 10:04 PM

Well, I teach primary.........not sure my experience would be reflective of the upper grade parents.....but IME it would be about half that want more homework.....and IME the majority of the parents who want more homework are parents of the kids who really don't need to do homework.

Ana · 08-02-2010, 10:05 PM

K, thats about what I thought.

laurensmom · 08-02-2010, 10:09 PM

I should add that the only homework I give is to read their “just right books“ ever night

And I give that because it will benefit them to practice.....not because a parent requested homework.

Some of my more academic students' parents often want more work to “challenge“ them. I always tell them to let their child pick an independent study topic or to do an experiment of some sort (volcanos etc) and they can present it to the class when done.......I have only ever had one child actually do it.

le cupcake · 08-03-2010, 07:33 AM

Haven't had my coffee yet so this may be confuzzled.

I teach older grades. I send a letter home on the first day explaining my philosophies and then repeat what I sent home on meet the teacher night. In the last few years, I've only had a few parents question. When they do, I explain that they can always help support learning by discussing what we're reading, visiting local attractions etc.

Where I really met with challenges was spelling dictations. I don't do them. I could go on and on and on about them. (I'm speaking for an older grade teacher here) Imo, all they do is teach kids to memorize. Then, 2 weeks later, they can't use that same word in their writing. So, what's the point?? I stopped doing them 5 years ago. At first, at least half my parents were asking questions. I think they liked seeing that mark out of 10 come home each week. I still do word work but it's from texts that we are reading and learning those words in context.

laurensmom · 08-03-2010, 08:55 AM

I don't do dictation either cupcake

Big waste of time IMO.

Zoo · 08-03-2010, 09:31 AM

I have to tell you, I kind of get the rage with the big at-home projects too, because they become a competition of whose parents can buy the best supplies, and who spends the most time with the kid “helping“ AKA completely frickin' doing it for them. I've seen my son bust his ASS working on something only to hand it in to be compared with stuff that was clearly created with power tools and an adult hand. Annoying, and IMO undermines the entire process.

And seriously, if my kid comes home and needs help with a science project, he's not going to get buckets of help from me. It's a good thing he doesn't need it. LMAO

HappyandBlessed · 08-03-2010, 09:50 AM

Nice to see other upper grade teachers not doing dictations - I sometimes feel like a minority!

Zoo - I learned my lesson early on to not send home projects to be worked on at home! If I do now, it is during the process part, and a big chunk of the mark will be on the notes and work done DURING the research. I have found that teaching students how to research has really changed since I started teaching. The accept Wikipedia as the be all and end all source of information!

Geomamma · 08-03-2010, 10:43 AM

My girl got a lot of homework last year in Gr. 1.

Part of it was due to her missing so much class due to her special needs and associated behaviours, but it was totally demoralizing to sit there for upwards of an hour (sometimes 1.5) trying to hammer through worksheets.

I felt there was way too much for her.

Zoo · 08-03-2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geomamma

My girl got a lot of homework last year in Gr. 1.

Part of it was due to her missing so much class due to her special needs and associated behaviours, but it was totally demoralizing to sit there for upwards of an hour (sometimes 1.5) trying to hammer through worksheets.

I felt there was way too much for her.

That was totally too much, and probably helped guarantee she not succeed in that classroom. Makes me furious, I'm so sorry for everything she went through.

Ana · 08-03-2010, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoo

That was totally too much, and probably helped guarantee she not succeed in that classroom. Makes me furious, I'm so sorry for everything she went through.

I agree! Its infuriating that her needs were ignored.

le cupcake · 08-03-2010, 11:21 AM

At home projects mean we only look at the final product and not the process. What's the point of that?

I love projects, I really do. (When they're meaningful) However, I need to be aware of their work/abilities at every step. Can't do that if they work from home.

The rule in my class is that they stop homework after 45 minutes. Write me a note explaining what they did in those 45 min. I've never had issues with students taking advantage either. My goal is to create kids that want to learn. Why make them feel lousy about learning?

If a student has too much homework, teachers and parents need to figure out why. Are they having trouble? Lack of focus? Stress?

I could go on and on about this but I want to make those granola bars!

laurensmom · 08-03-2010, 12:33 PM

Quote:

I have to tell you, I kind of get the rage with the big at-home projects too, because they become a competition of whose parents can buy the best supplies, and who spends the most time with the kid “helping“ AKA completely frickin' doing it for them. I've seen my son bust his ASS working on something only to hand it in to be compared with stuff that was clearly created with power tools and an adult hand. Annoying, and IMO undermines the entire process.

And seriously, if my kid comes home and needs help with a science project, he's not going to get buckets of help from me. It's a good thing he doesn't need it. LMAO

And this sums up why at home projects are useless. There is no part of them that the teacher can really evaluate because you have no idea what the student themselves actually did. I can see having a student complete some research or gather supplies on their own, but IMO the project needs to be completed at school.

RetroMama · 09-02-2010, 11:29 AM

Last year in jk dd1 got a few homework assignments, they were a pita in the midst of a baby and 3yo, but the only thing that made me worry was they were shared. Like a notebook with all the previous kids finished work and your kid uses the next blank page. So there was this pressure! Don't ruin the page, use just one, make sure not to wreck any of the previous one's with your markers, etc. It was difficult to not hover and correct and get frustrated. And then some of them could write, and she couldn't, so do I write it and have her copy mine, or just let her scribble and do various letters she knows, or words “love“ etc. I am programmed to wonder what the “right“ outcome is supposed to be even for these little assignments, and the instructions are vague. I know there is some kind of psycho educational reason for this vagueness, but I am very concrete and want (NEED) it spelled out lol. I wish I could afford Sylvan some days.

eta: I voted the same, I guess it will increase over time though.