I just sent this to one of The Boy's teachers in response to yet another packet of projects and vocabulary sent home over the weekend. Do you think I'm out of line
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I remember having a lot of homework in school, also, but I don't think it really helped me learn any better. (And I rarely made less than 100% on anything.)
My question to the school is, aren't we entitled to a few hours of our own children's time?
My thoughts exactly. When you compare the time spent in state school vs. home school (home school usually takes what, 2-3 hours per day?) with the results in terms of academic achievement, values, behavior, etc., it's clear the school system wastes at least 50% of a child's time while producing much poorer results. Most of this is probably a whole class waiting while the teacher deals with one or two, but also they line up to go to the bathroom and take 20 minutes, or they have assemblies where they sit down, wait for everybody to get situated, and zone for an hour or two. It can't have changed that much since I was in school, and I recall doing nothing but doodling and passing notes while making straight A's.
Gosh, you're implying that she do her job during school hours. So yeah, that's definitely out-of-line from an administrative point of view. But then, i hear rumor that kindergarten teachers no longer teach things like reading, spelling, and addition; they expect the kids to already know it all when they show up. Which begs the question a) what is our tax money paying for then, if not instruction, and b) if the parents have to do all the teaching anyway, is school anything more than glorified baby-sitting?
I think school has turned into a place where people warehouse their kids during the day so they can work. Meanwhile, it's a prison for any child with an ounce of creativity, spark, or love of learning.
They're talking about making school hours longer and extending it year round, too. I cynically think this has little to do with academic achievement and more to do with saving daycare fees. Some in big government also wants to provide breakfast and supper to kids. If they extend the amount of time they have our kids much more, it might as well be boarding school.
Oh, i know the actual purpose of school is far from educating children--it's about setting a standard for good citizens/worker bees. Which is worse than ever with the whole 'no child left behind' thing. Teachers aren't even allowed to stray from their curriculum, which itself is designed for test scores, and spend class time on actual life skills (which most parents seem to neglect too).
"The wording of your response is actually very telling of your point of view of academic/extracurricular priorities, and demonstrates one of the underlying issues with the public school system (that's not to say that you or your husband are "at fault," per se, but rather that your point of view may be a result of what you, yourself, have been taught to believe or required to do
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misunderstandingjuliet_wintersSeptember 25 2010, 13:48:26 UTC
my husband teaches in a private school. For the most part, children (definitely the parents) choose that they will be there, and it is understood that academics have a priority.
But my children attend public school as did I and as did my husband. If you want to get into a competitive academic college and stay there, it is important to focus on academics no matter whether you go private or public for high school.
My AP teachers, in particular, used to like to tell us that in college we should expect to spend two hours on homework for every hour of class. Presumably the implication was that we should be grateful if they assigned one or less. This dire warning always omitted the minor fact that we might not be spending thirty hours a week in class.
That said, while I got the distinct impression all the teachers secretly assumed we only really had to worry about their own class, most of them weren't really that overbearing about it. And I was lucky in that I read quickly and didn't have to pore over the textbooks unendingly to "get" stuff... and I wasn't doing two highly time-consuming activities after class hours (you know, like everybody says universities are going to expect to show you're well rounded and not wasting all your free time).
Actually, I never had that regularly either, although perhaps if I had studied the textbooks that diligently (which I eventually found out was probably supposed to account for part of that proposed ratio) it would be easier to recall or reconstruct some of the material I haven't used in a while.
We expect high school kids these days to take AP classes, do mounds of homework, participate in sports, band, and clubs, devote time to community service, and be cheerful little worker bees in their part-time jobs. But when are they supposed to sleep, let alone have fun?
I both agree and disagree. Note that I didn't really go to public school after second grade, so everything I say is with respect to my specific private, college prep, school. I was one of those kids who could get the gist of the subject, but without doing homework would never do better than a B or C in the class. If I actually did homework, I'd get an A, easily. It's that extra rote work, almost like building muscle memory in a more physical pursuit, that can help many of the kids internalize what's being learned so that can actually answer consistently and quickly when test time comes
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I do think the amount of time the band takes is ridiculous. I have voiced this to the director (and yes, they have a 50 minute class every day as well). Unfortunately this is Texas, where marching band and football are hardcore. And honestly, the values of physical coordination, exertion, teamwork, and camaraderie of band are just as valuable IMO as academics
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Fair enough, and of course a lot of things depend on an educational model that assumes teaching can only be done in one, specific way. As you said: different ways of handling in-class time, or other ways of shifting the priorities and schedules might eliminate the need for homework (though in certain subjects I'd still argue that it's vital, like the more advanced math courses.) Still, you've got a huge point: the state doesn't own your kids. This is what drives a lot of people into homeschooling.
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(15 minutes of homework/class is NOTHING here.)
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My question to the school is, aren't we entitled to a few hours of our own children's time?
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They're talking about making school hours longer and extending it year round, too. I cynically think this has little to do with academic achievement and more to do with saving daycare fees. Some in big government also wants to provide breakfast and supper to kids. If they extend the amount of time they have our kids much more, it might as well be boarding school.
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But my children attend public school as did I and as did my husband. If you want to get into a competitive academic college and stay there, it is important to focus on academics no matter whether you go private or public for high school.
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That said, while I got the distinct impression all the teachers secretly assumed we only really had to worry about their own class, most of them weren't really that overbearing about it. And I was lucky in that I read quickly and didn't have to pore over the textbooks unendingly to "get" stuff... and I wasn't doing two highly time-consuming activities after class hours (you know, like everybody says universities are going to expect to show you're well rounded and not wasting all your free time).
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