Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Nonacademic Effects of Homework in High Schools

This could be taught in class if there was study hall or free work time where a student gets to choose what they are working on at a particular time. Not something my schools have a lot of. I don't see going from no homework in 8th grade to up to 2 hours of homework a night as a freshman in H.S. a good game plan. There is something to adding these skills in gradually.

I actually mean just teaching it as a skill with real instruction. Sending busy homework home with the idea that all kids will learn a technique or habit of it doesn't jive with me. In the same way claiming that gifted kids doing on level work is teaching discipline is just phoning it in.

Right. Character education is the job of mom and dad-- skill development, now THAT is the job of the school.

What I am trying to say is not all homework equals busywork.

I do think many teachers & many schools assign too much busy work, not just as homework but in class. One of the reasons I send my son to school is because I believe he gets a lot out of the class discussions, group projects and debates held during class time. I'd rather see DS's literature book read at home than sitting in class.

DD's literature book is read only in class, aloud - occasionally by students reading paragraphs aloud, but more often by following along to an audiobook.

Really makes me wonder. Really? 6th grade? At what point is it reasonable to expect kids to be responsible for reading the darn chapter???

And then I get to spend my time at home teaching her the meaning of 'theme' as applied to literature, because they don't have time in class before the 'theme' assignment is due.

Yes, but at a reasonable level, right? I mean, a ten year old shouldn't be expected to do 2 hours of reading nightly for homework. If it does take that long, I think that indicates a poor placement or totally irrational expectations. It's hard to say which is which, and all of us here probably struggle with the fact that the yardstick here is totally skewed when your kid is HG+.

My DD can (and has) read hundreds of pages of material in a few hours, and most people (never mind agemates) cannot. On the other hand, I can almost certainly guarantee that a series of relatively simple, but repetitive homework questions that really aren't TEACHING her anything would take a very... very... long time.

When I hear stories from other parents about their kids needing 2hr NIGHTLY to keep up with the reading demands in some high school courses (AP, usually), though, I do have to wonder if they have a class with THAT much reading? Or is it that their child probably finds the course placement a bit much? I simply don't know. But in any event, my DD doesn't seem to need even a fraction of the time to keep up, and I'm equally convinced that I'd not sign her up for that kind of time commitment given the opportunity cost.

"Reasonable" to me means spending 5-7 hours a WEEK combined-- doing things like reading a primary source for a class discussion, collecting material for a research paper, producing a draft of an essay, working through math problems that ask a student to synthesize information already learned in class... that kind of thing.

Granted. But the amount of reading that can be covered by an audiobook in a 40-minute class period seems reasonable for middle schoolers. Then they could go on to actually DISCUSSING the material, if they could assume most of the kids had read it.

I see your point: they shouldn't be expected to complete 40 minutes of assigned reading in one class every single day, since they also have other classes. It does seem to me that assigning reading to be done at home once or twice a week is reasonable, though; why should reading always be done in class and writing always at home? The kids aren't even allowed to bring the books home for reference; we have to check them out of the city library, or buy them because other classmates got to the library first.

Right-- an audiobook selection, 40 minutes, that's roughly 10 pages, yes? That seems quite modest in ANYONE's estimation. Shouldn't that take 20 minutes or less?

Else I'd argue that the reading level is wrong for the student-- assuming, (as noted originally) that there isn't an LD getting in the way of reading text, and in that case, text-to-speech ought to be available as an accommodation for students as they work at home.

APUS at my kids H.S. is requires that the students read 8-10 college level books over the course of the year as well as the textbook. Detailed outlines are expected to be written along with each chapter in the textbook, so it's not a fast read. There are additional essays and newspaper articles assigned. I guess it depends on how fast the studnet reads, and how well they comprehend the reading. Admission to the class is very selective so most of these kids are very good readers/writers and these kids still find themselves doing 8-10 hours of homework for this class a week.

Had to laugh (or cry) at the idea of TWO hours of homework. DDs physics teacher gave them two practice AP exams, a new chapter, and an analysis problem set (36 problems on radioactivity) yesterday. Due the next morning. Just for the one class mind you. DD has six others. Adding it up, each AP test should take 3 hours (if you practice timing); at 3 minutes per problem, the problem set should only take about an hour and 45 minutes. Total for one class= SEVEN HOURS and FORTY FIVE minutes. This is the normal homework load from this teacher every day, including weekends and breaks. Admittedly, DD is faster than this--but there are those other six classes.

Rant off. Sorry for shouting. Little frustrated by all the homework.
Fun read about homework:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/my-daughters-homework-is-killing-me/309514/3/