Random Thoughts X (The 9th Regeneration)

[cycloneG]

Thankfully most of our teachers do not believe in homework, and my kids are the type that can get most of it done during class time if given time. I think I can count on one hand the number of times my 5th grader has had homework this year. And even then, it is maybe just a few math problems or finishing a worksheet or something. Middle school (6-8) has a little more.

That's awesome! Unfortunately, this is planned homework. They aren't allowed to work on it at school. How often does your 5th grader have big projects? Our 4th grader has five big projects this year. Each includes a research phase, report phase, display phase and presentation phase. Huge amount of time on each one.

 

[CloneinWDSM]

Granted I didn't really try in high school but i can't remember actually bringing homework home more than a few times ever. "Studying" (making cheat sheets) for tests an hour a night would be about the most effort I put into it.


I went to a small high school that would give you time to get your homework done in class. Do your kids have a study hall every day?

 

[Cybirdy]

That's awesome! Unfortunately, this is planned homework. They aren't allowed to work on it at school. How often does your 5th grader have big projects? Our 4th grader has five big projects this year. Each includes a research phase, report phase, display phase and presentation phase. Huge amount of time on each one.

I don't think they have any big individual projects like that at all. They are more into group learning. Middle school they have more projects like that.

When I went to the HS orientation meeting, they sounded like they really tried to give kids time to work on things in school. She will have one study hall, then have have 20min a day where they can seek out individual teachers to ask questions. They also do block scheduling so some days the classes are twice as long which gives them more time to work.

I remember having some homework, but was in a small school so did band, chorus, sports, cheerleaders, drama, etc. I told her HS is the time to do all these things--you are only 14-18yrs old once.

 

[jcyclonee]

Don't tell me this. Daughter is already thinking about giving up volleyball (not playing for school) because she is worried about the amount of homework. She has played club ball since 5th grade and is one of the top 5 players in her class at school.

Too be honest, my daughter is extremely diligent about her homework. She could get by doing a bit less. It's kind of scary how often she sets the curve in her classes.

 

[BCClone]

Granted I didn't really try in high school but i can't remember actually bringing homework home more than a few times ever. "Studying" (making cheat sheets) for tests an hour a night would be about the most effort I put into it.


I went to a small high school that would give you time to get your homework done in class. Do your kids have a study hall every day?

Our HS principal does not believe in study hall and is trying to phase them out. He also thinks the semester tests aren't hard enough and all need to be comprehensive. My to be freshman daughter will have no study halls next year and my sophmore son had none his freshman year and one this year. My son is almost halfway to his needed graduation credit total after 3 semesters. Will probably take all AP classes or just go to CC part of the time his senior year. Makes you wonder if the HS classes are worthless or the first year of college is if you can have 20 credits going into college.

 

[harimad]

My third grader only has about 30 minutes every Tuesday night. Then again, maybe he gets special treatment because I'm get busy with hi teacher.

This move site is terrible today.

Staying with the Seinfeld theme, you and his teacher have a conversation... yada yada yada... and then your third grader gets off easy for homework?

 

[BCClone]

Too be honest, my daughter is extremely diligent about her homework. She could get by doing a bit less. It's kind of scary how often she sets the curve in her classes.

gets some good genes from mom, huh?

 

[jcyclonee]

Granted I didn't really try in high school but i can't remember actually bringing homework home more than a few times ever. "Studying" (making cheat sheets) for tests an hour a night would be about the most effort I put into it.


I went to a small high school that would give you time to get your homework done in class. Do your kids have a study hall every day?

No study hall.

 

[jcyclonee]

gets some good genes from mom, huh?

They're certainly not from me.

 

[harimad]

Our HS principal does not believe in study hall and is trying to phase them out. He also thinks the semester tests aren't hard enough and all need to be comprehensive. My to be freshman daughter will have no study halls next year and my sophmore son had none his freshman year and one this year. My son is almost halfway to his needed graduation credit total after 3 semesters. Will probably take all AP classes or just go to CC part of the time his senior year. Makes you wonder if the HS classes are worthless or the first year of college is if you can have 20 credits going into college.

You're on to something. My niece (senior-architecture) and nephew (sophomore-business) both entered ISU with at least 30 credits. I had zero when I enrolled.

 

[Cybirdy]

Too be honest, my daughter is extremely diligent about her homework. She could get by doing a bit less. It's kind of scary how often she sets the curve in her classes.

Ours is this way, too. She has very high standards for herself and probably does more than she has to. She was upset with her Iowa Assessment scores (used to be Iowa Test of Basic Skills) because she felt the percentages she got weren't up to her standards. They were just fine and probably better than 97% of her classmates. I think yours is the same way where she is already thinking ahead to college/vet school and has heard many times about how you have to have good grades to get in.

 

[BCClone]

Staying with the Seinfeld theme, you and his teacher have a conversation... yada yada yada... and then your third grader gets off easy for homework?

Don't know, he doesn't have much. Don't know if this is normal, but I do seem to be stuck grading a lot of papers. And the getting busy is more like doing chores around the house that she wants done.





His teacher is his mom/ my wife

 

[jcyclonee]

Ours is this way, too. She has very high standards for herself and probably does more than she has to. She was upset with her Iowa Assessment scores (used to be Iowa Test of Basic Skills) because she felt the percentages she got weren't up to her standards. They were just fine and probably better than 97% of her classmates. I think yours is the same way where she is already thinking ahead to college/vet school and has heard many times about how you have to have good grades to get in.

She's definitely looking ahead at colleges and has set high career goals already.

 

[BCClone]

You're on to something. My niece (senior-architecture) and nephew (sophomore-business) both entered ISU with at least 30 credits. I had zero when I enrolled.

I tested out of english 104 so I technically had 3. I do blame my guidance counselor some though. He asked if I wanted to graduate after first semester ( I changed schools my senior year and had enough at the new school to graduate when I showed up) and I asked why I would want to do that. He said i could work and make money. I worked for dad for no pay so I wasn't really in the mode to put in more hours for zero pay. He should have mentioned taking classes at NIACC to get some college classes out of the way. (Before the AP days). So I had 3 study halls and PE half the days and four study halls the other days. We had open campus so I had one class right away and then would leave until after lunch and come back for the rest of my claseses.

 

[carvers4math]

Homework has been my life for years now.

Grade school was a piece of cake. Spelling and reading I would make them do, an occasional special project. All of my kids were accelerated in math, so by sixth grade they were taking Algebra I, but even then it wasn't more than half an hour of math.

Middle school, starting to be a bit more, but really just because of more special projects and the fact that they were actually taking high school math. An average of maybe 1.5 hours.

High School, this is when every waking hour is filled with school, sports, band, and other extra curriculars, and homework. So happy church finally changed confirmation class from Wednesday night to Sunday morning by the time for my youngest three. Don't think there is a night there is ever less than two hours of homework, and the average is probably 3.5 hours. Nights of an away sporting event on a non-Friday are about guaranteed to be up until 2:00 a.m. On his senior awards night, my oldest was up until 6:00 a.m. doing his AP Chemistry and AP Calculus. Was lucky he was exempt from semester tests in his other high school classes due to the attendance/grades exemption policy that year (it changes every year it seems).

High school years, really just hanging on for summer.

 

[BCClone]

She's definitely looking ahead at colleges and has set high career goals already.

How many years of foreign language is she taking? My son is quitting after two years, hes also been told that his Spanish teacher is so bad that you will struggle the first week in college, and is told that he should be fine outside of UofI with that. He isn't even considering going there so thats not an issue.

 

[BCClone]

Homework has been my life for years now.

Grade school was a piece of cake. Spelling and reading I would make them do, an occasional special project. All of my kids were accelerated in math, so by sixth grade they were taking Algebra I, but even then it wasn't more than half an hour of math.

Middle school, starting to be a bit more, but really just because of more special projects and the fact that they were actually taking high school math. An average of maybe 1.5 hours.

High School, this is when every waking hour is filled with school, sports, band, and other extra curriculars, and homework. So happy church finally changed confirmation class from Wednesday night to Sunday morning by the time for my youngest three. Don't think there is a night there is ever less than two hours of homework, and the average is probably 3.5 hours. Nights of an away sporting event on a non-Friday are about guaranteed to be up until 2:00 a.m. On his senior awards night, my oldest was up until 6:00 a.m. doing his AP Chemistry and AP Calculus. Was lucky he was exempt from semester tests in his other high school classes due to the attendance/grades exemption policy that year (it changes every year it seems).

High school years, really just hanging on for summer.

For those of you single folks here, think about Carvers post here. What does it tell you?

Marry someone smarter than you so they get stuck doing the homework since they will take classes that you don't remember. My wife openely admits that school was not her strength, so when the kids start getting into MS and HS math/science classes its me 100% of the time. I have to call home during fieldwork and find out how much help they need with homework to see if I need to make it home earlier or get up early and help them.

 

[carvers4math]

All of my kids are taking four years of Spanish. It helps to not have to take it at college.

No study halls for any of them.

The two ISU ones entered college as sophomores. The oldest would have also, but his college of choice accepted no AP or dual enrollment classes.

 

[carvers4math]

For those of you single folks here, think about Carvers post here. What does it tell you?

Marry someone smarter than you so they get stuck doing the homework since they will take classes that you don't remember. My wife openely admits that school was not her strength, so when the kids start getting into MS and HS math/science classes its me 100% of the time. I have to call home during fieldwork and find out how much help they need with homework to see if I need to make it home earlier or get up early and help them.

My husband has a Physics degree. He answers math and science, I do the rest. Neither of us can help them with Spanish. Fortunately they are all smarter than I am, except with respect to English probably.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

For those of you single folks here, think about Carvers post here. What does it tell you?

Marry someone smarter than you so they get stuck doing the homework since they will take classes that you don't remember. My wife openely admits that school was not her strength, so when the kids start getting into MS and HS math/science classes its me 100% of the time. I have to call home during fieldwork and find out how much help they need with homework to see if I need to make it home earlier or get up early and help them.

Reading Carver's post make me happy I never had kids.