" We have structured our childrens lives so much that they no longer have time to be an imaginative child. There is way to much homework and because of the testing requirements there is not enough time to thuroughly explain a new concept to a child who needs a bit more help. The problem is that the subjects we as parents are being asked to help with have changed so much since we were in school. I have to have my child go on line to a homework help site and risk at least the wrong answer, because most of the teachers do not take blank answers, they mark it as incomplete and do not accept the paper. My child is in middle school and generally does great on tests, He participates in class discussions, but is still failing because of the amount of homework is too much and is the majority of the grade. "

" Some days it seems like it's a "ton" of homework and some others it's just enough for my daughters to sit quietly and do it for about one hour, and an extra 30-60 mins of reading.

I agree the "language and methods" I learned are different now, I am fortunate enough to have my 7th grader help my 4th grader. And most of the times they both have started or even finished homework at school during a class so if there were questions more likely they were answered and clarified already.

I believe the trick -at least in our household- is to go straight to the kitchen table as soon as we come home after school and FINISH the homework while eating a snack or sometimes an "early dinner" because there are soccer practices, volleyball clinics or swim team to go to after.

Ah...another thing that makes it easier is that we DON'T WATCH TV!
We unsubscribe to our cable 11 years ago. It's worth it! Computer time is "free for all" after homework is done..some nights we trade computer time for a movie (as a reward). "

" My 4th grade son complains bitterly when I correct his homework and have him spell the misspelled words correctly 5 times, or the missed multiplication fact 5 times. But I am seeing that it works. I am not trying to make sure that he gets perfect scores or anything like that. But he is a very bright boy and the teachers tend to spend more time with the struggling students and he does independent work. So the mantra is "neat, complete, spelled right and excellent".
My 6th grade daughter has a LOT of homework and even more activities than my son. He wants to play with friends more than anything, and I am fine with that. He does one sport activity and one music lesson. My daughter has some activity 7 days a week, and more subjects with homework in 6th grade. She seems to be doing okay with it, but if it gets to be too much, we will drop some of the activities off the list. Some end in early November anyway, so that will help.
My son goes to Homework Club after school to do homework and gets it done before we come home.
I couldn't agree more about the TV. We cancelled cable 6 years ago. We watch moveis on the weekends. "

" I'm the 7th grader funnyme is talking about.

Sharon-
What school does your daughter/son go to? Redwood MS just started the "block scheduling, meaning we only have two "core" classes per day and two days to complete the homework. It works great and the teachers have more time to really "teach" us the material so we really get it. It's a great scheduling system and I suggest all schools switch to it. "

" napa county library now has tutor available online, they were igving handouts at my sons last teacher parent conference. I cant find the hand out but they spoke highly of it at new tech saying you can have papers critiqued etc. by sending files on the computer. "

" Yes, if you go to the Napa Library web site: http://www.co.napa.ca.us/library/ you can click on the "Free online help" icon and just type in your library card number. However, keep in mind that after school there are many students are logging in and there is a small wait. From my experience of seeing students use this website, there is a small lag time in correspondence with the tutor I think what might be happening is that the tutors are helping more than 1 student at a time. But the students I have seen use this service really thinks it helps them. FYI, you might want to familiarize your child/student on the site first so they understand the tools provided (type/drawing/chat line and send feature) "

" homework time is a very valued time in my house with my son. Giving him the one on one time to help him grow academically is treasured. There is never too much homework...never too much learning! My positive attitude toward school and accepting the standards(just like I accept guidelines at work) are what I wish to model for my child. Turn off the TV and you will find plenty of time to do homework "

" homework for one child may be easy enough, but try it for 3 children. And why does everyone automatically assume TV is the issue when someone says there is too much homework. How about the middle families that only have one parent who works full time or the household where both parents work full time. Homework should just be enough to reinforce the classroom learning. A parent should be able to focus on the other educational needs of their child, such as respecting other people, manners, how to relax after responsibilities have been met. Children should have time to do chores and go out and run or ride bikes or play toss with their parents. What about time to read together for fun and discuss the book. Instead I am having to go on-line to find help on how to help my child with algebra, or I am having to read the social studies book to help my child answer a question that has been totally reworded to sound nothing like what they just read. I am not a teacher of academics and I did not become a parent to be a teacher of academics. I became a parent to be able to give my child gentle, but firm guidence in how to treat the world and the people in it. How to love and respect themselves. I am also teaching my children to look at points of views from people who are not as fortunate as some. Some people will have more time, but a lot will not. Take what time you have and prioritize I tell my children. Is all that homework truly needed? Or is all that homework just a way to try to keep kids occupied and off the streets? "

" Very well put Sharon. As the Mom of several children it has definitely taken it's toll on our relationships, something I am not willing to sacrifice any longer. However with that being said the majority of my children came from the foster care system and I've adopted them, so my job is to foster love, family , respect, responsibility,.... and again most of my children have IEP's,....so it was written in that school work belongs at school not at home interfereing with my relationships with my children. Im willing to assist todo enough homework to remind them of what they worked on that day,.... but no way was I going to spend hours a day. And I'm a stay at home Mom. Just for us fostering our relationships is more important than homework "

" With 3 kids in middle school, the home work issues are not too bad. There are days that the home work is dragging on for a couple of hours, but then there are days that the home work is done within 30 minutes. The thing that REALLY gets me is the amount of books, binders, papers, etc. in their back packs. I can hardly lift them!!! And the backpacks with wheels...well the wheels fall off by Christmas break! Poor kids are going to need a chiropractor! "

" I have two kids and my husband and I work full time. Most nights we do not get hom until after 6 o'clock and bedtime is 8 o'clock, so you can see how difficult it is to get everything done in that window including homework, dinner, baths, etc. Throw into the mix the fact that one of my children, although mainstreamed at school, is mildly autistic, and homework can draw out for hours. The simplest of assignments can send him spiraling into frustration. I feel the "busy work" that is most of today's homework is not doing a good job of helping children learn the skills the need to succeed in today's world. And, I also agree with some of the comments surrounding the backpack load they have to tote around. "

" If I were spending two or more hours helping with homework, I'd homeschool. Unfortunately my son needs to be in public school and is in first grade right now so homework isn't bad. Part of the reason I put him there was the struggle we had getting him to do his homeschool assignments, so if I'm still struggling with that and he's in public school, I'd just take him out and struggle in the morning instead of the evening. We also have lots going on with gymnastics and taekwondo. Only one day a week we don't have after school activities. We have to do homework on the go most days, including reading in the car to get it done. Good thing he loves to read! "

" I agree with Angelina. The block scheduling works really well. We have it at New Tech, and I think it's a really good way of giving students time to do their work. Of course, we do it a little bit differently. We lump two subjects together in the humanities classes--Global Communications (which is combination English/Geography for ninth graders), World Studies (World History/Literature for tenth graders), American Studies (American History/American Literature for eleventh graders) and Political Studies (Government/Economy for seniors). These classes are two periods long, which means that even on a block schedule, we have a humanities class every day. The rest of the classes (except Scientific Studies, which is Physics/Algebra 2) we have every other day.

One thing I've found that makes it easier to do homework is doing it one subject at a time. I'll do Government homework first, then take a break, then my Administration of Justice homework, take a break, and then do Art homework or whatever else. It makes it seem less overwhelming, and spreads it out so I'm not spending one huge chunk of time doing it. When I was younger, my parents would also have my siblings and I help one another, even though we were in different grades, which ended up being beneficial to all of us. "

" Ironically my homeschooled kids have Much more time to socialize and connect with other kids through extracurricular activities because there is NO homework outside of our school time. My kids have public school friends that are socially behind and not involved with ANYTHING because of the struggle with homework and the families inability to be in control of their family time.

There is a growing number of teachers, parents, and students that advocate the abolishment, or at least a limit to the amount, of homework. The main reason is the belief that students also learn from activities in life other than textbooks and workbooks found in classrooms. A whole day in class and most of the night reading school books that are related to the subject in school leaves a student out of touch, without free time, and unable to get exercise or pursue extracurricular activities. Talents and interest of the student often cannot be nurtured in a classroom setting with teachers focused only on a specific subject.

Moreover, there is a considerable body of research supporting the idea that homework is of little educational value, and that for young children (i.e. under 14) it actually has a negative effect on learning.

Research it...homework is busy work! "

" Homework does have value, though. It reinforces what is learned in class. It's difficult for information to stick when it's forgotten as soon as the bell rings. I may not like homework, but I recognize its importance. Teachers don't assign stuff just because they can; they do it to help the students. "

" Actually, Onionagirl, I have. Homework's value depends on the quality of the work, not the quantity. That's what the research says. While you are correct about home work being of questionable use in the lower elementary grades, the research says that home work is essential in high school. As a teacher, I can tell you that the students who excel in my classes are the ones doing the homework, not the other way around.

However, as a parent I have often wondered how much of the homework that my own kids bring home is busy work. I was especially appalled at the amount of homework my daughters brought home when they were in third and fourth grade. When my sons were in middle school, I was similarly appalled that homework was worth half of their grade.

The research also says that most teachers receive very little training in home to create effective home work and that curriculum and texts are of little help in this department. My experience is that many parents get upset if their child is NOT getting home work or the assignments are "too creative". "

" Did the study(ies?) you all are citing look for the idea that homework in elementary school teaches good study habits that are valuable in later grades?

I truly feel that my children benefitted from elementary grade homework, so that by the time they reached middle and high school, they understood the risks of procrastination, and learned to focus even with distractions. They learned that completion of homework is expected not just by the teacher but by the parents. There were tears (from me, of course) and some long nights and hard lessons learned (get started early, because one is tired at 11pm when finishing assignments) but now my children do their homework with little residual nagging from me or their father.

In our house, homework is done at the kitchen table, ALL over the table. It's a mess, but it's important work, and we make it the focus of each evening. My youngest has Tourette's (mild) and difficulty concentrating at times, but he is blessed to be pretty smart. Homework takes all afternoon sometimes--it's done in snippets. Luckily, too, his older siblings are excellent role models, and he really wants to be taken seriously, so he gets it done. The feedback of getting good grades when he does the work is good reinforcement; likewise, zero marks for not turning in work he claimed he didn't have--not such a good feeling. Also the threat of having a cell phone taken away if the grades aren't what we expect--that's a good motivator, as well. The kids have a goal of going to a university, so they understand they'll have to do the work that other university-bound kids are doing if they're going to secure a spot. "

" I don't mind homework that much, but the way they TEACH some of the things in Math drives me crazy. We used those CPM books last year and for adding and subtracting negatives numbers htye had this weird way of teaching it with little pluses and minuses that drove me crazy. I learned ways from my dad and found some out myself that took ten times less time and paper. What ever happened to simple ways of teaching things? Now we have to "build up" to just doing regular problems. It takes ages and quick learners (like me) get incredibly bored. My binders filled with doodles from when we were learning that. "

" Steph. The research on homework says the following:

Home Work at early elementary grades (1-3) is not productive and can be counter productive.

HW should be about 10 minutes per grade.

HW is essential in secondary school, but needs to be well thought out, not just busy work.

By and large, teachers are not trained to design good HW assignments.

I find it very difficult to be creative with HW. Basically, students and parents want something easy. "

" Angelina. I sympathize, I have taught CPM in the past and next year, when I take my current 7th graders to 8th grade, I will be using CPM. My observation with CPM is that it works best with the middle 50% of the students. The lower 25% can't handle the reading and the upper 25% get frustrated with the pace.

I have mixed feelings about it, I don't like that style of teaching. However, CPM has research that shows it is an effective method of teaching math (it also has it's critics with dueling research).

Maybe this will help (this is what i tell my bright students when they get frustrated). The goal of CPM is not to teach you the rules, but to understand the math behind the rules. You are being taught to be a Mathematician.

I'm sure you know that -3 + (-4) = -7, but can you tell me why? Those pluses and minuses are a way to understand why (there are no positives to cancel out the negatives, so they accumulate). Being able to understand the reasons things work helps you figure more things out. "

" teacher-
You're right, it was the pace that annoyed me the most, but along with that my teacher had us use that method on homework and problems WAY later in the book, or we didn't get credit. So for homework instead of doing 10 integer problems in two minutes, it took me ten to write everything out. I'm not sure if it was just the teacher who taught me or the book. Thankfully my math teacher this year sympathizes with me since she doesn't like the "long way" around either, she gives us an option if we do good to do it anyway we want.

I do understand why the answer is, but it's hard to put in words. "

" I get nervous when we start celebrating conformity, so much to the point that academic score is effected by completion of work at home that is not even overseen by a certified teacher. I went to a college high school prep school and then a university. Throughout high school I had about an hour to one and a half hours at the most. I had completed 1 year of college at graduation.
In universities and college you do not spend the entire day in classes. 12-18 units is considered full time – about 12 to 20 hours per week of Class time. Plenty of time left for the homework without exhausting every hour of every day. Public school kids already spend at least 7 hours per day in school. I agree that homework is important in middle and high school to reinforce what was taught in class. But like a teacher says, it must be relevant and productive.
My oldest is taking NVC classes for high school credit and she is whizzing through them with minimal effort. High School is not an accurate representation of what to expect from college anymore. If kids went to NVC and took all their credits there for high school they would be done with high school in 5-6 semesters. Colleges even limit your credits so you can’t be overworked, because it affects grade point average as a whole. "

" My daughter will have a 2 year general education degree when she graduated high school. She is not a master student, just dilligent. Think about it – the only option out there is not conformity to a system that “sometimes” works and “sometimes” doesn’t. If I had kids that were struggling with public high school, I would pull them from the system set them up as a homeschooler and send them to college; before it’s too late. If public school is failing your child it is your responsibility to find an alternative education plan or make some drastic moves within the public school system to support your kid. We’re talking about something that will dictate their entire future. Not every package wraps the same. "

" Funny Me - I would pack that brilliant child of yours to college as soon as she is entering 9th grade. I have friends that have their kids take only the extras at high school and send their kids to college for the heavy stuff. She'll still get the high school experience without the tedious bordome of conformity!

Angelina - work hard, play hard, fight hard, love hard! You're gonna go far honey! "

" opiniagirl,
Thank You! Angelina is a great kid with a fabulous mind and a big heart (mama bear speaking of course :)
Now, let me ask you how did your friends do this? Do I have to be homeschooling in order for her to take the "core classes" at JC (NVC in this case) and others at the High School?
Please advise me how to go about this. "

" You enroll her in high school and NVC - she'll have to have approval from the high school admin, kind of like a form of independent studies...You DO NOT have to be homeschooling to do this, and your child can still participate in the athletics and the "high school fun stuff!" She'll have to take entrance exams that place her, which range from the basics (6th grade equivalent) on up. There is no minimum amount of classes that a child has to be enrolled in with the public school. Many homeschooling parents just have their kids do extracurricular stuff at the high school and everything else at the college, but hold their own records so they can have their child complete classes over again without their permanent record being affected if they fail. If you want the high school to handle records, you request that the college assign high school credit and notify the high school of grades each time credits are completed. "

" At NVC you can request high school or college credit, but what is great is that right after the child completes the course for the high school credit they can "challenge" the course for the college credit while it is still fresh in their mind.

You can enroll into the high school for as many classes as you choose as long as you stipulate how you intend to get the remaining credits that she will not be completing at the public school.

Also if your child is struggling, which may not be the case for you, this works in reverse. Kids can drop the extra's (art, choir, drama, etc.) at public school and take them at the college during the summer or some evenings. My daughter is also completing her foreign language at the college (Sign Language).

Remember that this decreases funding for the public school so they will "advise" against it, but the choice is ultimately yours. "

" Angelina-when you can put it into words, then you'll truly understand. That is one of the joys of teaching a subject you love, explaining it deepens my understanding.

opiniagirl- I actually agree with much of what you have to say about education in general. If you look into the origins of modern schools you'll see they were designed to be education factories, and continue that today. It worked adequetely for a bygone era, but is now completely obselete.

Home schooling is, under the right conditions, far superior. The problem is that it is hugely expensive. Take whatever you could earn in a job and subtract it from your household income. I would homeschool my girls, but they also have to eat and I am a single parent, so it's not possible.

I believe that there are models for effective schools, but the problem is that it requires a big change in how we think about education, children and familly in general. It would also, probably be very expensive. "

" I agree teacher! So it is a catch 22. Contribute more financially into a system in order to see reform or reform the system so people will be comfortable contributing more financially.

Sad reality! "

" Angelina should look into New Tech High. :) We have consistently had the best test scores of any of the high schools, and we're required to take at least two college classes in order to graduate, although many students take more than that--I know of at least two who are graduating during their junior year because they took some of their core classes with the college while simultaneously taking other core classes at the high school. Nine college classes are taught on the New Tech campus as well. In addition, we do senior projects, community service, internships, and a couple of classes not required at the other public high schools. We have smaller class sizes, and the teachers assign relevant, creative homework. The classes are also project-based, which means we work in groups and have specific goals rather than individual, boring assignments--it's preparation for the real world. The school is extremely open minded and accepting. it's also a place where kids don't have to be scared--we don't have a single gang member that I know of (in fact, I know a few students who came to Tech in order to reform their lives after being in gangs), and there's almost no such thing as theft. I could leave my backpack out in the cafeteria for hours without anyone touching it or taking it. New Tech High also has the best statistics in the district—97% (I believe) of our students graduate, compared to something like a 70% national average, and 90% go on to AND finish higher education, compared to a 40% national average. You

You can call the school and ask for a tour of it during school hours to see how it runs--I believe they're free. I also give tours, so you could ask for me. :) "

" And Angelina, I know you play sports—you can play sports at the public high school in your district—many of our student splay football, water polo, and soccer at Napa High. The same goes for music and drama, I believe—although we have a SUPERB art and drama program at Tech. "

" Angelina: I was quite impressed with Ms. Harper and the New Tech program. I would take her up on her offer of a tour. "

" opiniagirl,
Thank you very much for this great information, we will definitely look into doing something like that. Being able to get college credits it certainly makes graduating from college a lot faster (less expensive too, I assume) and less boring.

pharper,
Thanks for the offer.
I have to admit, we are a bit skeptical about New Tech. It appears to be the "natural" high school program to go to after being a middle schooler at River unfortunately River and Angelina were not a match. Good teachers though.

What middle school did you go to?

teacher,
Thanks for the input. "

" I actually went to Harvest Middle School, and most of the students here didn't come from River. We do have a lot of former River students, but most came from the regular public middle schools. The similarities between River and Tech are there, but not to the extent that one would think. The students are involved in the school (we actually had a student group help choose the plans for the new building) and we work in groups on projects, but that's mostly where those similarities end, I think--I never went to River, though, so I don't know that for a fact. New Tech High offers an environment where student responsibility is highly valued--we don't even have bells to tell us when class ends. We just go when the clock says it's time and our teacher has dismissed us. "

" NVC - free until you graduate high school or turn 18. "

" That will do! "