Homework...Ugghhh!

[bobs66440]

My 12 yr. old boy (and all the other kids) get at least 1 hour of homework per night...including weekends and holidays! Often it's 2-3 hours. It's insane. It makes it almost impossible for the kids to play sports or have any extra curricular activities. It's been this way since second grade. They are trying to cram too much information in their young heads too soon. Currently he is doing full blown algebra and geometry in 6th grade. I didn't have that until 9th grade. Fortunately my wife is good at that stuff...

They just push these kids through school whether they are ready or not. Unfortunately I think it sets them up for failure in the future. Fortunately my son does pretty well in school, but I see some kids really struggling. It's a shame.

[elacruze]

If we got rid of the grade system and instead students advanced based on performance it would reduce stress on the kids and parents.

[TruckDriver]

Half of the homework my kids bring home when they actually get it, is math. I failed math big time. My mind is at a 4th grade level for math, seriously. And the math my kids bring home, I never either seen it before or it is a higher level of math that we were ever taught in school. So, needless to say, there struggling in math too. Although, according to the school, they said tests and studies over the years shows a connection of poor math skills can run in the family

[Dans 68]

My daughter is 11, and has about an 1-1/2 hours of homework each night. Minimum. It is just time consuming, and seemingly not too hard to do, even the math (I had a lot of math in college so maybe it is genetic, to a point). She knows a lot of stuff, and even amazes me at time with what she comes up with. Our kids are being pushed more than we were in school, but I believe that it is the same in all areas of life. When I was her age I came home from school, threw my books (if I even had any) on my bed and took off for the hills, literally, off of my backyard and played until dark. Little League baseball, which was followed by High School baseball, and then College Baseball, was not taken nearly as seriously as it is now. It seems to be this way in every facet of our lives.

Dan

[bakerhillpins]

Totally in agreement. My daughter is 11 and and the boys are 9. They all have tons of homework, more than I ever remember. And "college prep" courses are pushed while shop classes are cut. Can't imagine how I would survive these days without the knowledge I gained from all the shop classes I took.

[TK73]

If we got rid of the grade system and instead students advanced based on performance it would reduce stress on the kids and parents.

I'd still be in 2nd grade with that kind of motivation... not 4th