4 ms·

Ha, I think that argument is made by people who don't have kids (with homework). It's not leisure for me at all. While I worry about being branded a terrible fa

Ha, I think that argument is made by people who don't have kids (with homework). It's not leisure for me at all. While I worry about being branded a terrible father for this comment, I will admit that I am a terrible teacher. I have no patience for it. My kids mess around, constantly want breaks ("Well I've written a line! time for a 10 minute break!"), waste hours doing shit that should take them minutes... When they start "accidentally" dropping their pencils on the floor because they'd rather be faffing around picking it up than working, I often just lose my temper. Man, I'm getting slightly pissed off just thinking about it now! xD There are brief moments of joy/relief where you can see they've grasped a concept or improved and you can be proud of 'em. But most of the time it is a frustrating experience, slow going, and a slog to get them to do anything. The worst of learning, with the worst of kids messing around, with a massive feeling of wasting everone's time.

madengr 9y ago
Ha ha, same issue with me last night. My 3rd grade boy brought home some horribly long reading comprehension homework. He HATES English homework. I do too. Fortunately my wife took over as I was becoming frustrated. I do enjoy helping with math & science homework, but that’s it. My 6th grade daughter is total opposite; never had a B student, science fair winner, violin & cello player. My son a video game & skateboard slacker; just like me. The joys of parenting.
- dhimes 9y ago
  Revenge of Your Parents!
jchrisa 9y ago
If my kid's school had homework I'd probably start looking for a new school.
- sp332 9y ago
  How many schools do you have available?
- el_benhameen 9y ago
  What type of school does your kid go to? I was told by a parent with older kids that our kindergarten has homework, which I'm not thrilled about.
  - jchrisa 9y ago
    It's a public Montessori elementary school.
senorjazz 9y ago
^ I don't remember writing this comment, nor do I recognise the username, but I must have wrote it :-)
fhood 9y ago
Take comfort in the knowledge that you are not alone. My mother often spent an hour or more just trying to get me to admit that I even had homework.
josephorjoe 9y ago
Exactly. And on top of all that, you're lucky if the teachers even look at the homework they assigned. My kid's teacher doesn't bother -- she emails photos of the answer sheets to the parents because I guess we are supposed to review the homework too? Maybe this isn't obvious... but if I wanted to homeschool my kid, I would homeschool my kid.
- bg4 9y ago
  Yes, plus my kid's elementary school has a dress up day or fundraiser of some sort almost every week for the entire year.
bunderbunder 9y ago
It's really too bad the inverted classroom model hasn't become any more popular. In a nutshell, the idea is to take the traditional breakdown of what is done in class and what is done at home, and swap it: Kids do their readings and watch recorded lectures at home. And then they work on problem sets and projects in class, typically in groups. It's a really clever idea. Compared to the traditional model, it has so many interesting advantages: It levels the playing field between kids whose parents have time and inclination to help them with homework and those who don't. It makes the teacher much more available for questions and any necessary 1:1 assistance. Having kids work together (even on math problem sets!) helps them to learn better, and has the side benefit of giving them more opportunity to develop social skills. I've heard it criticized for expecting students to have better access to technology at home than they necessarily do. In the case studies I've read about, though, the schools supplied equipment to students who needed it, and the most dramatic relative improvements were seen among the kids from less wealthy families.
- dhimes 9y ago
  I don't buy the 'level the playing field' argument, but it nevertheless might result in better learning.
- watwut 9y ago
  Most kids won't do the home part - unless parents force them. Simple as that. Moreover, traditional model defined as "kids only lis ten in school and only do exercises at home" is a strawman not really done in practice. (That is how we know they don't read if they think they can get away with it.)
- haZard_OS 9y ago
  It's a beautiful idea, it really is...except that I doubt it will ever work in my lifetime. I can't even convince my students at the University to complete assigned readings in preparation for classroom discussions. I can't imagine trying to invert a HS or middle school class (and I've taught those, too).
dhimes 9y ago
So your 17 year old is just like mine. (j/k it gets better.)

madengr 9y ago

Ha ha, same issue with me last night. My 3rd grade boy brought home some horribly long reading comprehension homework. He HATES English homework. I do too. Fortunately my wife took over as I was becoming frustrated. I do enjoy helping with math & science homework, but that’s it. My 6th grade daughter is total opposite; never had a B student, science fair winner, violin & cello player. My son a video game & skateboard slacker; just like me. The joys of parenting.

dhimes 9y ago
Revenge of Your Parents!

jchrisa 9y ago

If my kid's school had homework I'd probably start looking for a new school.

sp332 9y ago
How many schools do you have available?
el_benhameen 9y ago
What type of school does your kid go to? I was told by a parent with older kids that our kindergarten has homework, which I'm not thrilled about.
- jchrisa 9y ago
  It's a public Montessori elementary school.

senorjazz 9y ago

^ I don't remember writing this comment, nor do I recognise the username, but I must have wrote it :-)

fhood 9y ago

Take comfort in the knowledge that you are not alone. My mother often spent an hour or more just trying to get me to admit that I even had homework.

josephorjoe 9y ago

Exactly. And on top of all that, you're lucky if the teachers even look at the homework they assigned. My kid's teacher doesn't bother -- she emails photos of the answer sheets to the parents because I guess we are supposed to review the homework too? Maybe this isn't obvious... but if I wanted to homeschool my kid, I would homeschool my kid.

bg4 9y ago
Yes, plus my kid's elementary school has a dress up day or fundraiser of some sort almost every week for the entire year.

bunderbunder 9y ago

It's really too bad the inverted classroom model hasn't become any more popular. In a nutshell, the idea is to take the traditional breakdown of what is done in class and what is done at home, and swap it: Kids do their readings and watch recorded lectures at home. And then they work on problem sets and projects in class, typically in groups. It's a really clever idea. Compared to the traditional model, it has so many interesting advantages: It levels the playing field between kids whose parents have time and inclination to help them with homework and those who don't. It makes the teacher much more available for questions and any necessary 1:1 assistance. Having kids work together (even on math problem sets!) helps them to learn better, and has the side benefit of giving them more opportunity to develop social skills. I've heard it criticized for expecting students to have better access to technology at home than they necessarily do. In the case studies I've read about, though, the schools supplied equipment to students who needed it, and the most dramatic relative improvements were seen among the kids from less wealthy families.

dhimes 9y ago
I don't buy the 'level the playing field' argument, but it nevertheless might result in better learning.
watwut 9y ago
Most kids won't do the home part - unless parents force them. Simple as that. Moreover, traditional model defined as "kids only lis ten in school and only do exercises at home" is a strawman not really done in practice. (That is how we know they don't read if they think they can get away with it.)
haZard_OS 9y ago
It's a beautiful idea, it really is...except that I doubt it will ever work in my lifetime. I can't even convince my students at the University to complete assigned readings in preparation for classroom discussions. I can't imagine trying to invert a HS or middle school class (and I've taught those, too).

dhimes 9y ago

So your 17 year old is just like mine. (j/k it gets better.)