Posted: 3/4/2007 2:08:39 PM EDT
|
Some Schools Banning Homework Feb 27, 2007 7:07 pm US/Central (CBS News) SAN JOSE, Calif. Alarmed by indicators of student stress like cheating and substance abuse, a handful of San Francisco Bay Area schools are reducing an education staple: homework. Oak Knoll Elementary in Menlo Park has mostly banned homework — except reading, special projects or catch-up work. Palo Alto's Addison Elementary and the Berryessa School District in San Jose are discussing the issue. For two decades teachers have been under pressure to raise academic standards and test scores, but CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports that many are now questioning the value of burying students in homework. The changes have come as a University of Missouri study found high school students benefit tremendously from homework. In middle school, the results were not as strong, but homework was still found to be beneficial. But on the elementary school level, the same study found homework had no effect on students. The principal at Oak Knoll Elementary says first-graders spend about six hours a day doing school work, and they shouldn't have to do more work when they go home. Not all homework at Oak Knoll has been eliminated — for example, third-graders will still practice their multiplication tables at home. Critics say homework steals time that increasingly busy children need to play or spend with family. Homework proponents argue that it teaches students to be more responsible and manage their time. At Duke University, Harris Cooper tells CBS News his research has shown that homework does help learning. "All students can benefit from homework, but the amount and type that is done at each age level should be different," Cooper says. Fueled by parent complaints, the too-much-homework issue has taken root primarily in wealthy communities with high-achieving schools. Struggling schools are still trying to involve parents in their children's education. Some schools are trying to find a balance. Ohlone Elementary School in Palo Alto assigns homework to the parents. Oak Knoll principal David Ackerman says the majority of parents have been supportive of the change. He says other districts have contacted him and are now rethinking their homework policies. Link |
| About fucking time. For twelve years of my life I spent eight hours a day stuck in school. When I got home, I spent the next three hours doing homework. Then I ate dinner and went to bed. And I'm to understand that the work load is worse now than it was back then. |
Fuck that shit. Aside from projects I refuse to spend more than 1 hour a night doing hw(but no more than 3.5 hours a week). If I can't get it all done, oh well. Its not like that extra work is going to make or break college for me. FYI I have 2 B's and the rest A's. Though my workload is pretty easy this year(only dif. classes are precalc and honors physics). Once college rolls around that will all change. HW is important though. Forces kids to manage time and deal with stress. Also builds work ethic. As usual San Fran is trying to turn our youth into a bunch of pussies. |
|
Frankly, I hardly spend any time doing homework outside of school as it is. The reason why? I use my class time wisely. I see no problem with homework just as long as I'm not overloaded with it, which happens occasionally. Currently, I am in the 11th grade and playing softball. Even with sports, there's always time to finish homework. |
Try reading the article again. Its San Jose, no San Francisco. And, as someone who is currently a senior in a San Jose high school, it is EXTREMELY competitive here and the homework load is enormous for people trying to get into any college what so ever around here. Most people try to get into the big UC schools or Ivy League or Stanford, and so they are forced to take AP classes and honors all over the place. Only me and a couple other friends who plan to go to community college next year have any free time, everyone else is always inside studying or doing homework. It's important to learn to deal with stress, but the stress level they place on students here is way to much. When the majority of people at school start having visible signs of stress (including a bunch of them getting wierd bumps forming on their skin) there is a problem. ETA: I'm with Icing on this one, because I don't have to take all the fancy-pants classes, I usually get my homework done in class, unless it's an essay. That is the way things should be operated with schools for everyone. |
|
Personally, the only think that ever kept me from getting good grades was homework. Several classes I would do absolutely no homework, get 90+% on all the tests and come home with a D. Am I there to learn material or do work? Which is it? So far, the only class I've ever taken where I have actually needed to do the homework to learn has been Calculus. I'm still adjusting to not being able to learn everything really quickly. |
It's in California. I'm shocked. Sounds right in line with what I've come to expect from that G-d forsaken state, where Gov. Arnold shut down all the gifted youth programs because some oxygen thieves who call themselves parents complained that, quote, "it discriminates against the children the children that don't try as hard." 
|
I was in all AP (advanced) and honors classes. We regularly had 6-8 hours of work a day. Go to school for 8 hours, then spend at least 6 hours doing homework, then eat dinner and try to get 8 hours of sleep. Naturally, we cheated, a lot. We didn't really have a choice a lot of the time, since some teachers refused to accept that other teachers assigned homework too, and we would get loaded down with more work than was even possible to do some times. The work for the most part was redundant, since it was the exact same thing we learned in class and having us repeat it didn't do much good. I would only work for a couple of hours outside of school, and finish the easiest work whenever I had a free moment during class. Some teachers were cool though and would rarely give homework, and would give us a few days to finish it when they did, which helped a lot. |
Yep… Homework is a necessary regiment that not only educates but teaches the kids the essential self-disciple needed to get by in collage and everyday life. |
Same here, I refused to do it plus the classes were so boring, good ole classes teaching to the lowest common denominator. I would daydream the whole class or stare at some of the nice chicks who sat in front of me. |
Im really having that problem this year. The chicks got so damn hot..the classes are so fucking boring and the work is too damn easy... Maybe next year they'll actually teach me something when I get to college. |
They will, but don't expect it to have anything to do with your major. |
You think even the mechanical engineering profs will be all up their own asses and preachy? |
Not neccessarily, but all your other teachers definitely will be. Don't forget about all the "core" classes you'll have to take to "make you a well rounded student"
|
|
I missed that one till now.
|
| Banning homework is a horrible idea if any of the kids affected want to go to college. I look back and thank God that my teachers in hs gave me so many hours of homework. Now that I'm in law school, it feels like old times rather than overwealming like it is for so many other students. |
High School and homework did nothing for me in regards to College!!!! Six years and 7 months of Active Duty with the Army prepared me for college, particularly EOD School. The most important lesson I learned was that failure was NOT an option, I can remember my 1SG working the shit out guys who failed military classes, watching guys trim the grass with scissors and rulers has an incredible effect on giving one an incentive to pass!!!! |
That's bullshit. I'm in all AP and honors as well, and never cheated on anything. I hate cheating. I have a 3.8 GPA that I earned, and would never trade it for a 4.5 that I had to cheat for. |
|
|
Quoted: Brilliant. Make the students even less prepared for college than they already are  So just because YOU want to go too College... you want other children too sit in a corner and do School work for 2,3,4 or more hrs a night... Well that should be your choice if you want too go too college... now wouldn't it... Why should it be FORCED onto everyone ?... What about the one's who want too learn about real life after school, or more importantly... being with Family and having a Youth...... |