My daughter is in the fourth grade. She brings home homework that requires me to sit down with her for two hours, either to help her understand it, or to motivate her to do it. Many nights she's up until 10 p.m. doing homework, when her bedtime is 8:30. I'm wondering: is she getting too much homework?
I try to discuss this topic with my teacher friends, and I start out with this: if I'm going to be spending two hours a day helping my child with homework, I might as well home school her.
On every occasion I get the e-e-e-e-e-evil stare!!!! Then my wife says, "she's a teacher, you better not go there.
Well I want to go there with someone. The teacher of my student won't go there either. She is relentless, and so too was the fourth grade teacher of my older son. It's like discussing "homework" is not allowed; that if they mention the words "reducing homework" Zeus will strike down upon them with a bolt of lightning.
It's really not that big of a deal. I just want to have a friendly discussion as to why I think fourth graders get so much homework. I believe it's because NoChildLeftBehind Act requires a test in the fourth grade, and the results of that test determine the schools rating, and how much money they will get. So, they punish fourth graders with too much homework.
Well, there really not just punishing the kids, but the parents too. My kids are lucky they have a loving, caring and patient mother
Note: I do believe responsible parents will spend time helping their kids with homework, and that doing so when the child is younger will result in good study habits later in life. However, how much homework is too much? Thoughts?
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5 comments:
I totally agree. I think that kids today are given way too much homework and the stress that is put upon them is not good either. My daugher would stay up untill 10pm doing homework and then still ahve to get up at 5am to study for the test the teachers are giving. This was in the 6th grade. Way too much homework
Kids in grade four shouldn't have to stay up until 10PM to do homework. They should be running around outside and getting a full night's rest! I just can't imagine anyone giving a fourth grader a mountain of homework; what benefit could they possibly derive from that torture?
I feel that we have to do away with homework for children below 10 years of age. Giving homework to little children just doesn’t work. It assumes that the parent will be able to help the child with the homework and creates a huge gap between children of highly supportive parents and children with poor, uneducated parents.
Giving homework to little children just doesn’t work. It assumes that the parent will be able to help the child with the homework and creates a huge gap between children of highly supportive parents and children with poor, uneducated parents.
I don't have a problem with some age appropriate homework. My issue is with too much homework for 4th graders just so they can pass a test in 5th grade.
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