So it appears that a 2nd grade teacher has decided not to give her students any homework and there has been much debate about this. Even though my daughter is now an adult with school-aged children of her own, I do believe in homework, When I was young it wasn't questionable, we had homework. Now before you begin to scream "BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE THIS MUCH HOMEWORK" you're right, we didn't have hours of homework. On the otherhand, we weren't involved in activities everyday that took up all of our after-school time either. I do understand the debate, I get it, I get it! I hear complaints, all the time, about too much homework from the parents of the students I tutor, But could it be possible that there is such a thing as a balanced load of homework and life outside of school?
I submit to you that giving the proper amount of homework is the answer rather than not giving any homework at all. Our 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders are expected to know a lot of information. It's virtually impossible to dedicate the correct amount of time to learning about Math, Reading, Spelling, Parts of Sentences, Science, Social Studies and reinforce this all within a school day. There has to be some sort of reinforcement. This my friends is what homework is designed to do, reinforce what they were supposed to have learned in school that day. AND in some cases alert you to the fact that little Johnny didn't understand what he was supposed have learned that day or little Susie only understood part of it, No offense to those of you who have children named Johnny or Susie.
1st, 2nd and 3rd grade are where the foundations of Math, Reading, and Writing are formed. Let's not short change our students by going from one extreme to the other. Sure you don't like homework as a Parent, it cuts into your time too, but the hard fact is we are responsible for ensuring that a good foundation is being laid for our children to become productive citizens.
That's my two cents, "no homework" is too extreme. Let me know your opinion. Comment on http://bit.ly/no-homework-debate
Denise Smith is the owner of TutorByDenise
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