Homework in American Publick Schools

My parents never helped me with homework. Ever. And I graduated high school in the top 10% of my class with honors. If I didn't understand something, I called someone in my class or waited and asked the teacher the next day. I was also active in the arts, eventually earning my undergraduate degree in music education.
My son does his own homework. My job is to look over it and make sure it's done. If something is wrong, then the teacher should see that. It's called assessment.
I don't think I understand your issue here.

Public
Unless you meant 'ick' because you are disconcerted with Public schools.
Parental influence and priorities are huge when it comes to a child's academic success and interest.

We personally have our kids in extra-curricular activities after school, to provide opportunities for them grow, learn and develop life-long interests. I prefer that they have little to no homework most evenings. Reading is always on the to do list. So is practicing their instrument.

If you look at countries like Korea and Japan where academics is the ONLY focus, and billions of dollars are spent on after school tutors and academic programs, you have an entire generation of people entering their adult lives with high grades in every subject, but they can't swim or ride a bike, or kick a ball. That's an exaggeration, but is quite common.

I appreciate your insight in that many parents volunteer, but then can't spend time helping their kids. Actually, that is not correct. It's been proven that parents who volunteer at school, their kids perform better than those who don't.

Studies have actually proven that hours of homework don't help students grasp the concept. Kids are in school for 7-8 hours a day, and then they have activities in the evening that round them out as people, and not just students. I feel that homework (aside form reading) is an unnecessary evil.

I just completed my MBA and one of my last classes was part math. One week, we had 11 problems that were all similar. One problem took over 45 minutes to complete. I spent HOURS doing something that I wouldn't be able to do today if someone asked me to. Why? Because it's not something I need for my job or do outside of that class. The same goes for students in school.

Students having hours of homework won't make them smart at all, so I'm confused by your question.

I think that homework should be little, if at all. We send our kids to school for 6-7 hours a day. And then we expect them to come home and do MORE work on top of that? It's like when adults have to bring work home from the office. I personally hate bringing work home, and I'm an adult.

If you can't teach my kid in 6-7 hours what he/she needs to know, the there is something sorely wrong with the education system. It's not the teachers--most of the teachers I know are wonderful. Their hands are tied by all the rules and restrictions. They do the best they can.

We homeschool to avoid it all. We do about 4 hours a day of "seatwork" and the rest is living life and learning from experience. That leaves us plenty of time for extra activities plus time to be a kid. I'm not saying homeschool is everyone's answer, but it was our solution to the poor public schools in our area.

Do YOU have time for school work? (Sure hope they are teaching spelling.) Do YOU have (or make) time for your child's education? What are you worried about other parents for? Homework has little to do with anything. It's the VALUE people place on education, that matters. Don't like your children's homework? Value their education and create learning at home, that will benefit them. Parental involvement, does not mean relying on the school to completely teach their kids. You're complaining about how they need better homework? (I think!) CREATE better homework! YOU are the parent. YOU dictate their quality of life. Stop relying on the school to do everything for you. Do YOUR job and teach your kids. Step in, if they aren't learning enough.

Based upon state statistics, Coppell does have some of the best schools in the state. However, if you are worried OTHER parents...you won't find a district in the world, that won't disappoint you. If you're worried about homework and the school quality, do SOMETHING about it. Create the educational experiences, that you wish your child to have. The dang government can't do everything, you know. You complain about parental involvement, what are YOU doing?

Hey, MALLORY -
You don't know anything about "most" of us! I HOMESCHOOL and my child gets a complete, well rounded education. How about you get out of here, with your silly assumptions. K?

Spend some more time researching this topic rather than scolding other parents to make yourself feel superior (and learn how to spell 'public', please).

Homework does not improve grades, learning, test scores, etc. Period.

My 3rd grader (read: EIGHT years old) has over an hour of homework nightly. That's ridiculous. The reason? Because her teachers have to spend more time prepping her for standardized tests than they do actually teaching. It's absolutely inexcusable, and her teachers are doing the best they can with a system that is allowing the government to be FAR more invasive than they should be or need to be. It. PISSES. ME. OFF.

So yes. I don't want my daughter having that much homework. I pay my taxes, her teachers should be allowed to do what my tax dollars should be paying for.

And YOU need to worry about YOUR kids and stop worrying about MINE.

Who are you talking to, N.? I am an American and I take offense to your generalization of an entire country.

My husband and I have spent many, many hours with our boys and their homework. I have spent many hours volunteering at their schools and yet I still help them with their homework. Both of my boys play sports and STILL I work with them on their homework. We live in Coppell and I have so many friends who do all of this, too.

By the way, it looks like you aren't taking YOUR homeworks seriously. Public is not spelled with a K.

We have had it both ways. We have had kids in a school that had homework every night and we have been in one that has had homework maybe 3 times a week and rarely more that 30 minutes and our daughter was in 4th grade. There were about 6 projects that took up time at home but they taught her how to research and build something around an idea or a theme.

Our daughter, who had less homework, actually does better in school. She is happier, more well rounded, and motivated to do well. She also happens to knock her standardized test scores out of the park (uh-oh, sports reference, jk).

I think, if we are talking about education in this country, there are so many other productive conversations we could be having. For instance,

Not teaching to the test

Making it easier to volunteer in the class for single or working parents

Utilizing many different learning strategies so all different types of learners have an equal opportunity and level playing field (sports ref.)

Developing good relationships and lines of communication between teachers and parents.

Instituting a teamwork aproach to learning instead of the "teacher's job/parent's job" scenario. For instance, if there is a skill my child isn't grasping I don't need her to be assigned homework to help her. I can help the teacher in working on that at home.

I think on the whole most parents do the best they can with what they are working with and make what they believe to be the best decisions possible for their kids. I know a parent who had her daughter in several different activities because the little girl had a learning disability. She wanted her daughter to feel that she could be successful at something to keep morale up while she was working on the things that didn't come easily. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors, you don't know why parents make the choices they make. But I think it's safe to say that you don't corner the market on wanting your kids to have a great education. You just disagree in how to get there. Having said that, I am sure you love your child and want only the best for him/her, so who am I to tell you that you're completely and utterly wrong??????

I think you are mistaking homework and busywork. There is a difference. I have no issue with homework IF it is beneficial.

Most parents I know give quite a bit of attention and time to help their children and their studies. However, it is the responsibility of the child to also participate in the learning process.

School work is first and outside activities are second. Public is how you spell it here in America. You are in a very good school district, so I"m not sure what you are really upset about.

Okay, sorry, but if you are going to complain about parental involvement could you perhaps find it in yourself to spell public correctly?

Thing is that kind of illustrates a big part of the problem, schools and parents failed the kids, now the kids are parents and think this is normal. Really, if you were to help them with their English or writing how would that end up?

I think I am being more critical because of the way you wrote this, broad strokes and all. I know a lot of parents that have their kids in a lot of extracurricular activities, they tend to complain that there is not enough homework. Most I know are nothing like you are complaining everyone is.

In the end only your kids are your responsibility. Whether your kids get a good education is totally on you! My kids learn just as much outside of school as they do in school. Everything is a balance. If you don't think the school is giving your children enough homework then give them some yourself!

I don't know, like I said your tone makes me crabby but it seems you are blaming everyone but the person who is actually responsible for your kids...you!

I'm not following. You say it's the parents fault for not focusing on their kids homework and schoolwork. I agree with you wholeheartedly! The cream always rises, and parental involvement will ALWAYS overcome crappy schools (if the schools happen to be crappy).

But then you blame your child's school?

So do you need to vent about crappy parenting, or crappy schooling?

May I ask. How many hours per day do you expect a child to go to school? Why do they even need homework? Don't they get teachers who can teach the subject in an 8 hour day?

I don't get homework at all. If she was teaching the kids the correct way they would "get" it during school hours and know it. Do they seriously have to spend 10-12 hours per day doing school work?

I know this is sort of the devils advocate part of me saying all this because this is something I wondered as a kid. I thought "I did this all day, why do I have to come home and do more of it". I ended up hating math and stuff due to homework all the time. I was a good student too.

If the teacher is doing her job and the kids are learning how to do it why do they need to come home and do it again? That's my point.

There are labor laws prohibiting children from working over so many hours per day. This pertains mostly to actors and other places where children draw a paycheck for holding down a position.

If those laws were the same for schools their school day would even be shorter than it is now.

When my grandson went into 4th grade he had to go to a school across town since his local school had no room for him. If a student in his grade left he would be able to go to his home school. The teacher he had at the school across town gave him up to 4 hours of homework per day. I was there, it was assignment after assignment. He sat there and worked the whole time and even ate his dinner while working.

Once he transferred to the other school he had homework once or twice per week and it was usually a paper or some other writing assignment he had to do with unlimited time on a home computer. His grades went up and he actually had less behavior problems since he was able to do more that school for over 12 hours per day 4-5 days per week.

Kids in "America" as you put it have learned that a well rounded person who is doing sports and other activities has a lifestyle as they get older that will allow them better health and the ability to have a lot more coping skills as an adult.

The learn how to do teamwork that later will translate into "gets along well with their co-workers/works well with co-workers", they learn to take not winning each and every time and turn it into working harder to achieve the best they can do, they learn so many more things that this post would be 2-3 times longer.

The facts are what people are posting. Homework does NOT mean their getting a better education, homework does NOT mean that they are attending a good school, it just means they have a teacher that is too busy to do her job and they have to have the parents do it for them.

If you read about successful school systems in other parts of the world you often find that the amount of homework actually has very little to do with successful learning. This has been documented many times (wish I had a link handy.) The most successful students come from cultures that value education, and that comes from paying teachers very well, and investing in their ongoing professional development. We don't do that here. Teachers are simply not valued and respected as they are in other places.
I DO agree that there is sometimes too much emphasis on outside activities that can take time away from academics, but I also feel that sports and the arts can be an important part of a child's development. But that's just a question of personal preference and balance. Some kids can handle a lot, and actually thrive on a full schedule, others not so much. It's important for parents to know what works for THEIR child and not worry about everyone else :)

You have to take in all perspectives when asking this question.

For working parents, we do wonder what the heck our kids do 8 hrs a day in school.

For the single parent, sometimes they just don't have enough time in the day to manage everything beyond making sure we don't lose our house, car, utilities.

For American parents, we know the world is performance driven and very competitive in more ways than academics, thus the push for sports and arts programs.

For overachieving parents, our frustration lies in the fact that most schools cater to the students who are...how do I say this nicely..."least grade-level ready"?

People are going to place their values where they want. Make sure your values are good and long lasting. And make sure your kids not only know what your own values are but also know how to use them to their advantage when it comes time to get ahead of the game. Kind of along the lines of "if you give a man a fish...".

Huh?
I'm willing to support homework.
Who isn't?
As for extracirriculars? In our house school comes first, activities fit AROUND school & homework.
Most families have that philosophy--that I see & know anyway.

ETA: did you misspell "public" on purpose? Lol

Lots of homework doesn't mean your child is getting a good education.

I just took back to back Spanish classes from 2 different profs at the community college. The first one gave us lots of tests and regularly let us out of class early. We had a ton of homework, 3-5 hours a night. Yes, I learned but it was all on my own time. The second professor kept us in class the whole time. We had to ask for a 5 minute potty break in the middle of the 2.5 hour class. He worked our butts off in class. We had 1-2 hours of homework a night, but did most of our learning in the classroom. And I think I learned more working with the teacher who engaged us in class.

So, yes, it's possible to learn more with less homework.

Hi N.. Your profile is unclear how many kids you have in school or what country you come from.

We all have our priorities. So do our kids. Many parents have had such a long day at work that they just don't feel like watching over kids and homework.

As for me and my home, we had an expecttion of excellence. I expected my kids to do their best. That didn't mean straight "A's" unless they were capable of making straight "A's". I would look at the report cards of all my kids. If they got straight "A's", then I let then establish their own study habits. If they didn't get straight "A's" then they went on dad's study plan.

My #3 son brought home C's and D's. So he started on my study plan. I required he bring home a list of all his homework. Then when I got home we went over his homework. There was a lot of weeping and whining, but he would do his homeowrk and then I would check it. I would tell him the questions he got wrong. Then he had to go back and find the right answer (history/social studies) or redo the math problem. If he had spelling words, the he had to spell them for me. When he told me he didn't have any homework, I'd call his teacher to verify. It got to the point where he wouldn't bring home his homework assignments and when I found out what his assignments were and had him do them, he would forget them at home or forget to turn the homework in. (Being stubborn. He takes after his mom's side of the family ;~)) ) So I took a weeks vacation and accompanied him to school and sat in each of his classes. He was so embarrassed, he told me he would do his homework and turn it in. So I told him, if he didn't do his homework and turn it in and get "A's" on his tests, I'd come to school and sit in his class again. I fought with him all four years of his high school. My doing what I did and spending so much time with him and my other kids meant that there were many night that I never turned the TV on. I never got to see the latest hit shows. I missed out on so much tv (sarcasm!!). But I spent a lot of one on one time with my kids. My #3 son graduated salutitorian in high school (#2) and got into college. He graduated from USC med school and is now practicing in Northern California. He is the first doctor in our family. Was it worth it? YOU BETCHA ! ! ! (My #2 son was validictorian.)

Schools don't make as much difference as their parents do. (see my profile.)

Good luck to you and yours.

I am intrigued, but certainly not offended, by your observations of American schools, and am curious to know what your native country is and how they rank in the world in education in comparison to the U.S. I am not blind, as many other responders seem to be, to the fact that the American education system continues to sink in rankings when compared to other industrialized nations. I am also not blind to the fact that Texas ranks 45th out of 50 states in education in the U.S.

That being said, I know that my middle school daughter (8th grade) gets plenty of homework, but not necessarily every day. Last year there were days she'd come home with 3-4 hours of homework. But unlike what you seemingly believe, having a lot of homework does not necessarily help. I don't believe that there should be more than 2 hours of homework a day in total (for all classes). And I also agree with one responder that homework is for the child to do, and parents should only be a resource for when assistance is needed. Otherwise, children will never learn to do for themselves and how to work things out on their own. And that type of learning -- a life lesson -- is way harder than having a parent sit with you and do your homework with you/for you. And participating in extra-curricular activities (whether it be sports, the arts, etc.) is also a very important part of learning life lessons -- it's called being able to multi-task.

I certainly don't understand where the $$ falls into this. If your child/children are in the public school system -- then no one is paying any $$ except through taxes. So I'm a little confused by your comment that we're more interested in paying $$ for school then helping our kids with homework.

I don't know who you are talking to or what you are talking about.

My daughter has plenty of homework and we provide her with the resources she needs to complete it. We do not do her homework for her because it is HER homework but we are glad to assist with questions and check when needed. She is a Senior this year and has had plenty of HW all through school.

HW is your child's job to do, not yours. Your job is to support that child and provide what he/she needs in order to complete assignments but not do the work for them or they will never learn...

I am in Plano and they have great schools and I know that Coppell is a highly regarded district as well.

PUBLIC nor PUBLICK, Gees

Actually there is ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE that homework provides any benefit at all to elementary and middle school children and contradictory evidence about any benefit for high school kids. So - yes learning will happen without homework. After all kids have 6+ hours a day in school.

When I was in public school (an excellent one in an excellent district with an extremely high college acceptance rate and Ivy League acceptance rate), there was rarely homework in the lower grades and only the occasional book report in 5th and 6th grade. Our parents expected us to come home and go outside to play until dinner time - not sit in our rooms memorizing facts.

My son attended a Montessori kindergarten last year - he was doing multiplication and division for math - they had no homework. The school's attitude was - children learn because they are exposed to the world - spend time with your kids - they will learn. Do not stifle their love of learning with work sheets and rote memorization.

I went to curriculum night for my son's first grade public school class last night. His teacher emphasized that while there may be occasional homework - it is not as important as family time. She told us that if it is a choice between playing outside, attending a soccer game or snuggling on the couch and homework - don't pick the homework.

DH and I both have doctorates. We expect DS will attend college - we do not see that a ton of homework will get him there.

Do your research. Homework does not make a student more successful. They have actually found it to not have any impact on a child's education, and in some cases be detrimental to a family unit.

Besides, parents aren't complaining about homework. They complain about the quantity of homework.

I graduated from Coppell High School. Coppell has great schools some of the best in the state but you are also living in an area where yes there is a lot of focus on money and many of the parents think they can buy their childs way in to a good education. Why are you so concerned about what other parents are doing? So long as you are helping your child with their homework and doing what is right for your child thats all you should be concerned about. If you are concerned that your child is not getting enough out of their education talk to his/her teachers and possible request extra credit work or have your child join debate, academic decathalon, etc......

Homework is the reinforcement of what the children learned during the day.

I recall learning in class and being able to do the work their, but once I left the classroom,. could not always remember how to do it on my own.. I needed the homework to help me hold onto the information..

Homework is also a way for the parents to see what their children are doing at school.. Yes, they are there 8 hours a day, but not 8 hours learning the same subject.. They only have 45 minutes to 50 minutes per subject per day.. Some of it is instruction and then only a bit of it classwork..

We as parents are Partners in our children's educations. I have never expected to just send my child to school and that is all the education they would get. I also knew my part would be to reinforce what they were learning and to expand what was being taught.. Those extracurricular activities, was part of it.

Are you saying that when homework is sent home, parents dont help out? Or are you saying that its not enough homework sent home? I take it as though you are not an american. School is 50/50. Teachers show the kids how to do the subject and homework is sent home to make sure the kid understand. If we didnt help out then our schools would be failing. Yes we love to put our kids in extra curricular activities and be involved in our kids schools. What's wrong with that? If you dont like american schools..them homeschool your kids or send them to school in your home country.

Hmm, I have to say I like the shift away from homework. My kids have less homework now (5th & 3rd grade) then they did in K & 1st. The reason is because the teachers are giving the kids time in the classroom to learn the concepts - if they pay attention and do the work there's no homework, if they don't there is. My kids figured out real quick that if they got everything done at school there was nothing to take home. I like that it's teaching them to take responsibility for their own learning. In K & 1st they spent waaay to much time on social & fun activities then sent the school work home as homework; drove me batty when I would ask if they went over it in class and the kids told me no because they were playing duck duck goose. IMO one of the biggest problems with our society today is the lack of ownership and accountability; everything is always someone else's fault. I love it when my 5th grader tells me he has homework because during class work time he was chatting and didn't get it done; he's learning that he has accountability and consequences for his choices. If he can keep his grades up and get all his work done at school, more power to him.

I don't know what you're talking about.
I have my kids in soccer and we make sure to do their homework before they go. We read every night. We have family dinners.
I don't volunteer in the classrooms (since I can't bring the baby with me), and I never spend any extra money on school.
So, I think it must just be you and the school you go to because I always make sure that homework is done before we play.
L.

My kid gets plenty of homework...I guess your school must be different. My dd has a hard time getting it all done...yes she does sports, but we had to cut back so we had time for all the school work.

However, I do think it's more important what they learn while in school...homework just reinforces.

I dont think the amount of time spent on homework makes a good education. Our elementary school day is 6 hours and 51 minutes long.. a long long day for little kids.. I do not want them to have to do homework at the end of the day.

If the teachers are using class time well. the kids should be able to complete work in class so they can play and have fun after school.

Studies show that homework does not impact learning.. It is often busy work. I do not mind the projects.. but doing worksheets at home.. is silly.

I do think kids are WAY too over scheduled nowadays. When you are a kid, your job should be school. Not school, swimming, baseball, karate, gymnastics, piano, guitar, and dance. The likelihood of your child going "pro" with any of these activities is very minute. Extra curriculars should be fun, not overwhelming. I do feel that parents like to live vicariously through their kids, or want "bragging rights" over their kids You know, you're not a good parent unless your kid does 10 activities and is good at all of them.

I think reading & light homework can be beneficial to the kids that may not be grasping the material, but I've had several friends in the teaching world tell me that the kids usually doing the homework are the kids that don't need to do it. The kids that are behind need to do the homework & don't because there is no support at home. It's unfortunate.

I am not sure what to tell you. School is what you make it, and you have control of your kids and what school work & activities they do.

I have no problem with my kids having homework and working with them on it but some grads and teachers assign too much to where all the kid has time to do after school is homework and I don't feel that's right. They are at school for more hours that at home and if they have to spend all their time doing homework that leaves no time to spend as a family being a family. I like how my 4th graders teachers do it. They send it home on Fridays and it's not due till Thursday. That gives us plenty of time to work on it and get it done and still have time for other things we need to do.

I think sometimes people take things to extreme. I think it's really important for kids to be able to be kids! But, also, as I explain to mine, "your job right now is school". What you do is learn. That way, when you grow up, you can do anything you want to do!

I think homework is important - but what it should be? I'm not sure, I'm not a teacher. We read every day, all the time, year round - it doesn't matter if it's assigned or we have to write it on a log, we read, always have. I have her doing a program on-line called Xtra math. Oh it makes her po'd at me sometimes, but it's like flash cards on line and it's good for her. Then, this year's teacher sends home things she wants us to work with her on, such as spelling words. If she gets them all right on her pre-test at the beginning of the week, she doesn't get that homework. If she doesn't finish up something at school, that comes home.

We are actually doing less homework and she is thriving in class this year. However, that being said, I am that mom who will try to do whatever is best for my daughter. A ton pile of homework can be overwhelming. But, what needs to be done, needs to be done.

This teacher said she doesn't put pressure on the kids for the standardized testing and LOVES, LOVES to teach. Guess what, I knew she loved to teach before I even met her.

So, I think the real problem in America is that we have a lot of teachers who don't really care. They are in a union, they aren't getting fired and they've checked out. That being said, I also think we have a lot of SUPERB teachers here - it's just a real bummer that the bad ones are protected by their stupid union.

I volunteer and help with homework. Public school is about to go down the tubes. I hope we fix it because it has a lot of potential!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say you are right in most counts. People want a better education but are not willing to help out. Sometimes it is because they just don't want to and sometimes because they just don't understand. This is where a proactive parent contacts the teacher for assistance. The student should also be proactive to get the help when needed or questions answered from the teacher.
You will have teachers that give homework just to give homework. And you will find teachers that give homework to have a skill practiced. We will never really be able to tell the difference between the two all the time. But either way, someone is going to complain if it is too much or not enough. You cannot please everyone. EVER.

As for a lot of the comments people have put here. Yes public is spelled incorrectly, but I find it funny how the adults and mostly women here tend to correct you and they themselves have improper grammar, misspellings, and some are downright rude.

The only thing you can do is help your child and prepare them to do their best in schools and hopefully be an upstanding individual in this society.
As for sports, well not everyone can be a genius...

Hi girls,all i know is....my little guy was pulled from catholic due to illnees they just werent willing to work with.he is in public now- not a lot of homework compared to 2-3 hrs in private,i do worry a bit the work is not hard enough but,i hope & pray it works out. I feel a lot is your morals,the way you raise & school.teamwork &excellent parenting......cant hurt as well.we really miss private,chuch &all.but,right now i truly feel this is best.will keep you all updated.