i have a 6 year old in kindergarten (her birthday is in november) i have been apalled at the amount of homework expected from these children. i don't really believe in homework even at an older level, as we don't bring our work home. (most of us)
i feel like in order for a child to adapt to and enjoy school, that it would be more beneficial to treat it less stringently and make it more fun. learning should and can be fun.
since my child has been in school, she has had nights where she wakes up vomiting, apparently stress related.
my question is, does anyone else have issue with the way young children are being pushed? or do i have a rogue teacher? (i don't really believe that, but she is pretty young) and lastly, does anyone else have issue with homework at such a young age? i don't like the idea of destroying childhood.
Hi Cindy,
I have ALWAYS had an issue with this. I have even gone so far as to express my opinion of it to school teachers, principals etc.
Their response has always been, "Education is not just the responsibility of the school, parents need to take part in the education of their children" to which once, after getting tired of hearing the same broken record, I responded with "No, It is the parents job to teach their children, manners, compassion, kindness, honesty and how to be a decent human being in this world, it is also our job to instill a sense of safety, belonging and happiness basically LIFE skills" "It is YOUR job to educate our children in Math, S.S., Science and English" "this is what you get PAID to do, SO, if my child cannot finish something at night because he cannot remember what you taught earlier in the day, or simply does not understand, I will be sending him to school the next day with the unfinished work and a note. I will no longer put my child through the crying spells and sitting there forever trying to get it right for you, And YOU will go over it with him, make sure he understands it and let him finish it in school" "if you do not like your job, might I suggest you find another, because I am sorry but teaching my child and making sure he "gets it" is YOUR JOB. I know that this made me sound like a b***h but I have to tell you, I am never going to have these people over for dinner or go shopping with them. My concern lies with the raising and education of my children, and I do not care what these people think of me as long as they do what is required of them, they will not have to deal with me but I will not let them drop the ball or pass it off as not being their problem when it comes to educating my kids.
Barbara
I think some teachers do give a lot of homework in kindergarten. But have been lucky with my 5 year old and that has not been an issue. I know a family that has triplets and they are all in different classes. One is in our class and has an more experienced teacher ( not much homework ) The other two have younger teachers and have homework every night. The other two children do almost the exact same things in different classes.
I spoke with the parents and they seem to think that the children are learning the same things. So I guess it is just different teaching methods. But I can't imagine that much homework for a child in kindergarten. It is a big adjustment and they do need to enjoy it. I have noticed even in my son's class they are expected to be very quiet all day. He come home and told me they can't even be loud on the playground. No wonder he is so wound up when he gets home.
It is a shame that a 6 year old child is that stressed out.
Good Luck and I hope things get better.
My triplet boys will be going to kindgerdaten next year, and I'm dreading the homework. However, with that being said, I think it is part of the program, and as an ex-eighth grade teacher, I can promise that will only increase. I can personally tell you that the amount that the state requires us to teach to our students is impossible to cover without giving homework. And, homework is often a process of repetition, which is good to reinforce the basic information. Many children don't absorb the basics right away, and it takes going over it multiple times for it to "sink in." Homework gives that opportunity without taking up 1/2 of class.
I hope that makes some sense. I do feel your pain, but I also know that homework is part of school, unless you choose to homeschool (which is why many parents make that choice).
Paula
PS I just read other people's responses, and I have to say that I am SHOCKED that some people feel that a parent has no role in educating their child. Yes, no parent wants to see their child in tears and stressed out (and neither does the teacher, btw), but to totally say that 100% of education has to be done in the classroom is a diservice to the child and the education process.
at kindergarten my daughter's homework was to be read to every evening and she has maybe 2-3 worksheets a week. I thought that is was appropriate. When she moved to 1st grade she went into a 1st/2nd split and the homework went up drastically! I was looking forwarded to us moving but NOW she has no homework and no letters from the teacher saying what they are doing. I feel that this year there is not a happy medium. I think that their should be a good weekly communication from the teacher and SOME homework. BUT not an ALL afternoon thing. Talk with your teacher how you feel, ask some of the other parents of her classmates in how they feel and if there is still concern that had not been taken care of, go up your "chain of command" and go to the office about it. But give your teacher the first few chances. ~Heidi
I have Five children, 12,8,4,4 &2. I agree with the HW! We teach our children so many things in life why not help with their education??!! We as parents have the responsibility to show them to absorb this info and HW also teaches a responsibility to do things that are required. I found that when my kids come home we have a snack, talk about the day then set the timer for 30 minutes of free time/play then tackle the HW. It seems to work well and they feel they have a moment to "breathe" after their day before starting their tasks. My best friend is a teacher (10 yrs) and she does all she can but the ultimate responsibilty is to the parents, as with everything in life!
Hi Cindy,
I was commenting to my husband just last night about the amount of homework my 9-yr old stepson has. Granted, he's a little older, but I am still surprised at how long he has to work when he gets home, sometimes before AND after dinner. He can spend up to 2 hours trying to get his homework done, especially on Thurs nights, when there's a spelling test to study for each week on Fridays. He also, we suspect, has some attention issues. This is not the teacher's fault but since all learning abilities are grouped together at that age, I feel there should be more done in the classroom and less sent home. It makes some of our evenings very tiring and stressful at home, when there's already limited time during the week. I agree with you - there should be more "home" and less "work." I wish you luck - keep us all posted on if you decide to speak to your daughter's teacher.
~Elizabeth H.
Hillsborough, NC
Well Cindy B, I agree with you that Kindergarten is a bit young, but they do learn from repitition, and almost all teachers at the first grade level and actually younger than that encourage reading 15 minutes after school, and I do agree with the reading thing, but I think that home work should be limited. I also am quite aggravated at the way that the school system is done now. They do push kids, and have made it less fun for alot of kids, and that should be changed, but on or in their defense the no child left behind leaves the teacher with very little recourse in how the class rooms are run, thye have to cover a certain amount of materials. Just wait until you get in the older grades if this is still around. THey fly, and even the average kids have a problem in keeping up, they cover things so quickly. I think that you will be shocked since you have already had one to go through the school system at how things are now that they passed the no child left behind legislation. We need to change some things with unfortunately legislation, and that is always bad. I think that they should restore some authority to teach to the teachers. In other words that the teachers would have some leaway in what they teach to who. We are not all from the same cutter cutter if you know wht I mean, and I believe that no child left behind has no regard for that, and does not give the teacher any room.
Cheryl B
I am with you 100% on the whole thing. School is for learning and home is for family and they should do there work in school not at home. What the heck do teachers do with the students if they don't help with there school work?
My daughter is in kindergarten and they have a lot of work. I don't particularly mind though. It's all for the learning of the child. I use to feel like they are only supposed to do work in school and that is what teachers get paid for and I am not a teacher but it's all for the sake of learning. It helps me to teach my child and to see where my child is at and where she is lacking. Now if you get all stressed out about the amount of homework your child is doing then your child is going to feed off of your emotions. Make the homework fun and praise the child on the good job they are doing. My daughter gets homework everyday and it's already made out for the whole month except on Fridays and weekends but on those days my daughter reads or will practice writing. And it's kindergarten work. It's not hard at all. Don't stress out about it. It's all for the sake of learning and it's preparing them for the work ahead when they get older. Nowadays they are teaching subject earlier then when I was in school. Relax. Hope this helps.
Thanks for posting this because this is very similar to how my son acts and he is only 4 and in preschool-- we are purposely keeping him in pre-K next year because he is not ready-- but I can benefit from some of the advice given here as I expect to struggle with him and may consider private school for him as I think he will need to learn at this own pace until he gets older.
Also, age 5, in my professional opinion, is too young to diagnose ADHD-- if there were some SEVERE acting out behaviors towards other and possibly aggression, maybe you could give a tenative diagnosis of ADHD, but I really feel that children need to be older to be properly diagnosed with this disorder. I appreciated the comments from the mother with son who has vision difficulties-- I sent your response to some collegues so that they would be aware of this condition as a possible "rule out".\
Thanks again for posting this and for everyone that responded -- it was very helpful to me.
I really agree with you. I was on the fence about sending my son to Kindergarten this year, he's a Sept. baby and we're in year round here, so he would have been four and half (egads). I went to the library for the entire summer and checked out every book imaginable on homeschooling. I wanted to prove that homeschooling is not for me. The facts are positively shocking in my study of public schooling vs. home schooling. Which I have to add, I was NOT going to ever home school my child!!! But turns out it was the best fit. His personality and mine are a good mesh, though I understand this is not for everyone, it really is something to consider if you are able to stay home with your children. Though I offer no advice accept to study alternatives, this is unfortunately very typical. It's not the teacher, it's the schools. The teachers have to follow the state curriculum and prepare the children for state tests.
Wow! I just read some of the feedback. Paula, you nailed it! I'm so sad to learn that people assume that education is all teacher and home if just for us to teach life skills. I guess there lies the problem. It has to be a team of parent and teacher to insure positive child learning. Once there is a divide, there is little hope. My only concern is that there is a great amount of homework now for little children not whether or not parents should be a part of the educational process! This is startling and sad.
Lastly, Being a parent requires us to be a part of every aspect of our child's life.
I agree with you , homework in kindergarten is a strange thing. Many educators are taught now though that the early you teach something and the more you drill it in the smarter the kids will be. This despite the fact that preschool, and kindergarten children for the most part learn through experiencing things ( hands on learning). Also many kids are not developmentally ready to read and do real math til they are 7 or 8. My oldest son didn't learn his letters til he started kindergarten but once he started learning them,,,he knew them in all in less than two months. ( One of many reasons why we homescool) . If your daughter is experiencing stress this early I would talk to her doctor and her teacher about possible solutions. Maybe there is another kindergarten class she could attend?
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Alfie Kohn's book, The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. You might want to read it if you want to learn more about this whole issue. Even if you completely disagree with it, there is a lot of food for thought there that I think it's important to introduce into this conversation.
The thing is, kids learn and integrate their experiences through unstructured play...and our kids don't get much of that nowadays! That being said, of course it's almost never the individual teacher's fault, it has a lot to do with the system, so I think if we're unsatisfied with it, we should try to change it--and the teachers will probably thank us!
But right now I'm struggling with what to do when my child starts school, because teachers ARE so limited by no child left behind, and there isn't a lot of variation allowed. But, it seems like almost everyone is in agreement that that was not a good piece of legislation, so maybe it will get changed soon enough.
I don't think more homework is EVER a good thing. Reading with your kids at night is good...but if you need to be "assigned" it, I think that probably makes it lose its luster. Hopefully we do it because we enjoy it! But I highly doubt that kids learn much from doing repetitive worksheets...maybe they learn something once or twice, but what are they losing in its place? I think we forget that kids don't learn like we do, and we also forget that even if we DO learn through worksheets, that does't make it fun for us and it's not something we usually want to pursue in our free time. I wish schools could encourage kids to WANT to learn and make learning fun...which I know they try to, but the system and the legislation and even sometimes our own ideas about "proper learning" get in the way of that right now!
Good luck and I hope you find a good solution. I hope we all do!
I think that's the norm, from what I've heard, and I think it's absolutely appalling! Our son is only 2 but we are planning on homeschooling. With the amount of homework they give, you might as well home school! I watched my niece and nephew go through that with all the homework and just couldn't believe it! They had maybe a 1/2 hour a day to play after school and homework and dinner - and they are both very bright kids. I just think that's terrible! It was never like that for us growing up (until about high school), and I did just fine in college and had a very successful career as an accountant. I really think parents should protest and push for changes (if they aren't going to home school).
I don't like it, either. Homework in kindergarten is, unfortunately, standard in WCPSS. However, the amount should only take your daughter a few minutes. If it takes longer, talk to the teacher about the amount. If that doesn't work, talk to the principal.
Hi Cindy,
I do not have a school age child yet, but I agree with you. When my son is old enough to go to school, we are sending him to the school associated with our church. They do not believe in homework at any level AND no school on Fridays. Even graduating seniors have never done homework...and we have some of the top scores for South Carolina state testing. The difference is small classrooms, teachers who are able to give students one on one time, and a focus on family time. They believe that school work is for school and should never interfere with family and home time. Children should be able to run and play. I do not believe that homework makes children smarter. Sure, maybe they are able to quote more information from a book, but that will never make them a more capable adult. I believe that the most important things in life are not found in a book. Sure, education is extremely important, but so are many other things. A child of any age needs balance in their life!
Okay, I will probably get slammed by people for this - but if your child is that stressed, is this really the right environment for her? This is actually one of the reasons we decided to home school our kids. Too much pressure (IMHO) is put on kids these days because of the standardized testing that begins in early elementary. A lot rides on those test scores for the schools, so they really push kids hard. Since you also have a 23 year old, you remember that school was probably NOT like this for her. Public schools have their place, but for my kids, the thirst for learning is a lot more important. Are you a SAHM? Is Home schooling a possibility for you? Let me know if you are interested in information about how easy home schooling can be. I home school two right now - a 9 and a 5 y.o. and we spend about 2 hours per day each on 'book work' and the rest of the day on really fun learning. That's it.
Steph S.
That's just how it is these days. My kids do homework for about 2 to 3 hours per night. They even give my oldest daughter weekend homework. It's crazy. You may get a teacher who has the same beliefs as you (no homework), but for the most part, there will be homework every night. My middle daughter doesn't get much homework and if she does, she completes it in afterschool. I totally agree with you because it cuts into my family time. I have three daughters, one is in the sixth grade and one is in the fourth grade, my baby girl is three. I have been upset about schooling since they began. But what can we do? They are trying to raise the standards and make our children as smart as children in some other countries, but we are different breeds. We are not all cut from the same cloth, so we will not be on the same level. I can't even help my sixth grader with her homework most nights because I either don't remember it, or it is so complicated I can't follow. Mind you, I was an A student in high school. I didn't do that well in Geometry (C average), and that is mostly what she is doing now and she is struggling. I had to get a tutor to help her stay afloat. It's really outrageous and we don't have any say in how they are being taught.
We used to live in Texas and the homework was way too much. We have since moved out of state where standarized tests do not run the school districts and things are so much better. School is fun. Homework guidelines are 10 minutes per grade per night. So, a first grader should have 10 minutes per night, a second grader 20, a fourth grader 40 minutes. Plus, now that my daughter is in middle school one of the classes that every child takes is a "do your homework" class, called AA. She hardly ever brings home homework. I think it is much better this way. School is enjoyable and evenings are not a big stress anymore. I did get fed up in Texas and homeschooled - it was awesome. Good luck!