Thoughts.com Blogs - The Dog ate My Homework!!!!

Hi my name is KP, I am 36 yo, and I am in Prep and Grade 4. Even though I spent 19 years going to school through out my life. I went to kinder, and then primary school. I went to high school and yes I dropped out, but later on went back and finished high school, from there I went to University (College) and did a degree. Ohhh and there is the few courses I did after high school and going back and University that I did a few due to the fact I didn’t know what I want to do. But now I can say I have done Kinder 3 times, prep 3 times, grade 1, 2, 3, and 4 twice and there is still much more to come.

But now I am wondering what is going on when my kids go to school. I am sick of hearing from the teachers that giving the kids homework is preparing them for high school. But please when is enough, enough. When did doing homework at age 6 become preparing them for high school. When does doing homework become such a struggle for the parents that the child ends up in tears and the mother/father becomes so frustrated that they just want to hit there head against a brick wall. How is this preparing the child for high school?

So often we hear in the media that our children are becoming obese and that we need to encourage them to participate in more outside activities. Which is all well and good, however when they come home laden down with homework when is that meant to happen.

And I am sorry, but the teacher’s don’t really seem to be assigning age appropriate homework it goes from one extreme to another. For example, my son (Mr 5), has constantly been bring home activities that consist of cutting out words and then putting them in the correct order to form a sentence, and then drawing a picture related to that sentence. Yes I think this is right for him. Then on the other side of the coin my daughter (Miss 9) {insert sigh}, this weeks homework is to prepare and 3 minutes oral presentation on “simple machine”. Which not only do they have to present the oral presentation in front of the class, but they are also going to be marked on this as well. Then on top of this she has her classroom take home reader, and then there is also the math component of learning a particular “times tables” for that week, and because she has some remedial classes she has extra readers on top of that.

I knew that there was an issue with the homework this week, because when I kept asking about the homework, I would get “I forgot”. Finally after the stern talk, the homework was produced, and that’s when the tears started. Literally she is petrified of having to get up and talk in class. Hell I was when I had to first do it in HIGH SCHOOL. So why is it now being done in grade 4. the answer to “Prepare them for high school”.

So here I am sitting here researching a 3 minute presentation on “simple machines”. Making it as easy as possible for her, but staying in the guidelines of what is needed. I wonder if I could do the talk on me seeing how I am a machine to homework.

I while I sit here and complain about this week’s homework, this is not the first time I have had this issue. There have been many more, weekly projects that she just can’t do on her own. Or she and I come to logger heads with, and in the end I am doing or finishing off for her.

And yes before you say it, I have gone back and forth to the school and the teachers about this issue, and basically get told make it work. Or let her suffer the consequences of not doing it, but to date there hasn’t been any for her to learn from. Except for last week when she had to write 25 lines on that “She must complete and hand in homework”, which had to be done at home as homework.