I Already Hate The 3Rd Grade (My 1St Long Vent)
Lounge By adonisthegreek1 Updated 4 Sep 2008 , 11:35pm by indydebi
My son just started 5th Grade. He always had Homework everynight since he was in First Grade. But none on week-ends. I do not mind it, that is why I never overwhelmed him with other things other than Homework or schook work. NO Sports, NO Music stuff or anything that would take a lot his time away from homework. To me homework is priority, of all things. ...
I am not going to take my kids out of any of their activities. I do not force them to participate. It is their choice. My daughter in painfully shy, but she springs to life in gymnastics. My son is the family and neighborhood entertainer. He dances, sings and is learning to play guitar. He hasn't even turned 8 yet and he writes commercials and gives his friends lines. They act it out and videotape it. I've never seen a kid do this.
Anyway, I don't know where their talents may take them. To me extracurricular activities are just as important as academics. If my kids want to quit activities they will be allowed to, but it has to come from them. If they had no activities, I'd still complain about all the homework. I am a firm believer that kids need time to be kids. The time for playing tag and jump rope after school is way too brief.
As the saying goes, "The dumbing down of America ... every standard lowered to the lowest common denominator."
Tell me about it. My son just started using a calculator this year in sixth grade. I believe he will be doing algebra and it's to just double check certain things (he needed a scientific calculator this year). Where do you find handwritten job applications anymore. Everywhere I've applied in the last few years has to be done online only (of course these are all hospitals, but still, it's where we are headed). Tonight is open house. Should be interesting to meet the middle school teachers. There are so many changes between intermediate and middle school these days! Shop class....yikes! Oy, and a neighbor girl came to the door last evening looking for my son! Oh here we go!
My son just started 5th Grade. He always had Homework everynight since he was in First Grade. But none on week-ends. I do not mind it, that is why I never overwhelmed him with other things other than Homework or schook work. NO Sports, NO Music stuff or anything that would take a lot his time away from homework. To me homework is priority, of all things. ...
I am not going to take my kids out of any of their activities. I do not force them to participate. It is their choice. My daughter in painfully shy, but she springs to life in gymnastics. My son is the family and neighborhood entertainer. He dances, sings and is learning to play guitar. He hasn't even turned 8 yet and he writes commercials and gives his friends lines. They act it out and videotape it. I've never seen a kid do this.
Anyway, I don't know where their talents may take them. To me extracurricular activities are just as important as academics. If my kids want to quit activities they will be allowed to, but it has to come from them. If they had no activities, I'd still complain about all the homework. I am a firm believer that kids need time to be kids. The time for playing tag and jump rope after school is way too brief.
I agree with you, kids need time to develop outside of school.
And these are children who've sat on their butts all day and then people expect them to sit for hours more at home doing yet more work. 
With the complaints about childhood obesity I'd think that people would want the kids to be doing active things after school instead of homework. A few minutes worth yes but not 3 hours a night for elementary kids.
As far as music goes in my children's school they don't have a choice. In fourth grade they HAVE to pick an instrument.
Well if children like to be in a lot of extracurricular activities then I do not see anything wrong with it, as long as they do not get overwhelmed. When I was growing up, we did not have soccer every saturday or music lessons everynight. If we had extra time, we just go in the back yard, climb trees and play . It didn't have to be something where we get signed up for and drive around just to get to these classes or lessons. That was my parent's idea of letting us be children.
But I would not expect the school to change their ways just because it does not fit in my schedule or the kids. We bring our children to school everyday, and in doing so there is that assumption that we go by what the school wants. Home schooling is also an option if you do not agree with the school's curriculum.
As usual, we just need balance. Calculators have their place in schools. Kids do need to understand the concept of multiplication or division for example, but they do NOT need to spend hours and hours and weeks practicing long division on paper. They do, however, need to be taught when it is appropriate to use a calculator, how to use it, what to put into it, what to do with the number that comes out of it, and how to tell if it is reasonable. If they can do all that, then they have great number sense and should be fine in real life. When you get too worried, try this:
List all the times in the last month or so that you have needed math. Then put a "P" by the times that you used a pencil and paper, a "C" by the ones that you used a calculator for, and a "M" by the ones you did mentally. Then, on the same list, write an "X" next to the ones you needed an exact answer for and an "E" next to the ones where an estimate was good enough. Most people find that they use mental math almost all the time, with a calculator coming in second, and that they rarely if ever use pencil and paper. They also discover that they estimate FAR more than they need an exact answer. Again, this is not to say we shouldn't teach our kids pencil and paper methods, but that there is SO much more to math, and we really cheat our kids if all they know is how to add subtract, multiply and divide on paper-- and not when to do those things or how to interpret/use an answer.
As for spelling, it's important, but natural spellers have good visual memory. It's not an indication of intelligence. That said, kids certainly need to know common words, need to learn enough phonics to help them with it (and with reading), and need to know how to find out how to spell what they need.
And I think the extracurriculars, kid time, and family time are important too. Again-- balance and consider a child's age and ability to handle the homework.
I have a 4th grader and a 1st grader and they've both always had homework Mon-Thurs since PreK. I don't have a problem with it, it's usually pretty quick and easy. I am lucky in that they go to karate right after school and all kids are required to do homework before karate class. They only bring home what they need help with. I'm not sure what we're doing differently (although the kids are both advanced, not to brag) but I hear complaints from all the parents I know about the amount of homework. I think it's good for them to learn to prioritize and be responsible. In moderation, of course.
My 4th grader told me today that her science teacher won't allow them to erase anything or make any corrections to their test papers??!! Only 3 weeks into the school year and I have to get loud already!
Ok not to hijack the thread, but I'm now having a problem with my DD's 4th grade teacher. She sent math homework tonight that was way too advanced for my daughter to do and told them to use a calculator to figure it out.
I never even had a calculator until I was in High School. I just emailed the teacher asking what's going on. Aren't teachers supposed to "teach" the students how to do it and not let them use a calculator to cheat?! 
I did not let my DD use a calculator and instead taught her how to do it without it. I'm sorry to vent about this, but this is ridiculous!! I understand that teachers are under stress to get things taught, but to let them use calculators??!!
I just got the reply back from the teacher and I am so mad!! She basically said that yes she allows them to use calculators and that the reason she said they could use them at home was because she hadn't gone over long division with them yet. Uhhhh...why are you giving them assignments that they haven't even been taught yet?! She also said that she was following state standards. My nephew who is in the same grade at a different school district (same state) does not use calculators and has not done any division yet. It just frustrates me so much. No wonder she has had so many problems in math. They never taught her how to do it. She's had to have math tutoring since Kindergarten. Now I know why. UGHHH!!!
Well, in the old days, we never used calculators or computers either. What about our cell phones?
At this day and age, can we really live without calculators and computers or any high tech devices ? Home and work ?
I let my son use a calculator but very minimal.
Regarding calculators, sometimes I let my son use a calculator to check his math problems after he has worked them out on paper without the calculator. He normally has all of his problems correct. I don't think kids should be able to use calculators unless they are checking problems that they work out the old fashioned way.
I can't tell you how many times I've been in a store and the cash registers were down. A lot of teens cannot add items or calculate change without the register. I can usually do it in my head faster than they can use the cash register anyway. This iPod, cell phone generation is sometimes scary. Don't take offense...I have a 17 year old too and she loves her iPod and cell phone.
A lot of teens cannot add items or calculate change without the register. I can usually do it in my head faster than they can use the cash register anyway.
My now-30-year-old-daughter was always amazed that I could figure a 15% discount sale in my head ("15% off of lowest ticketed price will be deducted at register"). So when she'd be frustrated with math and whine about "we all just use calculators anyway!", I'd use the 15% sale as an example: "If you can't figure it in your head, how do you know if the cashier is ringing up your jeans at the correct sale price? How do you know if have enough money on you to get them at the sale price?"
"Back in my day ....." our teachers would have speed contests. 5 or 6 of us at the blackboard, chalk in hand. She's recite a math problem and it was a race to see who could get it done faster. (clears throat ... I was always the champ! 
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