I would think homework helps teachers forecast learning ability. More importantly it helps a parent, on a somewhat steady basis understand where his/her child may be having difficulty. Ron does have a point, in that if a parent is actually doing the homework for the kid, then my point may be irrelevant. Personally, I think this is a bunch of bull$hit. Sounds like a way to lessen work for teachers. Just like smaller classroom sizes. A happy teacher is a happy voter and a stronger union. Phooey, I say!
"You shouldn't soil your Sunday pants, like those other foolish ants."
I guess this goes hand-in-hand with what a former board member said in his remarks to the Hadley graduating class of '07: "Grades don't matter" (at Hadley).
My son has homework. I make him do it. I help him sometimes. I don't DO his homework. Homework is a tool to help students practice and extend the learning they have done in the classroom. Naturally, they should be graded for it. If they aren't going to do that, the kids will be in a world of hurt once they get to West. My daughter has been blown away by the amount of homework she has to do. We have been working together so that she is better at managing her time and workload - something she really hasn't had to put any thought into until now...if my son has even less of that accountabilty, we are going to have a HUGE problem come high school.
By the way, anyone get the new e-newsletter with information from the last board meeting? What's with the $15,000+ consultant? I am shocked and find that appauling!
"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith. " -Bertrand Russell V. Delong
Posts: 3216 | Location: Glen Ellyn, IL | Registered: April 04, 2003
Originally posted by Amy: By the way, anyone get the new e-newsletter with information from the last board meeting? What's with the $15,000+ consultant? I am shocked and find that appauling!
Amy, just be happy that we aren't spending another $15,000 for yet another phone survey to be asked why we voted the way we did in April.
Originally posted by bitterboy: I would think homework helps teachers forecast learning ability. More importantly it helps a parent, on a somewhat steady basis understand where his/her child may be having difficulty. Ron does have a point, in that if a parent is actually doing the homework for the kid, then my point may be irrelevant. Personally, I think this is a bunch of bull$hit. Sounds like a way to lessen work for teachers. Just like smaller classroom sizes. A happy teacher is a happy voter and a stronger union. Phooey, I say!
Oh Bitter - so jaded! Instruct in class. Educate at home. Homework is practice on the instruction. Not a grade for industrious children. If you want the real grade, it's in the class, not what gets turned in after the parent checks the work (and does/helps the project). Continue to educate at home by checking and perfecting your kid's homework, just don't think the teacher is fooled by the excellence of homework and the sub-par test result. Moreover, I don't think class size equates with "less work". You are equating happy and featherbedding, and that is a little callous. You're happy, and you work hard......don't you?
And thank you to Hadley for eliminating the suckuppitude commonly known as extra credit.
My 6th grader has homework almost every night...I think an appropriate amount and kinds of assignments for a kid her age. More than last year but not much more. I am ok with out the extra credit- as long as one stinky grade doesn't ruin their grade in the class...I am sure that there will be exceptions to the no extra credit rule down the line.
My freshman is in shock over the amount of homework she has in honors history. She is really having to work in that class. There is no comparison between any experience she had at Hadley to what she has now. We too have talked about how to really plan out when to complete work- if you have an assignment/ big project due in a week you really need to finish it ASAP because you may end up with another assignment that will also need your attention. I can't say that I agree with the amount of homework from day one for 14 year olds but I guess you get used to if you are just thrown in. I am sure that there are quite a few students who sink instead of swim when thrown in like that though.
Posts: 790 | Location: glen ellyn Illinois usa | Registered: April 05, 2003
It's my opinion that students need professional feedback on lessons learned. Not all parents are white collar MBAs who can "educate from home" and provide meaningful feedback. Just as Amy has stated, "Homework is a tool to help students practice and extend the learning they have done in the classroom". If your concerned about a parent completing a child's homework and artificially increasing his/her grade, so be it. It's only harmful to the child in the long run. Next you're going to tell me that homework isn't time consuming to grade.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bitterboy,
"You shouldn't soil your Sunday pants, like those other foolish ants."
Homework will be included in the effort grade. That might not mean much to most but it can save my children from a lot of trouble if they get A in effort and get a C in class. Likewise if they were to get an A in class and get less than that in effort I would assume the work is not challenging enough. Before any paper or writing assignment is turned in I read it over. I do not make corrections but I do mark mistakes and have them figure out what is wrong and why. Last year there were many arguments about grammar on science and social studies reports, with my child stating that the teacher doesn't care about grammar if the information is correct. My child lost that argument every time. If you learn how to write properly now it will make life easier later. I am not a white collar MBA but I can spend the time to go over my children's assignments.
I believe that homework that is used to check a child's knowledge is beneficial. Many of the foolish projects my children have brought home do no such thing.
Much of the homework is graded by other students during class time. I have overheard many discussions about other children's performance on homework that was graded during class time... Very unfortunate all around.
'cause i don't have kids in JH, i want to make sure i have this straight. a couple of you JH parents just found out at curriculum night (tonight?) that your kids will still be DOING homework, but not receiving grades for the work done? i think that's what was written in this thread. am i correct?
if so, it seems strange to me for the district to haphazardly incorporate such a paradigm shift. 1) kids today (hell, adults too) have been trained to receive compensation for work done. could be causing trouble to, without warning, pull this away for D41's junior high kids only (they still do it in GE's elem.). 2) even more confusing for me, why would GW's feeder school have such a radical differentiation in curriculum/grading? they still grade for homework at GW. theses kids will have to readapt when they arrive there in a couple years. seems like the districts aren't communicating on this one.
don't get me wrong, it's an intriguing idea, just a littel (love you, clam) half-baked.
I would welcome the concept of no homework in high school. My student is a smart kid...just no initiative or laziness and failed two classes due to not handing in homework assignments. I kid you not...grading weighed heavily on work done outside the class. Most of these assignments were done on a nightly basis just never handed in. Some I even helped him in completing. I enrolled him in summer school...both courses...no homework...4 hour classes each day for 16 days. He passed both classes with a B and no headaches or riding him about missing assignments. The only Caucasian American born teenager I know who speaks Spanish fluently and fails English.
"When you don't know what you are talking about, it's hard to know when you are finished."
parent completing a child's homework and artificially increasing his/her grade,
quote:
I have seen this so often, and told a teacher up front I resisited the urge to correct on my son's paper. He said not to worry, he can tell in a sec when a parent 'influences' a project. They are not fooled.
Actually I like the fact that homework will not be part of the acedemic grade. If my child has high acedemic grade and a LOW effort grade due to not turning in homework there will still be consequeces here at home.
