OPIONS, PLEASE! ESPECIALLY FROM TEACHERS - Page 4

hennypenny · ‎03-10-2010

I will never understand the purpose of five hours of homework.

My kids went through this and it proves nothing.

It is exhausting for the whole family.

Lots of stress and anxiety. I truly don't think much is learned when there is so much regiment.

When I become Queen things will change

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

@hennypenny wrote:
I will never understand the purpose of five hours of homework.
My kids went through this and it proves nothing.
It is exhausting for the whole family.
Lots of stress and anxiety. I truly don't think much is learned when there is so much regiment.
When I become Queen things will change

When my daughter started in elementary school, at back to school night they would tell parents, 10 minutes of homework per grade.

I so wanted to tell them, you sit at my kitchen table for 30-40-50 minutes and see how far along you get...

maestra · ‎03-09-2010

@Miranda1550 wrote:
@ScrapHappy
I taught for 43 yrs. Never , ever would I have done that to a 6th..grader......no need for that. 5th grade
10 years old, what is the purpose of that type of
schedule?

It's not the same these days and very often administration determines the test schedule, not the teachers. END of semester and prep for report cards.

violann · ‎03-10-2010

@scraphappy wrote:
Yes, she stresses easily. And to be honest, it stresses me too. She has her other homework on top of this and to top it off has to re-do invention project. Her idea had to be signed off by teacher, she didn't like it/didn't think it would work, so gave her another idea to go with.

For better or worse, your daughter will be learning a tool that will serve her for her entire life if you teach her the tools of ADVOCATING FOR HERSELF.

If you establish for her that you will ALWAYS have her back, but that you expect her to figure out what she herself needs to allow her to learn productively and benefit from the structure she has been given, she will learn that getting panicky and melting down are NOT helpful.

Encourage her to ask the teacher(s) if there is a time period when SHE, your daughter, can express her concerns. This will establish a balance between your DD and the teacher involved, and indicate to the teacher that there are more issues involved than just the end outcome.

I had my first exposure to the "getting ready" theory of education when my older son entered keg., and it didn't take him or me too long to figure out that the same thing was being said in every grade from Kdg. through Gr. 12!

So if every year is a "getting ready for...." year, when is a child actually experiencing the year that they ARE IN? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it? If you move from a smaller school to a larger school, there is always an element of adjustment. When you have only one or a few teachers for subjects, then move to a different teacher/room/student group for EVERY subject, there IS a matter of adjustment. BUT AT SOME POINT, a child is living in the grade that he or she is in. So you will be saying to your daughter "Sixth gr. Is different from 5th, but just remember that all your friends are going to be doing the same thing, so help each other and stick together and everyone will do fine sooner or later".

Your DD needs to know that her school issues are mostly hers, with your ongoing support, and that you are doing adult grownup things and those things are mostly yours. That way she will learn to transfer her trust in your care and concern and decision making to her own skills in those areas.

You sound like a true loving mom. Hope things pull together for her just as she hopes.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

I will say that my son is now 20, and until high school, was in a small private school. All projects and assignments/testing was announced well in advance. With proper planning it was doable.

If my son wanted to maintain his straight A average, he needed to spend several hours each and every night with his work, and usually another 12 hours or so on the weekends for either the projects (they were heavily project based at his school) or studying for tests.

This level of commitment started at about the fourth grade.

If getting the A isn't top priority or too stressful for a student, the amount of time invested can be lessened, but by the 5th grade, they are being introduced to what their schedule will look like in middle and high school.

I remember at our school, 4th grade was the big leap from little kid in school, to putting on their 'big kid' caps. Their lives change greatly at this point, in my opinion. School work becomes much more a part of their time outside the building. I remember it feeling kind of like the end of a chapter of their childhood.

WenGirl42 · ‎07-05-2012

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@maestra wrote:
@libbyannE wrote:
Why aren't you asking the teacher? I don't see what the problem is because you did not point out your concern.
As a former (mind reader), er, teacher, I think the OP is concerned that there is more than 1 test a day before the holidays.
@maestra @ScrapHappy

Yeah, I was also wondering what the actual problem was, and why she started the thread. It's customary to finish the semester by wrapping things up with quizzes and tests, so this shouldn't be a surprise. Does anyone know what grade this child is in?

@Tinkrbl44 Yes...everyone who read the OP

ScrapHappy · ‎03-28-2010

OP here: Yes, I am aware it's "opinions" and not opions. I was in a hurry. Just walked thru the door, doing homework and needed to get dinner started. The test in her Reading class and it's about cause/effect, main idea/detail, compare/contract, chronological order/ sequence, etc. The WWI test and math test we did know about. The word play test, spelling quiz, structure test, and science test was just announce yesterday at school. The invention project is to come up with an idea (not already thought of or done). Come up with a slogan and marketing plan. Come up with a poster board and include (along with the other things I mentioned): Picture, price, observation, hypothesis, experiment (list steps used to create invention), materials and conclusion. My daughter had to start over because teacher didn't think her first idea would work. BUT that was AFTER she had already started working on it. On the handout, after doing some work, you have to go back to teacher and get approval to continue. She did not get approval and so has to start over. My daughter did comment that her AM teacher said they "were behind" because the other 5th grade classes finished most of this.