This is the sixth post by FedUp Mom, the mother of a fifth grader. FedUp Mom’s daughter used to attend a public school in suburban Philadelphia, but this year FedUp Mom moved her to a private Quaker school, hoping for a more relaxed environment. You can read her other posts here, here, here, here and here.
I Hate Reading Logs
by FedUp Mom
Every time I think we’ve solved the school problem something comes along to bite me in the rear. This week it’s the dreaded reading log. We found out about it from a letter the teachers sent home:
“Your child will be expected to read every night. We ask that you sign the log each night … We will also check the log regularly, in order to ensure follow through on your child’s part… Please sign the form below and return it to school tomorrow with your child.”
And now, the fun part:
“Thank you for your partnership in your child’s education.” (!)
And how does following the teacher’s directions make me a partner exactly? I feel more like an unpaid employee. Wait a minute — we’re paying them!
There was a little form at the bottom of the letter that said:
“I have read the above letter and agree to help my child by signing his/her log each night.”
I crossed this out and wrote in:
“We trust our daughter to do her reading.”
Then we signed it.
Then we sent the following e-mail to the teacher:
Teacher X: we have chosen not to participate in the reading log. We’ve experienced reading logs before and have these objections:
1.) They turn reading into a chore.
2.) They send a message that we don’t trust (daughter) to do the reading without meddling and micromanaging.
(Daughter) will do the reading she needs to do, but she won’t be logging the pages. Thank you.
I’m hoping that will be the end of it. I’m really tired of conferences and I’m sure we all have better things to do with our time.
Stop Homework 
I had dinner with some folks the other night and the topic of excessive homework came up.
“But how will they ever learn how to study when they get into university?” was the worry of one lady at the table.
I said,”Adults go to university..they have a choice. If they want to go to university and achieve at that level, then they have to work hard and on their own. Children don’t have a choice. Plus, I attended university for 7 years and not once did I ever have a full week of classes for 6 to 7 hours per day each day…not once.”
Homework in K-12 is overburdening our children. It’s not necessary and does more harm to children’s psyche and family cohesion than it’s worth.
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Well, I am an educator with four children and I hate reading logs, too. However, in many states it is part of the educational reading standards/cirricula that your student read so many pages, books, genres, ect. so the reading logs are here to stay. At least for now. For the parent who “trust” her daughter, well I trust my students too! This is not an issue of trust, this is an issue of accountablity!!! We are all accountable, and until they are 18, WE PARENTS are accountable!
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Sorry Lynn, but I feel your sense of accountability is misdirected.
If my child was forced to something that even I hated, I think it would be my responsibility as a parent to correct the situation. That’s being accountable. What are we teaching our children every time we say, “Honey, I know you hate it…I hate it too, but we have to do it.” We are teaching them that we have no control over our lives, that some force on high can dictate to us and we have no choice but to obey, even if it makes no sense to us. I’m sorry, but I’m not teaching my daughter to ever be unquestioning. If something doesn’t make sense, the proper thing to do is to ask questions, not shrivel in a corner. I agree, we parents are accountable, and you as a teacher are even more accountable. So stand up and demand answers. Be the role model your children need, not some agreeable nice lady, who does what she’s told. Do you really want your children to grow up to be obedient? Is that what we send them to school for?
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Hello to all you moms out there! I am a mother of two and also a teacher in a public school. I have taught for eleven years, so I am not new to the game. As a parent, I highly dislike homework. Homework in our house is often like pulling teeth. There is always something better to do! Who wants to do homework? Knowing this as a parent, I assign much less homework than I did before I had children. Bottom line: homework stinks.
All that being said, it is parents like you that have corrupted society and caused your children to be irresponsible, disrespectful, and lazy. What most of your comments let me know is that not only are you encouraging your children to be lazy, but you yourselves are lazy. Why are you not willing to help your child? All you are doing is showing them that it is okay to be disrespectful by not following the rules. You are showing them that they do not have to do what the teacher says because they know that mommy is going to come to the rescue. So while you continue to teach them that this way of life is acceptable they grow up unable to follow the rules, laws, and norms of our society. While you may not see the benefit in homework, you should understand that its purpose is not only to give you quality time with your children, but to teach them that we all have responsibilities and that this is one of them. When you are asked to pay taxes, do you tell the IRS that you are only going to pay half your taxes because you do not believe you owe the other half? Do you tell them that their system goes against what you believe, so you will not participate? Do you call them and say, “Trust me. NO. You do it. That’s the rule. If not there is a consequence. What you all don’t realize is that when you make a big deal out of something as ridiculous as a reading log, you hurt your children more that you help them. They are the ones that are affected by your inability to do what you are supposed to do. They are the ones that come to school and cry to their teacher because their parents just will not take the time to sit down with them and help them on their homework. They are the ones that are saddened because yet again they have let their teacher down. They are the ones you hurt because of your stubborness and inability to just follow the rules. They are the ones that do not have many friends because of overbearing and controlling parents. You say that you do not want to micro manage? You are doing just that by trying to dictate what work you want and don’t want your child to do. You are hurting your children.
Last, but certainly not least, the fact that someone would be upset about going unpaid for doing your teacher’s job is perhaps the most idiotic comment of all. Let me let you in on a little secret from one parent to another: YOU ARE THE TEACHER. When you decided to have a child, you decided to take on the responsibility of parenting and teaching your child the ways of life. YOU ARE THE TEACHER. Not anyone else, but you. Not I, not the classroom teacher, not anyone!! Are you keeping up with the game? Or have you placed all of YOUR responsibilities of parenting on your child’s teacher? YOU ARE THE TEACHER. Are you teaching your child to be a good person or a difficult person who thinks their rules are the best? YOU ARE THE TEACHER. You set the standards. Shouldn’t you be happy that someone else loves your children so much that they are willing to dedicate their life to loving them and helping them grow? As a mother, I have come to learn that I am a teacher. A teacher of good examples, a teacher of morals, a teacher of life. I have done my homework. HAVE YOU?
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Anonymous, your comment is well-intentioned but I would like to point out a couple of things.
You said that parents writing on this blog should understand that homework’s purpose is to give them quality time with their children. You also said that getting kids to do homework is often akin to pulling teeth. I think you are contradicting yourself a little as I’m not sure how something so painful could be considered “quality time.”
You also said that the purpose of homework is to teach children that they have responsibilities but there are other ways to do so. Some kids have household chores which also teach responsibility. In some extreme cases homework could actually cut into the time required to do these chores. A lot of the time on this blog parents are talking about more extreme cases of homework such as countless amounts of busywork which harms more than it helps. Also a lot of the parents on this blog have stated that their children are more than capable of completing the homework without their assistance, in which case the academic benefits are greatly reduced anyway.
For those doing well at school, homework could be preventing them from learning other things that they are interested in. I am fortunate that I live in a country where not as much homework is set, so I have time to study foreign languages and music, which are both things that I love.
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Anonymous says:
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All that being said, it is parents like you that have corrupted society and caused your children to be irresponsible, disrespectful, and lazy.
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Actually, it’s teachers like you who have corrupted education and caused our children to be stressed out, anxious, and depressed.
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While you may not see the benefit in homework, you should understand that its purpose is not only to give you quality time with your children, but to teach them that we all have responsibilities and that this is one of them.
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“Quality time?” Are you kidding me? I’ve got a million better ways to spend time with my child. Homework is one of the worst things that ever happened to family life.
Let me teach my kids about responsibility in whatever way I choose. That’s my privilege as the parent. You, as the teacher, should focus on actual academic subjects — remember them? Reading? Writing? Math? You’ve got my kid for upwards of 30 hours a week — that’s plenty of time.
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All you are doing is showing them that it is okay to be disrespectful by not following the rules.
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If the rules don’t make sense, the right thing to do is to speak up. There’s nothing “disrespectful” about it. School is supposed to benefit the kids, not the teachers. You are not the boss, and the kids are not your employees.
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They are the ones that come to school and cry to their teacher because their parents just will not take the time to sit down with them and help them on their homework.They are the ones that are saddened because yet again they have let their teacher down.
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You shouldn’t put children in a position where the behavior of their parents, over which they have no control, will let the teacher down. It’s child abuse. It’s your fault for assigning homework that the child can’t possibly complete on his own.
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There are so many things I would like to say to the latest Anonymous teacher, but it’s really not worth it.
The only thing I will say, is that there is a world of difference between paying taxes (which any REASONABLE person would understand is a societal good) and doing what I’m told to do just because somebody else thinks it’s a good idea. I’m sure it would surprise you that I stop at red lights too…all by myself. BUT, one day I happened to be at a red light when I saw a fire engine with lights and sirens blaring barrelling down on me from behind. He couldn’t go around me…so I checked for traffic and seeing none, I drove through the intersection to let the fire truck through….Oh my goodness, I broke a law…I thought for myself and did the right thing. And that’s the kind of sense that I’m trying to teach my child, in this world where there are so few people in positions of power who do the right things.
Good luck with the blind obedience and your children.
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Yes, homework is like pulling teeth initially, but it is my responsibility as a parent to make it fun because it is something that is expected of my child. I don’t always want to clean my house, but I have to make the best of it because it is something I must do. So yes, obviously unlike yourself, ANY TIME I spend with my children is quality time.
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***As for extreme amounts of homework, I highly disagree. It is in my opinion that home work should not take more that 20 minutes, preferably 10-15.
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Anonymous says:
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Yes, homework is like pulling teeth initially, but it is my responsibility as a parent to make it fun because it is something that is expected of my child.
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Why should I waste my time trying to make homework fun when I can see that it serves no useful purpose? You can’t make silk out of a sow’s ear.
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Interesting analogy about paying taxes. I often file an extension because I usually get a refund and want to make sure I have everything together. Even the IRS doesn’t penalize me for a late return if I file an extension. In other words, even the IRS has some give and take in its system. Contrast that to elementary school where children are penalized and punished for one day of late homework.
As Fed Up Mom (and many other have stated), why do you feel it is your job to teach “responsibility” to the adult parents of your students? Society has, and will always have, independent thinkers. These thinkers don’t corrupt society, they move it forward by putting forth new ideas instead of clinging to tradition and myth.
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***You have helped prove my point. Thank you. Stop coddling your children and allow them to be independent, problem solving children. Why would you teach them that they are “entitled?”
Corrupted educators? Maybe some are….it’s easy to pick them out. You should talk to your legislature about the quality of teachers. I’d much rather study and take a test to assure that I am of the best quality teacher you can possibly get, and make the money that I deserve, rather than put those burdens on my children.
**”Let me teach my kids about responsibility in whatever way I choose. That’s my privilege as the parent. You, as the teacher, should focus on actual academic subjects — remember them? Reading? Writing? Math? You’ve got my kid for upwards of 30 hours a week — that’s plenty of time.”
Thank you…you help prove my point exactly. It is your priveledge. THEN DO IT. Core subjects in schools are mandated. We don’t have the option of NOT teaching those subjects. Curriculum is assigned. Your hostility really shines through in this comment. Yikes. Are you saying that teachers should not care about their students well being? We should not care about children enough to teach them to be responsible? So if what you are saying is that I shouldn’t care about your child….ONLY ACADEMICS, then yes, you should consider me a corrupt teacher that has caused stress, and blah, blah, blah. Does that mean that you want me to spank them too?
Anyway, I am done with all responses. I happened upon this website while searching online for a meaningful reading log for my class to do for homework. Yikes. This is what popped up. If you all are unhappy with the education system, you should do something about it. Maybe you should consider home schooling your children, since you know best. I mean unless ofcourse that is not your responsibility.
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Anonymous says:
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Your hostility really shines through in this comment.
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MY hostility? You led off with this remark:
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All that being said, it is parents like you that have corrupted society and caused your children to be irresponsible, disrespectful, and lazy. What most of your comments let me know is that not only are you encouraging your children to be lazy, but you yourselves are lazy.
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Yeah, thanks a lot for your helpful attitude there. Glad you’re not hostile.
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Does that mean that you want me to spank them too?
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What the #%&*$? You think that’s a normal part of raising a child? (Why am I not surprised?)
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I happened upon this website while searching online for a meaningful reading log for my class to do for homework.
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Good. We’ve had several people stop by this site who actually had open minds and learned a lot. I’m glad the site comes up early on a web search.
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If you all are unhappy with the education system, you should do something about it.
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We are. Speaking up and writing about it on the internet is a start.
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Anyway, I am done with all responses.
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Bye! I’m so thankful my kids don’t have you for a teacher.
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The teachers who rant and rave here (and have very poor writing skills……paragraphs anyone?), can’t see their own hostility shine through. Fed Up, it is fascinating to me that a teacher would call you insane when your arguments are so logical and well conceived. It’s as if they truly can’t comprehend what you are saying! Also, the only solution most seem to have to the educational morass is…..if you don’t like it why don’t you home school!
The blind spots (and prejudices and biases) they have are so internalized. It astonishes me how reactive and judgemental some can be.
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The trouble too is that they just read the opening blog and breeze thru a few posts….and it’s like lighting a fuse.
What concerns me is the total lack of reasoning skills…how can they possibly be stimulating childrens’ thinking if they can’t voice an opinion properly? Their analogies don’t make sense or are weak. As Disillusioned said, their solution is to throw their hands up, storm out and throw us out of school.
When I started reading this site, I took days to read old stuff…not everything resonates, but I ignore that stuff.
Chill pills all around.
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Wow, this posting is a hot topic.
As a teacher, (not a parent), I see both sides of the argument. In a perfect world, teachers would be able to teach every child in a way that exactly meets their needs. This may or may not include homework. In my perfect world, I wouldn’t give homework other than asking my students to read because there are so many amazing things out there to read, or do some math, because there are so many fun things they can do with math, and they might just enjoy it! However, we don’t have a perfect world and from what I see in these posts the parents are fed up with homework, rightfully so in many cases, as their children can read and hate being forced to put it in a log.
On the other hand, the teachers seem frustrated probably because they are feeling criticized for doing what they have been taught or told to do. Also, the bottom line is teaching is a tough job where you often feel overworked, underappreciated, and poorly compensated.
Why do we do it? As someone mentioned, the reward of seeing someone “get it” or know that you made the difference in the life of a child is the only reason I can think of.
So, to all the teachers, maybe you can take to heart what some of the parents are saying and reflect on your own practice and see if there isn’t room for improvement somewhere, and to the parents, maybe you can find it in you to find something positive about teachers and their practices, or try to find a way to calmly and positively discuss why the practices don’t work for your child. Also, remember that there are a lot of teachers out there and while the ones that your children have are the only ones that matter to you, that doesn’t mean that your bad experiences sum up the whole field of teaching.
I implore all of you to use your efforts in a positive way to make positive changes to our educational system rather than beating each other up. Parents and teachers are the only stability many children have. It would be nice if we could all support each other.
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Hi Teacher,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to our posts in a calm and thoughtful fashion. In my perfect world, the teacher to child ratio would be about one to five. I know there are many districts where teachers are overworked and poorly paid. However, in most of the affluent suburban schools we are referencing that is not the case. Volunteer mothers do an enormous amount of the clerical work (make homework copies, grade homework and test, etc.). In addition, the tenured teachers in affluent suburbs are pretty well paid (about $80,000/year) for a part time job (summers, long holdiay breaks, and most federal holidays).
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Hi Teacher,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to our posts in a calm and thoughtful fashion. In my perfect world, the teacher to child ratio would be about one to five. I know there are many districts where teachers are overworked and poorly paid. However, in most of the affluent suburban schools we are referencing that is not the case. Volunteer mothers do an enormous amount of the clerical work (make homework copies, grade homework and test, etc.). In addition, the tenured teachers in affluent suburbs are pretty well paid (about $80,000/year) for a part time job (summers, long holdiay breaks, and most federal holidays).
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I guess I need to move! I actually come from an extremely affluent school (my students have Tiffany necklaces, Coach shoes, Hollister and Abercrombie everything, etc.) probably the most affluent in my large county and I have a doctorate and only make $49K. As for the part time job, I have spent more time working as a teacher than I have in any other job. Going in at 6:30am, working until 7 at night and then coming home and doing more work, working every Sunday all day long doing lesson plans, and during those breaks, I am also thinking about things I can do to help my students, researching teaching strategies or ideas from the internet, planning lessons, reading kids’ books so I am prepared, and taking classes. Oh, and to make ends meet and to further my own career, since none of the “extra” work I do for teaching will ever get me a bonus or a promotion, I also am an adjunct professor teaching preservice teachers, which I get a measly $400 a month. Also, it is against most district rules for anyone but a certified teacher or paraprofessional to grade papers, and in my school only teachers can use the copy machine. I have not had a volunteer in my room except for parties. Summer breaks are what allow most teachers to keep teaching year after year.
I do understand the point about the homework, which I thought was the point of this forum, but I do not like the stereotype that teachers are paid well for a part time job. I encourage anyone who thinks that to become a teacher in a large school district where you must deal with NCLB, state standards, benchmark testing, pacing guides, lack of time, lack of resources, and a general feeling from the public that you are a public servant who can’t do better than to become a teacher. I overlook this because it is my students that matter and because I love teaching and making a difference in the life of a child.
That being said, I must go make cookies for my students for a holiday treat tomorrow.
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Anonymous- I can only speak abour what I’ve seen in my district. No doubt, other districts have other pay scales. Once the lesson plans are in place, do they change from year to year? How much time do you spend grading homework each week? Do you think your time could be better spent?
Many professions require on-going education. If your schedule is as full as you say, summer break is probably needed to restore yourself. You don’t say exactly what you are doing during these long days from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm. Respectfully, it sounds as if this is a recipe for burn-out. I didn’t mean to offend you (you sound very hard working). However, most professions don’t get two months off every year.
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Anonymous- I can only speak about what I’ve seen in my district. No doubt, other districts have other pay scales. Once the lesson plans are in place, do they change from year to year? How much time do you spend grading homework each week? Do you think your time could be better spent?
Many professions require on-going education. If your schedule is as full as you say, summer break is probably needed to restore yourself. You don’t say exactly what you are doing during these long days from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm. Respectfully, it sounds as if this is a recipe for burn-out. I didn’t mean to offend you (you sound very hard working). However, most professions don’t get two months off every year.
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Anonymous- Sorry a few more things. What are the consequences for teachers if their students do not live up to the NCLB standards? I’m sure you feel pressured for the kids to perfom….yet, it seems as if there aren’t any real consequences (other than the principal talking to you) for tenured teachers if students do not perform well on these standardized tests.
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Disillusioned: What are the consequences for teachers if their students do not live up to the NCLB standards?
I don’t know how it works everywhere, of course, but in my district and state there are pretty severe consequences. After being on a “list” for several years, despite making more than a year’s growth each year, our school was placed on a list of Persistently low-achieving schools. That meant we needed to make many changes, both in staff and in instruction. We have a lot of new teachers this year (some veteran, some genuine newbies), but many of our instructional practices had already begun to change based on what we saw our students needing. (I teach 8th grade, less than 30% of our kids read at or above grade level… we have 30% special needs – which our district says is “too high,” eye roll…. most of our students not at grade level are between 2 and 4 years behind.)
I originally found this post because we have a 20 minute period a day in which our students are supposed to be reading. Until my teaching schedule changed I was in charge of a group of about 20 kids during that time. I read… they read. We read the same books, we read different books. They sprawled around the room (except for one kid who was happiest walking with his nose in a book… and yes, he was actually reading, it was very funny to watch). It was rough the first week or two of school as the expectation was set out for them. They adapted, they became good at it. Like I said, my schedule changed so I’m now teaching a class for kids having more difficulty with reading during that period, but I’m hearing from my kids that the other teachers aren’t “making” them read like I did. I had googled “reading logs” so that I could have my kids fill them out and turn in to me despite the fact that they’re in another teacher’s room. Maybe not…. anyone have any other solutions out there? I should say, the other teachers are WELL aware of the expectation. I’ve modeled it, and the teachers still say it’s too tough to make them read (and it is, if you make them sit in desks and not be comfy and you never talk to them about the book… or their day… or know their name…). Perhaps I’ve answered my own question.
Regardless, while I appreciate the original poster’s comments about the ridiculousness of reading logs I had a final thought… my 1st grader, who loves reading and is reading at about a 4th grade level has a reading log too… we never remember to fill it out because frankly, though he’s reading, and we’re sitting reading or talking with him, it’s usually bedtime and at the beginning of the year, learning new teacher procedures, a reading log just escaped both my memory and his. Meeting with his teacher (from whom we’d had no problem commentary about the log), I apologized for being forgetful about the homework. She laughed, told me it was not a big deal, that SHE KNEW MY CHILD WAS READING.
I think that’s the difference. She assigned a log to cover all bases. She told me she had several kids who she wasn’t worried about with reading, that they were the kids who would pick up books immediately during free time. My son happened to be one of them. She actually apologized for not letting me know not to worry about it. Because she knew I was a teacher, too, we got into a discussion about how it would be so much better if we could just have different rules for different kids… and parents. If a student in my classroom demonstrates his ability to do the job WITHOUT a reading log (like my kiddo), as the teacher, I relax my accountability requirements from that student. Unfortunately, it’s the vast majority of kids who will NOT read unless I require it. Heck, I have a huge majority of kids who have to borrow books from me to do their homework because there are not ANY books in their home. That’s just their reality.
Ok, enough ranting from me… but dsLevy, I’d happily teach next door to you. Cheers.
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Hi 90/90 Teacher- Thanks for your detailed response to my question. It seems as if you are really motivated (yet creating a relaxed atmosphere) to get your students reading.
You stated that the school was “on a list” for a couple of years. I’m sure this created pressure for the teachers and the principal of your school. However, my question was in regard to tenured teachers being fired if a school failed to meet NCLB requirements.
In regard to your first grader’s teacher, do you think there is any professional courtesy re: the reading log? (You mentioned she knew you were a teacher). Anyway, thanks for your response and good luck with your students in the new year.
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i want like copies of finished reading logs
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I was looking for a decent reading log for my little first grade bilingual kids when I came across this site. I’m so glad I did. I send a book home with my kids and I know who practiced and who didn’t. I was going to send a log home just like my co workers, but what for? The parents can’t even read with the children because they are non English. I was reluctant to send a log home, because I don’t think they are really necessary for my students.
Now for the homework part….my son is in 7th grade and is a gifted student. So far this year, his grades have taken a HUGE nose dive. Why? All that his pre-AP classes AND his G/T class have for him are senseless projects and assignments. He has gone to school with as little as 2 hours of sleep because he has so much to do. If he takes time to do anything else, he can’t keep up, therefore not turning in assignments. This has caused him to receive many zeros. He will not be in the junor honor society and could care less about school anymore. The teachers assign a HUGE amount of projects and them have the kids present them in class. They also use them for, get this, TEST grades! I am just trying to get him and myself through the year. Wish me luck because I will receive his report card today and there’s a good possibility that he has gotten an F for his G/T class for the six weeks. Does anybody see anything wrong with this picture?
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Welcome Ann, to our world, where we see the problem you are writing about. The picture is very sad when you see good kids give up under the relentless pressure. What is the point if the kids burn out?
I, for one, am glad you found this site before you started down the reading log trail. How come you “get” it when so many teachers find us, just the way you did, and are totally outraged by parents’ refusal to comply. You’ve done more to encouraging readers than a reading log would ever have done. The best way to keep them hooked on reading is to read to those little first graders, building their imaginations and connecting to them through their emotions. Bravo!
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Wow. This has been a very interesting read. It is now 3:30am in the morning. Ironically it started for me looking online to find an alternative to reading logs in my classroom.
I started at ProTeacher and then followed a link to this site. My decision after reading ALL the posts is that I am not going to require the children to write a reading log for homework. I will still have the expectation that they are reading out of school. It is their choice of material and topic and the purpose is to read for the enjoyment gained by reading. As a teacher it is very easy to know who is reading when you work with them during the reading tumble in a small group. I can see that from the comments of the parents on this site how strongly they feel about it and the rationale behind their argument.
I have to admit that I am lucky in that I teach in New Zealand and that as a teacher I am respected enough by my school to be able to make that decision and that I will be able to justify my professional judgement. I am also going to encourage other teachers to view this site so that we can discuss it as a school. We are also able to make decisions as a staff to implement change to school policy more easily here than in the US.
I am also lucky in that I taught for a year in the USA and understand and empathise with the US teachers for the prescriptive text and schedule they are expected to teach to.
To the parents I assure you this debate is a global issue and funnily enough I have had numerous conversations with parents here wanting more homework as well as the ones that want less. I believe strongly that children should have the opportunity to be children and play is a critical part of a child’s growth – once again I am lucky to be in NZ where recreational and family time are still highly valued, and in fact an integral part of our NZ Curriculum.
Thank you all for the comments you have made! I know I can make effective use of my class reading time to cover what I got out of the reading log. If I have a particular child that needs support with their reading then I can discuss that with their individual parents.
Good morning to you all I know I will need a sleep in tomorrow. Just as well it is the weekend.
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Good for you for reading all that..and it’s wonderful that we’ve been found by another teacher “just in time”.
Children do need to be children and not be constantly harrassed to grow up faster. Adult thinking and perceptions just do not hold when it comes to growing children and teacher’s need to help protect kids even when their parents want more rigor and homework. Thanks for the dedication, and welcome to all those new New Zealander readers.
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Anonymous from New Zealand, you are the first winner of my special award to anyone who reads all the comments on this post.
I call it the “Herculean Effort” award, and it will be cast in bronze, with an engraving of Hercules cleaning the Augean stables. Congratulations!
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As a parent, I can totally relate with other parents who are tired of the endless mounds of homework, silly logs to sign, and repetitive worksheets. My first grader is advanced in all subjects. The other day, I received a note from his teacher stating, “Dear Parents, we are sending home extra math sheets as well as a test pro sheet that needs to be completed each night as our math scores are low.” This new homework is in addition to the 20 minutes of nightly reading and list of 15 spelling words that need to be written three times each every night. In my mind, my child is being punished with extra work because others in his class are scoring low in math. On the other hand, it is his work, he needs to learn to be responsible and get his work done. After a long day of teaching other’s kids, I dread having to spend more hours helping my own children with homework that they don’t really need, but the real problem is this: Standardized Testing. Parents and lawmakers have decided that our system of educating children is broke (and it is). Too many students fall below proficient in reading and math. There are ever growing demands placed on educators to get all kids proficient in reading and math. Let’s face it, there are more children performing below proficient, than children performing at or above proficient. So what does this mean? Money, time, and energy is being spent on trying to get the lowest scoring students to do better (remember no child left behind?). This also means that our already smart children will be hammered to death with the same mundane assignments because the other kids in his or her class aren’t getting the concepts. If you want to grow a field of tulips all the same size, what happens to the tallest flowers? You cut them off. This is the sad state of our educational system. So what can you do about it? Many of you are great at complaining–start writing your local law makers. If you are really passionate about education, make some changes, formulate some ideas, help us fix this system! Personally, I believe in charter schools–parents should have options! Take your anger and frustration and help us make some changes! There are good teachers and good people in this system that do care about your children. Trust me, we are not the bad guys–as much as I hate my child’s extra homework, I know it is not his teacher’s fault. We work in the same school, I’ve seen the data that she is held accountable too. Our math scores overall are LOW. What’s the answer??? I’m waiting…
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I counted 8 spelling or grammatical errors in Teacher 76’s post. From now on I’m counting them because it matters.
The posting from a New Zealand teacher two or three posts behind that one clearly shows what we parents are trying to do about the situation. We’re writing about our experiences and conversing with other parents and teachers who see the need to do things differently, and are doing it. That’s what we’re doing here.
In our lives, we’re talking to other parents, we’re writing letters to TV programs and newspapers, we’re reading books, we’re talking to teachers, principals, psychologists, superintendents, and various other politicians. Lots, Teacher 76…we’re doing lots of things.
But right now, we’re outnumbered. And a lot of people yell back when we ask questions, so we have trouble being heard.
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Teacher says:
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In my mind, my child is being punished with extra work because others in his class are scoring low in math.
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That’s correct.
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On the other hand, it is his work, he needs to learn to be responsible and get his work done.
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Forcing your child to do homework that you and he both know is pointless for him is not teaching him responsibility. It’s teaching him that he has no recourse. It’s teaching him passivity and hopelessness. Are those the lessons you want to teach?
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I dread having to spend more hours helping my own children with homework that they don’t really need
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So — I hope you’re sitting down while you read this — DON’T DO IT. Tell the teacher that your kids don’t need this homework and you will make your own decisions about how your family spends your free time, which is rare enough already.
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“Forcing your child to do homework that you and he both know is pointless for him is not teaching him responsibility. It’s teaching him that he has no recourse. It’s teaching him passivity and hopelessness. Are those the lessons you want to teach?”
I guess I’ve never thought of it in this light–but my heart tells me that even if I don’t agree with a homework assignment, my kid will do his work. I will talk to his teacher about my disapproval, but I am not going to undermine her authority, especially in front of my kid, and then expect her to put up with him all day long every day.
I see a common thread throughout these posts amongst teachers and parents. Homework haters are tired of meaningless assignments, and don’t we all want some down-time after a long day at work/school? But the parents on this site who are taking the time to voice their opinions probably have proficient or above proficient children. Am I right?
What I hear teachers trying to convey is that it’s not about your kids–it’s about targeting low level students and bringing them up to average.
I have two gifted children. I did not expose them to educational programing designed for infants, or show them flashcards, or sit at the kitchen table and do math facts with them. Rather I played with them, spent a lot of time outdoors, and made reading two books a night part of their bedtime routine. That’s it. I thought because I did these things, and all of my friends did these things, then that was the way it was for most families. Wrong. I didn’t realize, until I started teaching, how little interaction most kids have with their parents. Most kids spend their free time watching TV, or playing video games. Many kids have never been read to at home at all. Homework, even in its most mundane state, at least prompts parents to sit down and spend some time with their kids. It’s sad that society has gotten to this state, and it will tick you off if you are a parent that is accustomed to spending time with your kids already, but it is the direction that we as a whole have taken.
If you are mad about homework because you want to spend your time at home eating dinner with you family, doing chores, and visiting with your kids, then I empathize with you completely. But a teacher’s job does not start and end with your kids and we need parents who care about children to be on our side. Educating a child is a team effort. A teacher will not be successful without parental support.
I may be tired when I get home from work, but if my kid has an assignment, I will be there to help him. It’s not a question of me teaching him passivity and hopelessness, it’s about teaching him that life doesn’t always go the way we want it to, that hard work and sacrifice do pay off, and that sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to.
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Hi Teacher 76- You touched upon a lot of interesting issues re: homework and school. When parents discuss (and vent) about how homework has affected their home life, they are voicing opinions about their own lives. To label them as “complainers” isn’t really constructive. On the other hand, to label all teachers as “the bad guys” isn’t constructive either.
I often hear teachers say that the system will not work without supportive parents. I’m not sure if this is true or not because our educational system has never tested this theory in any meaningful way. I do think the boundaries between school and home have been blurred to such an extent that there is a big, big grey area that no one can define.
When you speak of life lessons (such as doing things you do not want to do or personal responsiblity) these are life philosophy issues. As with every life philosophy, there are pros and cons to each philosophy (most people don’t adhere to just one and many change their life philosphies as they mature). What many parents are saying is let us decide a life philosophy that works for us (and might change over time according to circumstance).
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Teacher 76 says:
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Homework, even in its most mundane state, at least prompts parents to sit down and spend some time with their kids.
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Homework poisons the time that parents spend with their kids. Who wants to spend their time nagging? Without homework, good parents could spend time with their kids productively.
And you know what? The bad parents still won’t spend time with their kids, no matter how much homework the teacher assigns.
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What I hear teachers trying to convey is that it’s not about your kids
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Well, why shouldn’t it be about my kid, and yours? You think it’s OK that bright kids are expected to coast while the teachers work with the less advanced kids?
And, even if we accept the idea that the school day is not designed for the bright kids, why is it OK to take up the child’s home life with more unnecessary, inappropriate schoolwork?
Look at this from your son’s point of view. First he spends a long school day in a classroom where there’s not much going on that’s helpful to him, because he’s bright, and the teachers are mostly worried about advancing the low achievers. Then, he finally gets to go home, but he still doesn’t get a break. His own mother makes him do homework which isn’t appropriate for him either!
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Actually, here’s a much more direct response. If the teacher says it’s not about my kid, I say, “That’s what I thought. That’s why my kid isn’t doing this homework. Give it to the kid it was meant for.”
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FedUpMom,
When did I ever say that it was “OK for bright kids to coast while teachers work with the less advanced kids”? If this is what you have taken from my responses, then I am sorry that I have not made myself more clear. Let me try it this way:
1. The system is broken–agreed?
2. Because we as a nation are falling so far behind regarding our education, efforts are being made across the board to bump up academics in hopes of closing the gap.
3. This means an excess of homework, and more time in class being spent on test prep materials.
4. The pressure is on teachers to focus on getting kids to be proficient (very little time is spent on addressing kids who are advanced).
5. In no way, shape, or form do I support these practices, but it is my job–it’s what I am instructed to do and I don’t make the laws. I do the best that I can with what the state mandates, and I teach because I care about my students. Personally, I do not give extra homework. My lessons are designed to be completed in class. If a student chooses to talk and waste class time, then he or she will have to get their work done at home.
6. If we can agree on nothing else, can we at least agree that chocolate is divine?
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Agreed, chocolate, especially imported dark, is fine.
But how do you get #3 naturally falling from #2?
That’s the biggest fallacy out there….if something is not working, do it longer and harder? The system needs to be scrapped…not applied with more vim and vigor. That’s like saying: there are a few planks missing from that old bridge over there, but if you just gun it on your approach, you can clear it. Our kids are falling through the planks everyday….and driving 90 mph with a loadful of kids in the back might get those few across, but for how long? The bridge is old, and it needs to be replaced. And it needs to be double-laned, built of steel, not wood…and perhaps built in a different place altogether because things have changed. The people don’t live here anymore..they live 5 miles up the road and there are twice as many cars as there used to be…
Are you catching my meaning?
Re your #4 and #5 Teacher 76…Are you going to continue to drive kids across that rickety bridge? Are you the old guy who comes along every week and puts a new plank down on the old bridge, just like he’s done for the last 60 years?
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Teacher 76, we can agree on two points:
1.) The system is broken.
2.) Chocolate is, indeed, divine.
Your last post was about what you do in the classroom, which is one issue.
But the other issue is how you handle your kids’ homework at home, which you described in previous posts. You say your son is an advanced student, and he’s being assigned math homework that he really doesn’t need, because it’s so basic. You dread having to spend time with him every evening getting through this unnecessary homework.
So what I say to you is: DON’T DO IT! Don’t make your evenings unpleasant just because your son’s teacher has blanketed the class with math homework in the hopes of bumping up the standardized test scores. Tell the teacher that your son doesn’t need this homework, so you’ve decided he won’t be doing it.
Trust me, the world will still spin on its axis, the sun will continue to rise in the morning, and we will all continue on our merry way.
OK, back to your classroom. You say, “If a student chooses to talk and waste class time, then he or she will have to get their work done at home.”
How often does this happen? If it happens frequently, then you’re in the habit of assigning homework.
Also, the way you describe it makes it sound like homework is the kids’ punishment for misbehaving in class. That means the child will resent the work and is very unlikely to learn much from it.
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What it comes down to is that we’ve had teachers on this site before who say things like “Oh yes, I hate homework too. It’s so tedious, it ruins my evenings with my kids.”
It’s a plea for sympathy, and a bid for common ground. And I am sympathetic, up to a point.
But I lose the warm fuzzies when it become clear that the complainer has no intention of trying to make a change.
When Teacher 76 says:
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it’s about teaching him that life doesn’t always go the way we want it to, that hard work and sacrifice do pay off, and that sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to.
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she’s telling me that no matter how inappropriate, tedious, and time-consuming her son’s homework may be, she will continue to make him do it. That’s where my sympathy ends.
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FedUpMom’s post tweaked something in me…
A lot of people believe that starting something means that you must finish it. If an authority figure tells you to do something, you do it, no questions asked. The world seems to be such a black and white, zero/one world. Why is it essential to teach this to children when it is inherently not true.
On the lines of what FedUpMom was saying about the world falling off its axis…..a grown woman with a home and two children has every right to decide what goes on in her own home. I’ve often thought to myself…why don’t I allow smokers to smoke in my home? Because it’s unhealthy for me and for my child. Why do I not allow homework in my home? Because it’s unhealthy for my relationship to my child. I have other things to do with my time with my family. I’m allowed to feel that way and I’m allowed to put up that boundary.
You are too, Teacher 76
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PsychMom- You bring up an interesting point. I think because teachers live in a world where much of what they do is mandated from above (and are isolated from other adults), many believe the rest of the work world is like that as well.
The most cutting edge corporations and employers have long abandonded this rigid structure for a much more fluid one. Even in tough economic times, the smartest businesses know they should keep their employees happy.
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At last, I think we are covering some ground.
To answer your question regarding how I do homework in my classes, most of my students get their work done in class–if they do not complete their work, then it is their choice to take it home and do it (some kids prefer this because they find they can focus better at home).
@ PsychMom:
No, I do not want to add boards to the rickety bridge, but I do want to keep my job. I stumbled on this site in an attempt to find a reading log for my sped students. I have to document that I am working towards helping them improve their reading skills. Finding this site has provided much food for thought. I realize that the initial post was about parents opposed to reading logs, but I have seen all kinds of ideas presented here, many of them were helpful, some of them were just nasty and unprofessional.
I am curious to know what most parents on this site would rather do with their kids in lieu of homework. When I think back to my childhood, I never had homework in the first grade. I couldn’t wait to get home and go outside and play. We made our own games, or rode bikes, or went roller skating. I managed to make it through college.
Childhood has changed and I don’t believe for the better. Most of my students talk of playing video games and watching TV when they get home. I rarely see kids play outside the way they used to when I was a kid. My kids play, but that is because I limit TV (we don’t have cable), and I limit video games. Could it be that a major societal shift has taken place and teachers are left with the task of trying to fix the problem? You’re right, teachers should not be infiltrating your private home time, but don’t you think that maybe the average american families’ home life is effecting kid’s academic performance?
As for my own son, I spoke to his teacher about the increase in homework. While she was defensive and said I was the only parent who had any problem with the new increase, she also said that I could modify the length, or not do them at all. It is nice to have options.
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Teacher 76, I’m glad you talked to your son’s teacher, and I hope you will use your option not to make your son do work that isn’t necessary for him. Also, I think it’s hilarious that even another teacher is given the old “nobody else complained!” song and dance. I’d like to have a dime for every time that’s been said to me.
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Most of my students talk of playing video games and watching TV when they get home.
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My feeling is, maybe the kids go home and veg out with TV and video games, maybe they fight with their siblings, maybe they play sports or practice a musical instrument, maybe they do any number of things that you might or might not approve of.
But the bottom line is, after school is time that belongs to the kids, and it’s up to them and their families to decide how they should spend it. It’s none of my business, and it’s none of your business either. Let them figure it out.
A teacher’s job is difficult enough without trying to extend her influence over the child’s entire life. You do your job, and let the parents do theirs. They might make different decisions than you would, but that’s their privilege.
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I do think a major societal shift has taken place but I’m not sure it is a problem. The world moves at a very chaotic pace
today. Being able to “go with the flow” is a skill these kids will have to master. All through history, generational conflict has been with us. Even in the fifties (an era which many idealize), the older generation condemmed the younger for going home and listening to rock and roll (the devil’s music).
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Re: watching TV and playing video games- the fact that children may choose to do these things may not be all bad. A lot of video games have strategy and puzzle elements to them, for instance. There are also many interesting educational TV programs out there such as Animal Planet. Kids who do well academically and are interested in learning about animals are probably going to benefit more from watching Animal Planet than from doing homework.
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To Teacher 76…
You’re right, there’s a treasure trove to investigate on this site….I don’t want you to lose your job either. All I would like is for teachers to stop and think. That’s what happened to me. I was a total believer in traditional schooling 4 years ago. I believed in academic rigor, in homework (for older kids) and parent’s obligation to support the school and teachers. I believed that university was a natural progression and the only goal my daughter should have. In other words…..I was 180 degrees away from where I am now.
When my smart as a whip kid started telling me she didn’t like certain things about school, I looked at why she didn’t like them. I didn’t just say to a 6 year old, “well tough honey, there are lots of things we have to do in life that we don’t like.” A 6 year old should LOVE school. “Suck it up, buttercup” is not an appropriate response to a child who is miserable about school. There’s more to it than that, and it’s my job to look deeper. When the teachers sent home instructions FOR ME indicating how I was a part of this Grade 2 project, I went along, but it was a disaster. Suddenly I stopped believing. Not everything that was happening was making sense. And I believe it’s a parent’s job to question, and to teach their children to question. Sadly, teachers and administrators don’t know how to handle that, treating staff, kids and parents all the same…”You do what we say or else.”
You asked, what should kids be doing after school that contributes to their academic success? Nothing and everything. Play is what kids do. There’s nothing wrong with computer games …they just need limits…there’s nothing wrong with chores….there’s nothing wrong with just sitting and staring at the wall and saying “I’m bored”. Children don’t have to be academically successful. What does that even mean? If they just live their lives and play nicely together they are miles ahead.
But you know, it’s just a very generalized problem in society now…we all have to be “doing” something to be worth anything.
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Teacher 76 said
“but don’t you think that maybe the average american families’ home life is effecting kid’s academic performance”
Absolutely. Some kids have terrible homes, living where no one cares where they are. But homework isn’t going to help them.
Did you see the research study that says that the biggest single predictor of future success of children is whether they eat meals together with their family?
I’ll try to find the reference.
You heard that the baby Mozart stuff is bunk? Most of the “jumps’ that some experts make between functional abilities and right brain/left brain skills is dubious at best.
The things that a family can “do” to foster childrens’ success don’t have much to do with academics or purposefully stimulating the brain and everything to do with relationships. So, if you spent time with your child playing a board game, or reading a book or getting him to help you stir a pot on the stove, you’ll be doing more for him than if you sat together and agonized over homework that neither of you need.
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“What I hear teachers trying to convey is that it’s not about your kids–it’s about targeting low level students and bringing them up to average. ”
This quote from Teacher 76 caught my attention. Unfortunately I work in a district that requires us to give homework. I disagree with this policy, but since I have to send homework I send as little as I possibly can (a one sided activity that takes very little time). Yes, I have low level students who need practice to improve, but my high students never receive the same activity as the lower students. Isn’t the point to differentiate for the needs of our class? A good teacher provides practice or re-teaching for those who need it and extensions or challenges for higher-achieving students. One size definitely doesn’t fit all.
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