Quote:
Originally Posted by britaneejean
aw man this makes me scared for my oldest. she's only in preschool but i've heard how much homework our elementary gives & i'm nervous! those afternoons seem to go by so fast when it's all about homework. i've heard from most of my neighbors that it depends on the teacher, not the grade. i wonder if that's the case for your child? have you brought up that concern at the parent/teacher conferences?
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i'm not sure how it is within different districts in different states... but this is def a district/state issue for us. and while i am very grateful to be in such a great school district. i just feel it's often too much too soon. he's had this level of obscene amount of homework since Kindergarten. in K he had to do a 6 page self authored book EVERY week [in addition to spelling and math homework]. no joke. with either a picture or illustration and 1-2 sentences per page. most of the books required doing some level of research/fact findings and he had to do an oral presentation on it and be able to answer questions. INSANE. so far, this year is slightly better than 1st grade... as he doesn't have a 20 page workbook to complete each week ontop of daily homework and his teacher this year really tries to not assign work over the weekend. but kids should be allowed to be kids. they have their entire lives ahead of them to work, work, work and i don't understand the rush to have them be inundated with adult issues.
AND i just learned at our last parent/teacher conference that this next quarter will be all about preparing our kids [2nd graders] for ESSAYS. and in addition to the normal homework load, he'll be required to do two essay style book reports each week. in 2nd grade??? like i said. angry beyond words.
and while i'm sure, in the long run, this crazy, stupid amount of work will better prepare him for higher education... i simply don't agree with it. i strongly feel that people/kids will learn/acquire the knowledge when they are ready and at their own individual pace. pushing them to feel such extreme pressure to compete only sets them up for failure in grade school [or in any experience in life], and in my opinion, will only help in suppressing their desire to learn and to squash the full amount of joy and exhilaration they would otherwise experience on their own, given the opportunity to find their own drive to strive for success on their own merits and accomplishments.