Homework?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Homework?
17
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 10:32am

Do your teens seem overloaded with homework and school projects this time of year? I really feel bad for my DD. She has been doing 4-5 hours of homework every day for the last week+, plus a good chunk over the weekend. And it's pretty focused homework too --- not much goofing around, dawdling or procrastinating; she's actually been keeping her nose to the grindstone.

This can't be a good thing. She gets her spring break next week and has already told me she has two projects to finish. She said most of the kids at her school are under the same pressure and some are planning on just blowing some things off because they are just tired of homework! Can't say I blame them, but on the other hand, not doing the work will have some repercussions come report card time.

Is this going on in your house too?

 

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 12:54pm

No, it's not. But this is, as you probably know, a "private school" thing here in California. My kids all go to public schools. I find that if anything, they don't have enough homework. With the notable exception of dd's honors English class.

By the way, Jules, I looked out the window this morning and I could swear I saw the animals lining up two by two....help me before I float away....

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-18-2005
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 1:06pm

This has been a rough month for my DD - their 3rd quarter ended about 10 days ago, and it's a short quarter, so there was alot jammed in. This week there's only 2 1/2 days of school, then they're off for 10 days, so I think teachers jammed alot in this week too. As far as I know there's only one "big" project hanging over vacation - a semester long science research paper. Up until this winter, my DD was often done with homework by 8 or 8:30 (sometimes earlier) - the past few weeks she's been busy later, and working 3-4 hours a day on the weekends. She's not saying she's burnt out, but it was hard to keep her focussed on studying for today's French test....we were both tired!

Hope your DD finds time to relax during the break! I know mine is looking forward to it!

Sue

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 1:16pm

Do you think this is just a private school thing? One of my younger DS' friends has an older hs sister in a district school and I know she gets loaded down pretty regularly too -- but then I think she is taking all AP/honors courses. OTOH, the few girls DD is still friends with from ms days and are in district schools seem to have waaayyy more free time than my DD. One has only 4 classes a semester, and one of those is study hall! Ya just gotta wonder ...

Throwing a life preserver your way ... and maybe a snorkel?

We haven't had near the rain down here that you northern folks are getting. Those storms just haven't been making it down here this year like they usually do or have done in years past. We were supposed to get a biggie on Sunday night/Monday and it never got here. Now, rain and thunderstorms are predicted for Friday. We'll see ... I sit here in shorts and a t-shirt while typing this ...

 

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 1:20pm

I just don't ever remember having as much homework as my kids do ... ever. I think younger DS had more homework in grade school than I ever had, even in high school.

DD gets dismissed at noon tomorrow, then has Friday and the whole next week off. DS actually goes back to school next week after his break, so it's kind of a bummer that they only have one day off together so only one day to all do something fun. Oh well ... we'll try to sneak in the fun and relaxing when we can. I hope the weather holds up.

My DD is taking French too. She really enjoys it so far. Sadly, I don't speak any other languages at all, so she's on her own with that one.

Jules




Edited 4/12/2006 1:35 pm ET by hydrangea_blue

 

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 2:04pm

Not here but we are public school and have chosen to forego the AP thing for the most part

DS2 started in AP classes but chose to drop down a level. I was truly unhappy at the time but now that its water under the bridge Im not so sure it wasnt a decent choice.

He didnt get into his first choice college but he is going to a state college that will probably not have the same demands. For him, it's a good fit!

He has no clue what he wants to do with his life so putting in that kind of time for an intangible award just wasnt going to happen and I guess Ive accepted that

If your DD has a goal and this is the path to that goal, she is probably getting a great sense of achievement from her pursuits. If not, I'm sure you'll hear about it in a year or two ;)

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-15-2004
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 4:43pm

I have very little homework. I'm a straight A student in all honors classes, but I really don't have that much homework. But I know most of the people taking the same exact courses I am are spending several hours a day doing homework. I personally work very quickly. I'm always one of the first people done with the test we're taking in class, never show work in math because it takes too long, etc.

She probably DOES get alot of work, but there's probably some personal traits of hers that make the work take longer.

How well/quickly does your DD read? That seems to be what takes people a long time to do work. If your DD is an effective reader, then she can read a chapter and answer the questions without having to look back, or she'll be able to skim through a section to find the answers to a question, etc. Does she use time in class to do work?

This time of year always seems to have alot of homework. The teachers are realizing all the stuff they have left to get done before the end of the year, i think.



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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-14-2005
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Thu, 04-13-2006 - 6:28am

Tommy doesn't have much homework at all (let me rephrase that...he SAYS he doesn't have much homework, we'll see at report card time). A couple of years ago, when he was in 6th grade, he had a huge amount of homework every night, but this year and last year it really seems to have tapered off. He was in a different school district then, so that may account for the change.

Jane

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-21-2005
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Thu, 04-13-2006 - 10:09am
I can relate! I know dd put off a few things this week because she wanted to spend time with K, and she will no doubt pay for it over break. Most of her friends - at her school and at the local public school - are in the same situation. Dd isn't in a sport, and I cannot imagine running her all over creation to games and practices AND dealing with the homework..
jt
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Thu, 04-13-2006 - 11:47am

Just before the end of each quarter (dd18) or trimester (dd16) my girls seem to have alot of papers or projects due. I recall griping about it to a teacher during PT meetings and she explained that most of those projects or papers are assigned earlier in the quarter/trimester and that it's a matter of the students not managing or organizing thier time appropriately - instead they wait till the few days or week before it's due and try to cram it all in. I have to say, with 16dd, that's probably true, but with dd18 she's learned how to manage her time for the most part. Rarely does she ever get bogged down with projects or HW.

I do admit that never ever in my entire educational career, did I have as much homework as my girls have had. I remember having a parent discussion at a soccer game when my girls were in 4th and 5th grade and we were all appalled at the amount of homework the kids brought home!

IMO: Part of the problem is that the districts continue to add programs without removing old ones and there is only so much time in a school day for the teachers to teach all that. Another reason is because the disciplinary issues in many public schools has gotten so completely out of hand that much of the teacher's time is spent dealing with behavioral problems that actual 'class time' is lost. So more work is sent home. And lastly, I hate to say this since I HAVE a special needs child, but because so many special needs children are integrated or mainstreamed in this generation of students, some classes move at a slower pace or time is lost when a teacher has to cater to the needs or one or two or three students rather than the class of 25 as a whole. My dd's 4th grade teacher was a new teacher to our district - that was just around the time that we were beginning to suspect my dd had LD - and we discovered that the principal had placed 5 kids with KNOWN behavioral problem backgrounds in this teacher's class - withOUT any co-teacher or para teacher. She once cried during a PT conference with me because it was so overwhelming for her to have so many disturbances throughout her school day without any help or support. Finally, by years end after so many parents called and complained she was given an aide. By then it was almost too late. The teacher, who was awesome in every other way, left that year. And lastly, back in our day, teachers didn't take any guff the way teachers do now; we were sternly disciplined both at school and at home; special needs children had thier own classes; and mainly the basics were taught - there simply were not as many detailed or tailored classes as there are now.

Anyway, that's my theory on why are kids have so much more HW than we did.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2004
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Thu, 04-13-2006 - 11:55am

My kids have tons of homework, always had. It is not unusual for them to start their work at
4pm,take a hour off for supper, and still be working at 11pm. "3 to 4 hours" is considered a "light night". There are books to read, labs to write up, "social science" questions to answer, math homework to complete, physics problems to do,essays to write plus projects to complete on top of all the normal classwork. With 4 full courses each semester, 1hr per course per night is not unreasonable to expect.

And my kids are not stupid,from far it. They also go to a public school.
On top of that, they play sports,play in school bands, do outside music....

In high school, I remember having tons of homework too.

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