I recently wrote a letter to our Superintendent and school Principal due to a discussion on homework I had at a district parents meeting. I can’t stop thinking about homework and what a struggle it is for most kids. Not even because it’s too hard, but because there is too much of it. When I watch my girls leave for school, it looks like they had a ton of homework because for some reason their backpacks are always full of stuff. However, this year? This year has been amazing.
5th Grade
My 5th grader Stella is as nerdy as it gets for a gifted kid. (Apple doesn’t fall far…) Anyway, homework has never been a problem for her. She never fought it. Good grades have never been a problem for her. If anything, homework was just a time sucker. It took away from her doing other things she loved after school. So when the 5th grade teachers on Curriculum Night in August stated that her group would basically have no homework…I was floored. The message from all was something like “Let’s try this. The evenings are really your time. Absolutely make them read. But it shouldn’t be a 2-hr struggle to get worksheets finished. Items not completed during the time allotted at school will be sent home. A few other things will be sent home with multiple days to complete when necessary. There will be a weekly math worksheet – an entire week to finish 2 pages. It should be minimal. Project work will still happen occasionally. Remember, make them read. But there should be time for activities, play, family game nights, and sleep.” They did stress that this plan could change if they saw a student who needed something extra, etc. but that parents would be individually informed for a plan like that. Again, I was surprised. No mandatory weekly multiple-page packet from all of her separate teachers? No endless worksheets? YES!!!!
3rd Grade
My 3rd grader Charlotte is a different story. She’s also gifted, but full of control issues. She was a struggle to get homework completed. Why? Because she only wanted to do it on her terms. When she wanted. And sometimes we only had certain times in the evening due to other activities, etc. So it could be a real struggle. She brought home her first homework packed in August and I cringed. It was many pages. Here we go again. We did have a week, but I knew it would be work. A lot of work each night to convince her to sit down when we could and get it finished. Everything would depend on her up and down moods. There would be angry tears often. But wait. What did the first page say? Required: Read daily, practice math facts, and be ready for spelling, language and math tests weekly. The rest of the actual worksheets? OPTIONAL. Optional? YES! Optional for earning “School Starbucks” (If only she could earn me real Starbucks!). Homework was a whole new ballgame now. She WANTED to do the packet. Every week. On her own. She finished it without even mentioning it. It was all self-directed and since she was in control we haven’t had one issue finishing it.
Recently at the district parent meeting, a mom in my small group had a 5th grader at another school finishing worksheets for 2 hours almost every night. I cannot imagine. Another mom from my own school also with a 3rd grader, has a large required homework packet every week that is such a struggle she has hired a tutor to help her daughter with it twice a week.
I am not a current homework expert. I gave up my teaching license way back in 2008 (how is that a decade ago?!?!). However, I can give you our experience. Our evenings are amazing this year. My kids still do educational stuff in the evenings. Often self-directed due to something they learned from their teacher that day. Charlotte came home and wrote an entire book on Ezra Jack Keats because her teacher inspired her that day with a lesson on Keats. I didn’t even realize it until she said “Hey – want to read this book I just wrote?” They ask to practice coding online and do whatever they do within Prodigy. “Our teacher suggested we practice.” But it’s up to them. And I know not every kid would respond the same…but I’d guess those other kids are the same ones who wouldn’t complete the homework packets anyway. When given a project, my girls run right home to start researching and creating displays. They are excited about the topics they choose. They don’t see that as homework. Other nights they do nothing but play outside and watch tv.
And I still feel like they are well-prepared for the grades to come without doing nightly worksheets.
I realize I don’t have the perspective of a parent with a kid who struggles in school. I would have to imagine that struggling in school all day and then coming home and struggling on homework for hours is not the best answer nor motivating.
So I had to share our experience. As a family who is loving this different approach to homework this year. And sometimes, yes, sometimes, we do really have family game night now during the week. I felt like the teachers gave that to me as homework.
Now if we could just put all paper reading logs in a big pile and light a match…a mom can dream.
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