No Homework rule at my kid's school

i'll just add to this thread that i think parents are the most important factor in getting kids to learn. before kids enter school, their foundation has already been set by their parents. it's very hard to change a child's habits and view on learning, especially if the parents are not interested in setting a good example.
 
Yes - Square pizza on pizza day was the shit

square_cafeteria_pizza.jpg

Is this american school lunch?
It looks like what we feed our inmates?
 
Well, I was being a little hyperbolic, but the point is that it is all about getting kids/students to learn for themselves on how to teach themselves. Rote repetition is all about spitting out artificial answers to artificial problems as opposed to learning how to attack a problem in a meaningful way.

Given, a little repetition is necessary, but that has less to do with homework and more to do with the learner spending time examining and re-examining a problem until they understand that this is ultimately a simple problem that have methodologies have been developed to solve, not one that has answers.

You can let kids be intimidated by decimals and fractions or you let them learn it by letting them split up dinner and count out coins on a daily basis when you go shopping. Most people just let the industrialized learning take place instead of turning everything into a learning experience.



LOL at thinking they can't. In fact, it disturbs me that you think that they can't. Everything that a six year old sees should be a reading adventure, from store signs to restaurant menus.
Let me guess, you don't have kids and have never taught small children? But you're "educated" . Am I right?
 
i'll just add to this thread that i think parents are the most important factor in getting kids to learn. before kids enter school, their foundation has already been set by their parents. it's very hard to change a child's habits and view on learning, especially if the parents are not interested in setting a good example.

So, I have had the misfortune of being forced to read a lot of economic studies on this very topic, and according to the data in those studies, you are exactly right. When it comes to student performance, parental involvement is the most important factor.
 
I think there are a lot of statistics out there showing this can be really good. A friend of mine is principle of a classics middle school that has the same policy. They're one of the highest rated middle schools in the world. But obviously that comes with a whole pedagogical approach, not just no homework
 
You're going to get STDs and eating disorders too but there's no need to give them to 8 year olds just so they can get used to it.

I love this, sums up my view perfectly, let them be kids and learn to have fun and appreciate the world around them for the few years they have no responsibilities. Homework just teaches kids to resent education and see it as a chore rather than a gift.

Would a better compromise not be extending the school day an hour for a study period so these 'Homework' assignments can be done with no distractions and professional help for those who need it?

I think a lot of people here think just because they had to do something shit their kid should too. Usually when we drop that regressive view we can find a better way, whether that is in this subject or life in general.
 
Sure , but it can be done without stiffling a 6 or an 8 year olds desire and most importantly absolute need for free play time and exercise. Overbooking your kid isn't gonna pay off like you think it is , there is a point of diminishing returns that I see most well meaning parents blow by .

Children thrive when they interact with other children and nature. They need to nurture their imaginations and be free to learn on their own. Sitting in a classroom is not good for them. Home work is not good for them. It isn't natural.

I agree with you totally. A child's mind needs to be exploring and experiencing new things and learning socially by interacting with people and the world.
 
Is this american school lunch?
It looks like what we feed our inmates?

That's a very astute observation.

The public education system in America is run very similarly to the prison system. The attitudes of the administrators, the treatment and behavior towards the students. Even the way the schools are designed follows very closely to that of a prison compound.

It's embarrassingly obvious that they are both run with the stark goal of easy, steady, mandatory profits, rather than with the outcome of society in mind.
 
What's AP?

Might be a California-state thing. It stands for "Advanced Placement." AP classes in high school are essentially college-level classes to prepare high school students for college. There are AP exams every year for each subject. If you take and pass the exam, you get college credits for it so you don't have to take that class when you go to college.

I fucking failed all of my AP exams. LMAO.
 
Might be a California-state thing. It stands for "Advanced Placement." AP classes in high school are essentially college-level classes to prepare high school students for college. There are AP exams every year for each subject. If you take and pass the exam, you get college credits for it so you don't have to take that class when you go to college.

I fucking failed all of my AP exams. LMAO.

It was called an accelerated program when I was in school and it started in 4th grade. The grade school had two classes for each grade and in fourth grade, the students with the highest test scores were put into one class and those with lower scores in the other class.

It seemed to me that the biggest difference in the groups was the ability to read. In the first three grades we often read aloud in class and some students were painfully slow. I used to turn the book upside down to read to keep from getting too far ahead and not knowing where they were if I was called on to read. My second grade teacher saw it and called on me to continue. I read with the book upside down with no problem which seemed to annoy her and she made me turn it right side up. I didn't realize that many people can't read upside down.
 
Kids are in school from 7-3. Do you want to go home and keep working after your 9-5?
 
General homework should be optional, with incentives given for completing it. Major projects, of which there should only be a few, should be mandatory.

The kids already put in their time during class hours, award them their freedom free from any added burden.

EDIT: Besides, parents should be involved enough to insist on the occasional practice. And I just have to share this The Wire vid because I was watching it the other day and it's relevant to the topic being discussed:

 
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