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Some of the hate for it comes from it being a mandate for everyone. I don't believe you can force people to be playful about their homework in the right way.

Some of the hate for it comes from it being a mandate for everyone. I don't believe you can force people to be playful about their homework in the right way. Some child is probably reasoning: "I answered this question this way because I want to be done with my stupid homework."

Pulcinella 10y ago
"...I want to be done with my stupid homework." In a way, this is a huge difficulty with learning in general. Practice can feel repetitive and boring, especially if you don't care for the skill you are practicing. As a teacher I'm not sure what to do about this. I teach science and the "fun" parts are frequently tied to things students don't like (e.g. Algebraic calculations needed for simple data analysis like calculating averages or rearranging a formula to solve for momentum). The students are curious about science, but hate the math parts because they struggle with the algebra. Doing algebra isn't the point, it's just a tool you need to do the science. The goal is to be good enough at the algebra that it doesn't require any real brain power so that the students can focus on the science, what their resaults really mean, understanding the system, etc. If you have a poor grasp of algebra then you are going to have a bad time. I'm not sure what to do for these students except have them practice and I'm not sure how to always make practice enjoyable. I'm not talking about homework here, necessarily, and I don't think homework is appropriate for all grade levels in all situations.
- Declanomous 10y ago
  I think a large part of the issue is that education is not holistic. I mean that in the sense that we teach every subject like it exists in a vacuum. I don't have a solution, but I think a Montessori education is closer to the ideal method of education than what we have no. For example, I know a lot of children complain about how they will never have to use they math they are learning when they grow up. I think it's a really valid complaint, and I know teachers recognize that issue as well because the write problems that deal with real-world situations. The things is that a lot of the real-world situations that end up being used in questions are still pretty abstract for a child. Like, money, building fences, finding the area of yards, etc. A lot of these problems could be translated to actual physical projects. For instance, put everyone in groups of four, and say "here is a little yard with toy animals in it, figure out how much string you need to go around the posts, then come up and cut off a single piece of string. The group that gets the closest wins." That being said, I think that's kind of a Montessori solution, since you'd probably want kids to choose the activity that interests them the most. It's definitely too much to ask one teacher to lesson plan 3 or 4 little activities for each thing a given group of children need to learn every day, and then monitor those activities as they are happening. Honestly, I think the majority of the education I've retained from my childhood is from things like Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and other extracurricular activities like OM/DI.
- icantdrive55 10y ago
  "The students are curious about science, but hate the math parts because they struggle with the algebra." 1. They don't understand algebra because they are still struggling with fractions, and decimals, and the concept of percentages. 2. I remember graduating high school, and didn't have a firm grasp of fractions, and decimals. (One semester at a community college fixed that. ) 3. If I was a parent, I would make sure my kid knew fractions, and percentages. I would make time each weekend and go over the same material if needed. I would also teach the child to count money until they could teach me. I might even throw in how the Stock Market works. (Yes--teach them early. Tell them when it comes to money--their are people who want to take it from them because they don't understand basic math.) 4. I honestly feel the math problem we have in the states is kids are pushed on to algebra too quick. 5. Once they became experts in the basic math; I would go over the basics again. Only then, would I dare bring up algebra. Eventually it will all make sence to the child. I will never understand the need to memorize multiplication tables, if they are still doing it. I looked at Common Core math problems, and they do look overly wordy, and confusing. They look worse than my wordy math problems.

Pulcinella 10y ago

"...I want to be done with my stupid homework." In a way, this is a huge difficulty with learning in general. Practice can feel repetitive and boring, especially if you don't care for the skill you are practicing. As a teacher I'm not sure what to do about this. I teach science and the "fun" parts are frequently tied to things students don't like (e.g. Algebraic calculations needed for simple data analysis like calculating averages or rearranging a formula to solve for momentum). The students are curious about science, but hate the math parts because they struggle with the algebra. Doing algebra isn't the point, it's just a tool you need to do the science. The goal is to be good enough at the algebra that it doesn't require any real brain power so that the students can focus on the science, what their resaults really mean, understanding the system, etc. If you have a poor grasp of algebra then you are going to have a bad time. I'm not sure what to do for these students except have them practice and I'm not sure how to always make practice enjoyable. I'm not talking about homework here, necessarily, and I don't think homework is appropriate for all grade levels in all situations.

Declanomous 10y ago
I think a large part of the issue is that education is not holistic. I mean that in the sense that we teach every subject like it exists in a vacuum. I don't have a solution, but I think a Montessori education is closer to the ideal method of education than what we have no. For example, I know a lot of children complain about how they will never have to use they math they are learning when they grow up. I think it's a really valid complaint, and I know teachers recognize that issue as well because the write problems that deal with real-world situations. The things is that a lot of the real-world situations that end up being used in questions are still pretty abstract for a child. Like, money, building fences, finding the area of yards, etc. A lot of these problems could be translated to actual physical projects. For instance, put everyone in groups of four, and say "here is a little yard with toy animals in it, figure out how much string you need to go around the posts, then come up and cut off a single piece of string. The group that gets the closest wins." That being said, I think that's kind of a Montessori solution, since you'd probably want kids to choose the activity that interests them the most. It's definitely too much to ask one teacher to lesson plan 3 or 4 little activities for each thing a given group of children need to learn every day, and then monitor those activities as they are happening. Honestly, I think the majority of the education I've retained from my childhood is from things like Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and other extracurricular activities like OM/DI.
icantdrive55 10y ago
"The students are curious about science, but hate the math parts because they struggle with the algebra." 1. They don't understand algebra because they are still struggling with fractions, and decimals, and the concept of percentages. 2. I remember graduating high school, and didn't have a firm grasp of fractions, and decimals. (One semester at a community college fixed that. ) 3. If I was a parent, I would make sure my kid knew fractions, and percentages. I would make time each weekend and go over the same material if needed. I would also teach the child to count money until they could teach me. I might even throw in how the Stock Market works. (Yes--teach them early. Tell them when it comes to money--their are people who want to take it from them because they don't understand basic math.) 4. I honestly feel the math problem we have in the states is kids are pushed on to algebra too quick. 5. Once they became experts in the basic math; I would go over the basics again. Only then, would I dare bring up algebra. Eventually it will all make sence to the child. I will never understand the need to memorize multiplication tables, if they are still doing it. I looked at Common Core math problems, and they do look overly wordy, and confusing. They look worse than my wordy math problems.