maybe some teachers send tooo much homework home becuase they dont have enough time to teach on acocunt of too many disciplinary probs in the classroom (ie products of weak parenting) and too large of class size (ie budget cuts)

I dont know and am jsut tossing out ideas, botoom line,, its probably a complex issue.

when we get busywork home, we just ask the teacher, what the **** is the point of this, ie what is my kid supposed to learn from this? of course, i ask it in a different way, but letting the teacher know we dont do nonsense work, or rather, want work that is justifiable and has a valid reason behind it, is always good. its just toooo easy for them to copy worksheet pages and send em home......a little more thought and coherence has to go behind it, because at the end of the day, if kids end up doing non productive work at home, they get bored with education and busywork basically defeates the purpose of making them WANT to learn.

Funny too, how just this morning my 2nd grader (who has maybe 15 minutes worth of homework each night if they don't get it done in school) was talking about how her teacher told them - just yesterday - that her neice goes to school in a larger city, is also in 2nd grade, and gets 2 to 3 hours a night!!!

Frustrating...our kids have got to be able to have the time to be kids!

beignets...You hit the nail on the head in that many feel what these kids are coming home with is busywork and not anything that is really educating them.

Basically the point of the whole trend lies in that we live in a world that is too busy. There isn't enough time to fit everything in. We want children whom are well rounded. They want to do scouts, play sports, take dance, karate, gymnastics, piano lessons, religion classes etc... Plus with recess times in many schools being cut back or taken out completely the question is being asked when do kids just get to be kids.

The one story I heard in one school district started because the parents acutally were just outraged by their kids coming home with 2-3 hours worth of homework a day. The kids could not do the extracurricular activities, do homework, and get to bed at a decent hour. They took it to the school district and basically started a homework boycott and in the end the school did away with the homework. There are other stories where the decision has just been made at the top and they are limiting what the teachers can give or doing away with it completely.

My one daughter comes home frequently with 10-12 things to do for homework and it takes her hours to complete. One night on a day that she had scouts she was up till midnight doing homework. Finally I just said this is insane. Go to bed and I am sending a letter with you tomorrow.

So it is becoming a trend. It is still somewhat in the early stages of spreading.

Nope. our teachers are homework fanatics.
I like homework, but I HATE busywork. the differnce, depends on the teacher.

What is the reason some schools are cutting back? I have not heard of this trend. It doesnt sound like a good plan. MOst of our teachers spend more time disciplining their large classes, than teaching. Parents need to spend some time reinforcing at home what was taught. And having homework as a guide is useful to know what they SHOULD have learned.

The schools in our district just try to keep checks in place that the homework being handed out, in any grade, is not too much of an overload. The district has begun a push in the last few years to try to teach the kids time management more than anything else.

For example, when students have a half hour or an hour to fill between the end of the school day and the start of their dance program or sport, the school has structured study halls, with volunteer tutors (parents or high school kids looking for community service credits). The kids are able to get a lot of their work done in these study halls, with extra help if they need it, before they go off to their practice and then home.

I think some homework is good, to keep them thinking but too much just backfires on the kids, teachers and the parents. Everyone can get burned out. It's just another one of those fine lines....

My oldest daughter, now a sophmore in hs, has had a few teachers who did not give homework and actually told the kids if I can't teach you what you need to know in the time we have, I'm not doing my job.

Our district is not working to eliminate homework but I wish they would.The kids get up, commute, and give their 6-7 hours a day. Homework for students is like adults that bring work home from the office EVERYDAY - what kind of life is that?