Homework is stupid for so many reasons. Let me list the ones I would highlight in a legal argument:
1. It seems to be a method by which the teacher gets out of actually teaching. The Diva actually got a test paper back with a note saying that she would have known the answer IF SHE HAD DONE HER HOMEWORK. Not if she "had paid attention in class" or if she had "participated in the class discussions"--it was if she "had done her homework". That tells me that he expected her to learn the material on her own.
2. Homework is sent home with little information for the parents to guide the work. How many times have you had YOUR kid come home with an assignment that basically said nothing except "do it"? Again, The Diva brought home an assignment to write an essay. No guidelines, no outlines, just "write and hand in".
3. There is no indication that doing a binder full of work every night makes the kid any smarter. In fact, most of it looks like "busywork". The last five science assignments brought home were word searches and crossword puzzles. WTF is that going to teach besides spelling? There is not much else going there that I can see.
4. It wastes a lot of time that kids need for other things. I am sorry, but school is NOT the only thing in the world any more. Kids do need to have some time for other activities and to just veg when they get home. I have nothing against projects that span the grading period, but the nightly crap has got to go. A night spent doing busy work is a night wasted.
I am not the only one who thinks homework is a waste, either:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-560499/Homework-primary-schoolchildren-complete-waste-time-claims-study.html
http://timesonline.typepad.com/alphamummy/2008/03/ban-homework.html
http://www.averageteacher.com/2008/02/homework-waste-of-time.html
http://www.megaessays.com/essay_search/homework_waste.html
Most teachers toss the turned-in papers at a parapro and tell them to grade them. That works with fill in the blanks and word searches as above, but how is a parapro qualified to grade a random essay or similar? And when does the parapro have time anyway since he or she is usually tapped to team-teach the kids the teacher is not working with at any given moment.
When I was teaching, I never assigned homework. I knew that it would get done half-assed if at all and that I would waste precious instruction and prep time having to grade it.
My rant is selfish in a way, I'll admit. The Diva has a disability that severely hinders her ability to concentrate at times. I have asked multiple times for an alternative to the homework as she cannot muddle through what they assign. However, the school district is of the opinion they do not need to provide her with extra help because she is SMART. Yes, she does have a high IQ and she scores high on the standardized tests, but she still has a disability!!!! However, I suspect that the money is so tight here that they are using any excuse not to provide the required services. Forget that she has a proper diagnosis and is on meds! Meanwhile, they just give her a shitload of "F's" and tell me she is just lazy and needs to apply herself more.
I hate yelling at her to at least try to do some of it because then she just shuts down and I can't get anything out of her at all. That sucks because only a few years ago, the same friggin' idiots who refuse to help her were telling me I need to put her in a school for geniuses. I would just like to get her into the private school here for kids like her--smart, but needing help with focus issues.
Anyone willing to spare $12K a year for the next five years so another smart child doesn't fall through the cracks?
Sunday, May 25, 2008
A Rite of Passage
This week, I had to face the reality that The Diva is growing up in a very specific way.
She had to shave her pits for the first time! That meant going out, picking out a razor that wouldn't nick her (ended up with a Venus Breeze because of the all-around lotion thingy) and then teach her the right way to do it.
That was so funny and sad in a way. The whole time I kept thinking about how the biggest grooming issue was how to make the little wisps of hair on her head look less wild.
She had to shave her pits for the first time! That meant going out, picking out a razor that wouldn't nick her (ended up with a Venus Breeze because of the all-around lotion thingy) and then teach her the right way to do it.
That was so funny and sad in a way. The whole time I kept thinking about how the biggest grooming issue was how to make the little wisps of hair on her head look less wild.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Why I hate the twitches at NBT
1) I have a very good idea which one decided to be "concerned" and call DFCS on me because I spanked The Diva for trying to bite me.
2) The usual brats were invited to "audition" for scholarships again this year. One of them is the teacher(ES)'s daughter, DS. WTF is with that? How can that be fair? Another is a whiny little brat named after a major coastal city in Australia--no talent, but she is a pal of the other one I am pissed about: the PITA who has done nothing but make D's life miserable all year. That's right! The daughter of that crazy woman who also took it upon herself to NOT allow me to help with costumes even though I had been asked by the wardrobe person to do so. HA and the city-named brat have parents who kiss ass and drop extra checks into the kitty so they will be rewarded by getting some of that money back. It never goes to the kids who really need it. GR will get another scholarship as well, I am sure.
3) VSK is still there and just as big a twitch as ever. She sops sugar over YA doing a little bit of handwork, yet walks right by me when I am working on the design for another class's entire costumes.
4) The brats mentioned above keep telling D things that are wrong so she will get in trouble. Today, it was telling her they were keeping their pointe shoes on for "Etudes" rehearsal (big lie!). She still had them on when it was time to begin and she was late because she had to change them. ES knew good and damned well what the spawns had done, but blamed D anyway for making the rehearsal start late.
5) The teacher's kid DS is throwing a Justice/pool party and D was not invited. This same girl pretends to be D's friend and texts her all the time.
6) The scores for the exams are still not up and I want to see what D was given. She told me that several of the girls (including every one of the ones nominated for scholarships) made major mistakes and at one point, they stopped them and made them do the combination over. That is the first time I heard of that; do-overs are not a normal thing in the middle of exams. The scores and placements will help me make my decision as to whether or not D stays at that hellhole.
After all the bull, why do I want her to stay there? She has been there a while, she knows the teachers, she knows the routine and she knows the kids (no matter how ugly they are to her). The teachers are familiar with her way of learning, so no breaking in needed. It would be hard for her to start over at another school, even though I am looking into a few options just in case.
D is a good dancer and could be a lot better if it weren't for all the politicking and kissing the arse of alleged money. Their no-talent spawn get the attention because the administration can soak them for all sorts of "extras". However, I know better about the money. Several people who "front" are less liquid than I am and that is saying something!
2) The usual brats were invited to "audition" for scholarships again this year. One of them is the teacher(ES)'s daughter, DS. WTF is with that? How can that be fair? Another is a whiny little brat named after a major coastal city in Australia--no talent, but she is a pal of the other one I am pissed about: the PITA who has done nothing but make D's life miserable all year. That's right! The daughter of that crazy woman who also took it upon herself to NOT allow me to help with costumes even though I had been asked by the wardrobe person to do so. HA and the city-named brat have parents who kiss ass and drop extra checks into the kitty so they will be rewarded by getting some of that money back. It never goes to the kids who really need it. GR will get another scholarship as well, I am sure.
3) VSK is still there and just as big a twitch as ever. She sops sugar over YA doing a little bit of handwork, yet walks right by me when I am working on the design for another class's entire costumes.
4) The brats mentioned above keep telling D things that are wrong so she will get in trouble. Today, it was telling her they were keeping their pointe shoes on for "Etudes" rehearsal (big lie!). She still had them on when it was time to begin and she was late because she had to change them. ES knew good and damned well what the spawns had done, but blamed D anyway for making the rehearsal start late.
5) The teacher's kid DS is throwing a Justice/pool party and D was not invited. This same girl pretends to be D's friend and texts her all the time.
6) The scores for the exams are still not up and I want to see what D was given. She told me that several of the girls (including every one of the ones nominated for scholarships) made major mistakes and at one point, they stopped them and made them do the combination over. That is the first time I heard of that; do-overs are not a normal thing in the middle of exams. The scores and placements will help me make my decision as to whether or not D stays at that hellhole.
After all the bull, why do I want her to stay there? She has been there a while, she knows the teachers, she knows the routine and she knows the kids (no matter how ugly they are to her). The teachers are familiar with her way of learning, so no breaking in needed. It would be hard for her to start over at another school, even though I am looking into a few options just in case.
D is a good dancer and could be a lot better if it weren't for all the politicking and kissing the arse of alleged money. Their no-talent spawn get the attention because the administration can soak them for all sorts of "extras". However, I know better about the money. Several people who "front" are less liquid than I am and that is saying something!
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