evilbrent

I completely disagree with this statement.

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SuperMario

Homework is there for help remembering the material and practice.

evilbrent

I know what it's 'for', I just disagree that every mind thrives on the SAME repitition of the SAME junk as the dud sitting in the seat next to them.

ok, I don't COMPLETELY disagree with the statement - just with the idea that homework, particularly 6 hours a night (!?!?!?!?!?!?! Good GRACIOUS!!! What does that kid do for fun?? When do they get a chance to be a kid?? Who is that kid trying to please??) is irrefutably beneficial.

I'll tell you why the teachers don't grade the homework: they don't think it's worth it. It's just busy work, set to appease parents who think that Getting An Education is more important than learning things.

It takes about 100 hours to teach the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic to a person who's ready and eager to learn. All the time spent doing homework before you're ready to learn is beating your head against a brick wall - an exercise in futility - and all the time spent doing homework after you're no longer eager is wheel spinning - busy work designed to make the smart kids get bored.

I was lucky: I went to an accelerated program when I was in high school. I was one of 25 kids - chosen out of literally thousands of perfectly able kids who would have benefited from the program and who were then doomed to live with the pace of the general population... sure, we had homework, but MOST of our learning happened in class.

6 hours homework sounds to me like an invention of the "Leave No Child Behind" policy, a dangerous attempt to stifle creativity and critical thinking.

I'm a disbeliever in homework. True, there are SOME subjects, like Thermodynamics 2, or Mechanics of Kinetics, that I did the homework for, because there's just no other way to trawl through the material - but 99% of homework is not like that. Most of the time it's sufficient to actually PAY ATTENTION to the teacher instead of take the notes - to learn the basic principles and how they actually work rather than to wade through example after example of how to apply the rules by rote without any fundamental understanding.

MOST homework is making kids write out the phrase "Jack sat on the mat" in (supposedly) ever increasing style and accuracy in the flawed assumption that A: this will make them a better employee in future years and B: that would be more important than having the chance to live your childhood in the first place.

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evilbrent

ok, short answer: and we're sure that memory works like that... for everyone at the same time in the same order?

we're sure that the material chosen by the teacher is the right material for our child... for every child at the same [snail's] pace and in the same order?

we're sure that this is the right way to kindle (rather than extinguish) a child's latent passion for a particular subject?

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Life is beautiful. Love is everywhere. Everything is going to be ok.

SuperMario

I am not saying I agree with six hours of homework. In fact I think it should be decision of the kid and parents on whether to do it not mandatory. I was just saying what it is for lol. No it does not work the same for everyone. But everything in schools could be looked at like that.

evilbrent

yeah, I tend to over-react.

sorry about that.

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twistertiger

home work is bad because you dont get to spend a lot of i time with my kids. their always doing homework.

aliinnc

Hey everybody,
I've been sick or I would have replied earlier. My daughter is the one has the huge homework load. She works that hard because she wants to get into a special school for her junior and senior years. She found out about the school in eigth grade, and she's worked very hard to help her chances of getting in.

Another reason she has so much homework is because she chose to take all honors and two APs this year. So her situation is a little unusual. Unfortunately her teachers grade every HW assignment. So if you don't do it, your GPA will plummet!

But I do agree with EvilBrent that most homework assigned is boring repetitive work. We have a lot of teachers in our family; they tell me that there is a move toward not grading homework. I think this is the way to go. That way, if you understand the material, you could opt not to do it.

Ali

Shari Nielsen

Unfortunately, w/ average level kids, its seems that it is the kids who struggle the most are the ones that typically skip the homework. The motivated kids are the ones who understand the work AND stress out about doing the HW.

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aliinnc

Shari,
You're so right! Sometimes it breaks my heart. It should be possible for her to do well in school and still have a life. Right now sh'e waiting for college. Everyone we know from her hi school has said that college is a breeze. Her plan is do well now and have a chance to relax a little in college. Crazy world, isn't it?
Ali