tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post6256951204325749816..comments2023-11-05T02:10:50.039-07:00Comments on Drape's Takes: A Little Homework Or Contributing To Burn-Out?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-87918032314588729842008-04-24T21:48:00.000-06:002008-04-24T21:48:00.000-06:004 hours of homework is 2 weeks worth at our online...4 hours of homework is 2 weeks worth at our online school! ha Then again, this is Vegas so maybe thats too much, but for Utah, no way, 4 hours/night sounds just right. Reread with smile and know that Mr.Plough is feeling a little burnt out right now. Too much hw.Cory Ploughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10961407128890788676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-47283876519452574172008-04-23T12:17:00.000-06:002008-04-23T12:17:00.000-06:00Darren,I think parents like you who are advocatin...Darren,<BR/><BR/>I think parents like you who are advocating us teachers to open our eyes to new ways of learning (not just new technology) is beneficial. I would love if I had a smart board. I just talked to my school to get me a DLP projector (small private school). I also got our school using an online grading program that parents can check anytime. I am not nagging the powers to be at our school about our school website which isn't any. I am not the tech guy for our school either. Teachers need to be open to new ideas, but at the same time many teachers feel threaten or annoyed when parents try to tell them how to do their job. Many teachers see it as I don't tell you how to do your job, I went to school to become a teacher, don't tell me how to do mine.<BR/><BR/>I welcome parents to communicate with me, but also being younger than most of them, and much younger than some, they feel they can bully me around and I will just have to give in every time. As a teacher I need to define what I am teaching and why I am teaching it and stick by it, if I don't have a good reason why I am teaching it, I shouldn't be teaching it. <BR/><BR/>Teachers today are too worried about Test scores, why the hours of memorizing and drilling. Most teachers get paid on how well their students do on the tests. It is a big disservice to the children when it is done this way. Ron Clark has done some awesome things in his career as a teacher, even if it was out of the norm. <BR/><BR/>My students always wants me to tell them what the answer is, because that is what they are used to. I will never tell them the answer, I will tell them and show them how to find the answer, but they need to discover the solution on their own. I try to have them think, which they are not used to either. It is a hard process and a long one. The school year is almost over, and they still don't have it down one hundred percent, but I am preparing them for their future. I am starting to train them the right way to apply their knowledge to better their living space. Using new technology like voice thread has helped the process greatly. Blogging has open their world on creative writing. <BR/><BR/>It just a process of give and take with the student, the parent, and most important, the teacher.<BR/><BR/>Teachers must be taught differently in their own schooling.Coach Burkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722175469847481622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-61021376607192551592008-04-23T11:16:00.000-06:002008-04-23T11:16:00.000-06:00There is more to life than homework. Writing spell...There is more to life than homework. Writing spelling words for 30 minutes is not going to make my son/daughter smarter. It might make them a better speller, but not a better learner.bohnsackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604333538077906201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-41770437226481511672008-04-23T11:05:00.000-06:002008-04-23T11:05:00.000-06:00Good point, Coach Burk, about parents and students...Good point, Coach Burk, about parents and students and teachers being a team.<BR/><BR/>With your comment, though, I'm realizing that there really aren't very many times when I can stop being Darren Draper: the ed-tech evangelist and start being Darren Draper: the normal dad that can just cruise by.<BR/><BR/>I doubt you remember, but this is the same teacher that, during PT conferences, I asked about her new SmartBoard. Her reply was that it had been hanging on her wall for nearly six months, was not entirely set up, and she had no idea how to use it. I then became disgusted with not only the tech support issues in the district I work in but also the sad state of affairs in the district that my kids attend.<BR/><BR/>I guess as Super Drape I should have then offered to help set up the SmartBoard and give her a lesson or two on how to use it.<BR/><BR/>Ugh.<BR/><BR/>So much for wearing the dad hat. Hmmm. Maybe there's no such thing as a normal, don't get too involved, things will be alright, dad.Darren Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578208859042859340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-13845892195538752582008-04-23T10:39:00.000-06:002008-04-23T10:39:00.000-06:00Here is my only disagreement with parents who just...Here is my only disagreement with parents who just say enough is enough and says their child isn't doing it and there will be no consequences. That is not how real world works. This is to a point teaching children, that their parents will bail them out when things get too tough or they just do not want to do their work. Each child is a case by case, and when parents come to me, I am very flexible, I do expect high standards from my students. More often than not, the students will far succeed the standards I put in front of them, it is the parents who can not meet them. As Darren you say, many teachers still do things the same way they have done 20 years ago. Drill Attack, Memorize over learning and applying. Which Drilling has its place, Memorizing has its place, but Learning needs to be taking place. To be honest with you, that might take more than a year. Through out the school life of a child, they will have the same concept repeated over and over again each year, just building off of it. I engaged my kids so when they get older they have seen sort of issues and problems (I show my third graders semi complex algebra equations, they don't need to know how to figure it out yet, but I want them to see what they will have to do in the future and how what we are doing NOW will help them to be able to solve those type of problems in the future) Social Studies is all about taking a student and making them a good citizen. I don't get hanged up on the children knowing all the dates and names (Beside Key ones), But I challenge them to be able to apply what they are learning with our School, City, and state. How can we make our living places a better place. <BR/><BR/>Darren, I would suggest you ask your child teacher to allow them do something new for a book report, (or even do it as an extra thing on your own and share it with the teacher) The biggest fear teachers have is, they don't know the material or they don't know how things work. I reward my kids when they stump me, or when they read more pages or books than I read (for AR).<BR/><BR/>Teachers and Parents and Students are a team and need to work together.Coach Burkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722175469847481622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-5696601514747822542008-04-23T10:25:00.000-06:002008-04-23T10:25:00.000-06:00Talk to the teacher. In my experience (parent of 3...Talk to the teacher. In my experience (parent of 3) they often say, "oh, the parents expect it." You can help them hear that all parents DON'T!<BR/><BR/>Like Scott, I've also said to a teacher, if I feel my daughter understands the concept, I will sign the worksheet and it is done. And you have the teacher agree not to penalize your child. This sounds crazy, but I've done it more than once.<BR/><BR/>You should definitely read In The Homework Myth, by Alfie Kohn. He will blow you away with the real facts about homework.Sylviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07197716318141984888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-24159300849463211982008-04-23T09:48:00.000-06:002008-04-23T09:48:00.000-06:00I guess the thing that bothers me most about this ...I guess the thing that bothers me most about this whole deal is that the homework she was doing last night (and nearly every night, frankly) is the <B>same kind of homework</B> I was doing when I was in grade school: drill and kill math, a book report, etc.<BR/><BR/>There was no digital storytelling, no interactive assignments, no creating (other than the kinds of book reports that she has created already dozens of times over). Ugh. <BR/><BR/>I think it's time for me to suggest a better way for her to do a book report - have her create it digitally (maybe with Voicethread) - and see how the teacher responds.Darren Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578208859042859340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-65934751236498527702008-04-23T09:15:00.000-06:002008-04-23T09:15:00.000-06:00I believe 4 hours of homework is excessive, regard...I believe 4 hours of homework is excessive, regardless of being in an accelerated learning program or not. Her teachers should be assessing her every day, and know what level of understanding she possesses of the content they cover. What purpose does 4 hours of homework serve? I see no purpose.robin.ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15247016169073962185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-52044058167323647382008-04-23T09:07:00.000-06:002008-04-23T09:07:00.000-06:004 hours is way beyond what a grade school student ...4 hours is way beyond what a grade school student should be doing. Talking with the teacher is the best thing for a parent to do.Coach Burkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722175469847481622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-70779545039635633632008-04-23T09:03:00.000-06:002008-04-23T09:03:00.000-06:00One thing that needs to be looked at, is what is g...One thing that needs to be looked at, is what is going on during the day? As a teacher I have a few parents say they were up all night doing homework. 100 percent of the time, when a parent said they were up all night, their child was not paying attention or working up to their ability during the day. They have missed the key concepts or discussion explaining the work and their parents do not understand what is going on because they are not in the classroom. As a teacher I always give out my home and cell numbers and my email address, which I check every hour almost. Most of the parents who complain also did not call me.Coach Burkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722175469847481622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-61620333546491056772008-04-23T07:41:00.000-06:002008-04-23T07:41:00.000-06:00I'm with you, Darren. My son is in the same boat e...I'm with you, Darren. My son is in the same boat except he is 7. The average nightly is a little over an hour, but we have had some full nights where I just said stop. I sent a note telling the teacher and principal there would be no consequences for him not finishing since it was my call and not his. After a few discussions with them following the note, they decided that I was right. Funny thing is that it ended up giving the other kids a free pass on it as well since the majority of the students did not finish it either.<BR/><BR/>I just could not see a 7 yo staying up to nearly 11 to finish that much homework AFTER having given a choir concert for the SCHOOL just a few hours earlier.Scott S. Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05535489986712327244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1293651735518246988.post-47535428530363088822008-04-23T02:54:00.000-06:002008-04-23T02:54:00.000-06:00I think 4 hours is too much. IMHO, maximum would b...I think 4 hours is too much. IMHO, maximum would be 3 hours daily for a 12 year-old kid. I would go for quality rather than quantity when it comes to homework.<BR/><BR/>Homework is a two-edged sword. On one side it makes you practise. On the other, it dreads you practise. <BR/><BR/>It's a shame that most parents still expect lots of drill and practice at home to achieve good grades. It's also a shame that to some extent these parents are right. Most assessment systems make it this way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com