A rant against homework-again!

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?