Reply To: Homework

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#830977
aries2756
Participant

Firstly, let me say that you are right, and parents have been right about this for a long time. Having said that, there is not much we can do about it because many kids need it and many parents want it so the system is NOT going to change.

Please understand that YOU should NOT be doing the homework and you SHOULD encourage the kids to do it on their own. Try to separate them as much as possible and allow them to work separately in a quiet environment. Tell them to do whatever they can on their own, skip what they need your help with, and you will help each of them once they have finished what they can on their own. Set a clock for each. In other words, take a post it, and mark the time each one starts. Do this for at least two weeks, so you have an idea of how long it takes each kid (each grade) to do their homework. Then you can discuss with the other parents in each class how long it takes their kids to do homework. If it takes the same amount of time and you all agree that it is too much then as a group of parents you can approach the teacher and say that she/he is assigning too much homework and that she/he has to cover more work in class and not leave it to the parents to teach it to the kids at home. If it is just your child that is taking too long, then you might have to consider getting some help at home to get your child more focused and up to speed.

By timing the kids, and allowing them to do their work on their own and only watching over them when they come to you after trying on their own, you have a better picture of what they learned in school, what they are capable of figuring out on their own, and what you need to reinforce or teach on your own. You have a better understanding of whether the teacher is giving too much or whether your child needs extra help. In this way, you have a better understanding of where the problem lies.

Many, many moons ago, when my kids were young, I complained to the teacher that she was giving ME too much homework. She laughed at me and said why? I said because I had to sit with my daughter and answer all her questions and help her. The teacher told me “I didn’t ask you to, your daughter was supposed to learn to come to school and ask ME what she didn’t understand!”.