parentastic said:
So I am curious, dadu: what would they do or see in this 1 hour per day at home that they couldn't do or see in school, with a professional of education with them?
I agree with the benefit of involving parents in their children's education... when they can do that. But what of all these parents who cannot follow what their children are learning? (this is especially true in high school). I am wondering if other ways could be devised to get the parents involved in their children's education (like they do in Montessori schools, for instance), other than homework...?
I'm going to agree with Dadu from a slightly different perspective. I think homework has some value beyond any pure academic advancement(and it's just my belief, my opinion, not based on anybody's studies.)
-I believe it teaches kids to be responsible for their own learning - there isn't always going to be a teacher, be resourceful - figure it out. My 9 yo, if he's working on homework, with a text book and he doesn't understand the answer he finds in the text book, will go to the internet to find a different explanation.
-I beleive it promotes self discipline and time management
- if done right, it promotes exploration - unlike one view above, I don't think homework should be just more of what was taught in class. Introduce a concept, introduce the resources, then ask a question that is based on that concept but wasn't answered in class.
and as for what to do when suject matter surpasses parental understanding...well, a couple possibilities....
the parents could learn along with the child, nothing wrong with life-long learning...talk about getting more from your education dollar!
or the parent can still provide the role of coach, helping the student stay vigilant, approach problem solving, find resources.
I think education can be so much more than what happens in the classroom between 8 and 3....