Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Torn about homework load

DD6 is a couple of weeks in to 2nd grade, and the homework expectations have been laid on the table. This has always been my one reservation about Tiny Private School. (There was some homework in K/1, and it was a battle, but the teacher was pretty flexible, which made it workable.)

Current expectations for each week are:
- Half hour of reading aloud each night Mon-Thurs
- Spelling exercises
- Ten written sentences with spelling words (to be increased later in the year)
- Spelling pretest Thursday night
- A few pages of math exercises (haven't seen that yet, but I have a general idea)

I'm not a fan of homework, but even when I try to set that aside this feels excessive to me. But that may be because DD is 6, not 7. Maybe she is just too young for the workload of 2nd grade? On the other hand, I may be reacting based on our homework dramas last year, and she's older and more mature now.

On the third hand, DD has been coming home from school and playing SO HARD. Some days she has gymnastics, and she'll walk in the door and pick up her sketch pad or her paints disappear into her own messy colorful world. Or she'll take off on her bike and find friends to play in the mud with. And then it's bedtime. I just hate the thought of taking that away from her for the sake of more schoolwork.

On the sixth hand, she is in the difficult position of both reading and handwriting being still very laborious for her, and this exact workload will probably be much more managable half a year from now.

On the eighteenth hand, I really have the heart of a homeschooler, and I wish I could give her the gift of all the time she needs to just be herself and explore her interests. But on the nineteenth hand, Tiny Private School does such an amazing job with the "extras," the music and art and science and so on, that I really think they are doing a much *better* job than I could do at home.

On top of this, the teacher is a new hire, and while she seems like a lovely person and good at her job, she also gives off a vibe of rigidity and control. I would not feel comfortable talking to her about how to make this work for DD. It's clear already that her position is that DD needs to follow the rules, period. I'm considering a conversation with the director, who I get along well with. She may be able to reassure me about how kids adapt to the increased work load, etc. Or advise me about DD's position vis-a-vis her grade skip.

One thing that would be useful for me would be ideas for "scripts" for how to talk to the director. I want to come across like I'm soliciting information and wisdom, not like I'm trying to barge in and demand anything. But I also don't want to come across like I have my cap in hand, needing to be told what's what.

Thanks for listening!

You could express concern that the expectations are out of line with the National Association of School Psychologists.

http://www.nasponline.org/resources/home_school/homework.aspx

They advise a limit of 20 minutes a day for second graders.

(To me reading aloud is homework whereas reading to oneself is not quite homework.)

I would drop the "reading aloud" (unless she's behind for her grade) and have her read on her own for 20 minutes before bed. My kids often need to do this to settle down anyway.

Do the spelling "exercises" relate just to the words being tested? Maybe ask if she can skip the "exercises" as long as she is able to pass the tests.

Handwriting is also difficult for my second grader, with his developmental coordination disorder and low tone, so I feel for you. I can't see getting DS to do all that work. The teacher has just been giving one sheet of math which DS could do in about 60 seconds. It was way below his level so now she's sending home 1 sheet of more challenging math. I think they have spelling words each week but no spelling exercises or any other written work. She wants them to read for about 20 min. per day but it doesn't have to be any particular book and we don't have to log anything. She said that if a kid doesn't feel like doing the homework on a certain day that's fine, just send in a note. She said that family time is more important. So the total opposite! I think in your position I would focus on the fact that she still struggles with handwriting and it takes a long time to get it done...can we please have a reduced workload so she has time to play and do other things? I wouldn't go to the director unless the teacher resists hearing your concerns. Of course if she was grade-skipped they may throw it back at you, like clearly it hasn't worked out to grade skip her because she's not ready for the work. So it's a tough position to be in. All I can say is that I don't think that amount of work is "normal" or at least not our experience. DD didn't even get that much in THIRD grade.

DS8 is in an HG 3rd grade now and doesn't get that much homework. Has she actually brought home that much work or is that just the teacher's wishful thinking?

It's too much for a second grade but as a working parent, I'm against homework. If they can't get it done between the hour I drop him off at school and the hour I pick him up, then it's too much for a child. I'd love to homeschool but we also need to eat so... >:(

Oh, we've been through this. But with Everyday Math (go outside and count the windows on all the houses in your neighborhood) (gag! that was FIRST GRADE!)

We had handwriting issues too. My dc's both just were not ready to do that much handwriting, pretty much ever. They still hate it but type really well. If your dc uses a keyboard, could she type her homework? Some first grade teachers still insist on handwritten stuff, but if your dc can already read/write, maybe maybe?

The teacher did let us opt out of spelling exercises once dc tested above the 6th grade level in first grade (topped out the test). You could request an assessment -- these sometimes aren't done till October. But the teacher was an older, seasoned teacher, happy to let dc spend time in the library researching rather than in the classroom.

I wish you good luck. Wish I had more help to offer! We homeschool now, because eventually the busy work and low level work ground us down.

Reading aloud was a favorite pastime while driving to extracurriculars, running errands in the car, and commuting to/from school. The net effect was being able to help with pronunciation/definition of any new words encountered while spending absolutely no time carved out of our day especially for reading: a totally positive experience.

Just a quick clarification, because Tiny Private School is so tiny, it would not be weird for me to talk to the director. In a sense, I wouldn't be talking to "the director," I would be talking to "Debra*." She knows DD very well, and all the teachers (incl. the co-directors) interact with all the students every day, and also with all the parents. I would never "go over the teacher's head" and ask the director to do something about the situation, without making sure the teacher was appropriately involved in the loop. At this point I'm more looking for 1) reality check about my DD, and 2) reality check about whether this school as a whole is just over-the-top about homework and I simply have to buy in or get out.

I'll reply a little later to all your great comments.


*Not her real name.

That amount per week is a bit less than my three children (at a strong public school) were assigned a dozen years ago and five years ago during first grade. Second grade graduated to 15-20 words but didn't take much longer because the kids were better skilled/efficient from their experience in first grade.

First, I think you should adopt the don't ask don't tell policy and disregard the reading aloud "homework" as I assume your DD already reads well. If she is a real rule follower, you can always make it up during the week-end. Keep in mind that some teachers don't consider it necessary to include the "reading" homework under the recommended homework limit.

As to the "written" homework, I think your best approach is to time your DD and then approach the teacher for modifications by explaining that it takes your DD too long. Teachers generally based assignments on how much time it would take the typical child in their classroom. For example, DS11 was very speedy so it took him less than ten minutes on average to do 1-2 math sheets plus one spelling assignment (pre-test, sentences or other exercises). DD11, who is more typical speed-wise, usually took 15-20 minutes on average. On the other hand, their older brother, who was 2E, easily averaged 30 minutes, mostly due to writing issues. If your DD has writing issues, there are ways to reduce her workload. If she can type, then have her type. If not, you can type her sentences for her. It will probably still save her a lot of time even if you have her copy sentences that you first transcribed for her, which is what I did with my oldest 2E.

We have struggled a lot with homework in k and 1st. Ds is now in 2nd. The reading before bed, in the car, or where ever/ when ever your dc will be agreeable. The other homework I tried to divide over the week, but would not spend more than 15-20mins/ day on it. I also offered "free days" if homework gets completed early. (I will admit we are very schedule oriented, so homework routine works well.)

Is your dc happy at school? I only ask, because this year my ds is much more willing to do homework and is happier at (a new) school. Maybe it's just because he's older? I do know giving him some choices about what to do when did/ does help. Also, when we were struggling; I tried to focus on the days that went well. In addition, I would point out achievements/ improvements (in writing for example).

Good luck! Hope this year is not so bad!

We went through this struggle, too. TBH, homework before middle school seems pointless to me. I mean, what are they doing in school all day in second grade that they have to keep working on it when the day is over? Also, I wonder if the current homework craze is simply inertial: they're doing it, so we have to do it.

Children should be playing and painting, not doing math worksheets.

Okay, rant off. As others suggested, we omitted the nightly reading thing. My feeling was that it was going to turn something enjoyable into a chore. I had my kids read aloud at times (still do), but usually in the context of reading a story together: you take a turn, I'll take a turn.

People justify the reading out loud thing (I believe) on the premise that kids miss words, and when you get them to read out loud, you can correct them. FWIW, I remember being chronically frustrated in first grade over reading out loud in school. I would flub things. In my case, though, it wasn't that I was failing to see words. It was because my brain was going faster than my mouth could keep up with. Obviously, I have no idea if this problem applies to other children, but it was certainly my thing, and the cure was time and developing an ability to hold two ideas at once (what I'm saying and what I'm thinking)

From what I've seen, a fairly large chunk of parents have bought into the homework-is-great thing. A few years ago, an administrator told me that only a few parents at the school complained about too much homework. More parents were complaining because the school wasn't assigning enough work --- especially over vacations! This person's cynical theory was that the ones complaining didn't want to be dealing with the kids when school was out, and sending them off to do homework helped in that regard.

My eldest is in a dual enrollment program this year at a local community college. He describes it as "less homework, but more learning," because the assignments he does get are on-target and make him think.