https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Apr 2026 22:02:06 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-430468 Tue, 04 Dec 2012 02:10:06 +0000 808love 430468@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our homework policy is 30 mins for 3rd graders, 40 mins for 4th graders 50 for 5th etc. Plus reading for about 15 mins. </p> <p>@mewtill: I like the self-directed homework idea. It really makes sense. That's great they can do it that way so young. I also agree with the goals you stated. I think I share your whole philosophy posted, in general.</p> <p>@shopaholic: agreed </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-430042 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:42:45 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 430042@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My school mandates homework, including what type I have to send. It drives me bonkers! I teach 2nd grade and they have to practice spelling words, read a book &amp; answer a question (every Monday the question is "who are the characters?" - gah boring!), and do the math homework page from the day's lesson. I don't like it, obviously. I think this homework set up is respetitive, boring, and not worth most of my students' time. </p> <p>But I do think homework is important! Goal #1 is learning responsibility. Take your items home, get the work done, bring it back. Goal #2 is practice for things that need extra practice, but don't have class time.<br /> Here's what I used to do (for K-1): Kids got a binder, with a numbered lists of activities and resource pages. There was a calendar in the front where I would write in assignment numbers for the week based on our in-class work (by the end of the year kids could write in their own choices). They'd have 4-8 different activities for the week &amp; could do them anytime before Friday (have soccer on Tues? Do it Wed. Learn to manage your time.) Each month I put in a new blank calendar &amp; each quarter they got a new assignment list. I loved that it was so easy to differentiate, was easy to maintain, &amp; it gave the students meaningful choices/control over their own learning. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-429734 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:40:13 +0000 sarac 429734@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's nice to hear that some people don't believe in homework before middle school. In elementary school I had a little bit of math homework every night (15 minutes maybe?) and about an hour of spelling homework, once a week. I think this was a really good amount. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-429093 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:22:38 +0000 shopaholic 429093@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@brownie: @char54: Really appreciate both of your well thought out opinions! I feel that HW or not, kids need to be taught the study skills and the discipline to sit there and actually study properly. I don't think I was ever really great at studying, but seeing my much younger siblings go thru school and recognizing that they sorely lacked fundamental study skills was a bit shocking. It truly hurt them going through h.s. and mores in College. I see our young nephews in Kinder &amp; 2nd grade and their complete lack of attention and the lack of focus on the immediate task at hand is a liitle scary. I saw them " do their HW" of 5 pages in about 3-4 min. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-429069 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:11:54 +0000 mlm2934 429069@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cyndistar3: ditto </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-429060 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:07:41 +0000 cyndistar3 429060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The only homework I've really ever had was from not finishing what was supposed to be done in class so I have only done homework a handfull of times. My parents didn't care either way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-429052 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:03:59 +0000 Charm54 429052@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't give homework as an elementary teacher. After reading many research articles, none could find a link in the early years between HW and academic/behavior improvements. I work really hard to instill a love of reading in my students and want them to WANT to go home and read for fun. </p> <p>Parents have been very supportive of this policy and noted that their children are happier, get more sleep, and love literacy more than their siblings with homework and reading logs. </p> <p>The way I see it - after 8 long hours at my job, the last thing I want is someone to give me busy work that I have to do at nighttime that provides no added benefit for my overall learning.</p> <p>I encourage parents to do project-based learning type activities at night based on what their child is interested in (Ie: cooking, book making, dinosaurs, science experiements...) If there ever is a skill that a child is struggling with I will call parents and send home activities that they can do at home to help solidify the concept. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-429007 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:38:09 +0000 brownie 429007@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: school from 8-5 so parents don't need child care starting with preschool at age 3 (if its mandatory to know something in kindergarten they better have the grades below it). School should be year round with many short breaks. In that time you add back sports, music, art it shouldn't be added history time. You teach study skills (homework time), etc. we pay teacher more, not just for added time, but for skills. My sister was told she was too smart to teach elementary school, but I want the smart teaching. We actually make students accountable for their own performance (not teachers or administrators but the students). We let them fail or be average and teach them to do better in the future. Failure is part of the learning process and most people are average. Hopefully, then I don't have to worry about students coming in without knowing how to write a sentence (seriously). And basic skills aren't what keep students from graduating (most of my students don't come in ready for college reading or math meaning they have to take those every semester to catch up and can't take all of their other classes). And we get told that we are substandard because students can't read and write I'm like "what about high school?"</p> <p>High schools need to actually prepare students for the future both for work and college. It should also have the opportunity to get them trade skills for working. Thus opening up some of the college spots.</p> <p>My opinion of course </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428977 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:18:42 +0000 mrbee 428977@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@brownie: Dang, that's depressing!</p> <p>How would you change the system? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428956 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:11:11 +0000 brownie 428956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As a community college instructor, students only do mandatory. So if we want them to do it, it has to be worth a grade. Ultimately the whole system has to change. I agree if they had study skills I wouldn't have to do as much "homework" </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428909 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:48:34 +0000 prettylizy 428909@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I never really minded homework, but I didn't often have a ton leftover after shcool or I could quickly finish it up the next morning.... this lead to TERRIBLE study skills later in life when I actually had to strat trying (late highschool through college) and I didn't succeed nearly as much as I should have because of it. I think a certain amount of homework is instrumental in learning to study properly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428905 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:48:02 +0000 mrbee 428905@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parents gave me extra homework and workbooks to work through when we didn't have homework. Hugely helpful! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428898 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:45:13 +0000 Mrsbells 428898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parents are teachers so they never complained. If I didnt have homework they would give me fun little tests or challenges, or books to read. What else do kids really have to do anyway? I'd rather have them do some home work than sit and watch tv all day </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428868 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:14:40 +0000 runsyellowlites 428868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Idk how my parents felt but I know I thought the amount of homework DS brought home in kinder &amp; 1st grade was ridiculous. I hated it. </p> <p>I've seen a couple documentaries on conventional school that cited studies to support the French's take on removing homework until High School though. I can't remember the exact source since it was quite awhile back but both documentaries showed that homework didn't attribute to improvement of understanding until via scores until High School. And even then it had to be directly related to what was taught that day in class. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428858 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:05:08 +0000 blackbird 428858@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parents never minded us having homework. You're going to have homework in high school and college, so to me, it just seems like a preparation for that. I had a few moments of overwhelming homework in high school, but I learned diligence and time management from it. Sometimes life is overwhelming and it's a good lesson. </p> <p>I don't really remember having much when I was a little kid. It was stuff like, "write a cute story" or some conflict resolution type thing. I don't think a half hour of homework is a big deal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428807 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:26:00 +0000 Adira 428807@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know what my parents thought about the amount of homework we had. I don't remember it ever being so overwhelming that I couldn't get it all done, although sometimes there was a lot. I think homework in grade school prepares you for college though, where there tends to be even MORE homework, so I think eliminating it would probably be a bad idea. I think if the French got rid of homework in elementary and junior high, going into high school and having homework would be a bit of a shock. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428806 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:25:36 +0000 Cole 428806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't care for homework personally but my opinion is slanted by working with richer kids who do have tons of after school activities. The thing is, art, music and sports don't play a huge role in our education system so if you want those elements of education for your child it has to happen after school or on the weekends. </p> <p>Homework tends to be repetition or practice of skills learned in school. For some kids this is really important, others might not need it. I would rather a system based on studying then actual assignments. I think that for most kids the biggest benefit of homework is developing study skills so I would prefer if the focus shifted. I know though, the issue with that system is that it requires more parental involvement and you are back to a class issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428805 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:23:06 +0000 mrbee 428805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Woah, French kids get Wednesday off?? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428793 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:59:47 +0000 ValentineMommy 428793@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parents (mom especially) did NOT appreciate how much homework I had.....especially because she ended up doing 75% of it. I was one of those kids who was into everything - I was in honors classes, played a varsity sport, and was in 4 different (school) bands and 5 choirs. I was literally in school from 7am to almost 10pm every single day. There was no time for homework! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428788 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:43:24 +0000 Andrea 428788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parents probably thought homework was good and never complained about it. I think homework is necessary and I would not want it eliminated completely. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428775 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:06:55 +0000 singingbee 428775@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I honestly don't assign things specifically for homework. Most of the time, if a student has homework it is because they didn't have time in the class to finish it. </p> <p>Mine parents didn't mind homework because we worked through it quickly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-french-plan-to-eliminate-homework#post-428733 Mon, 03 Dec 2012 04:03:50 +0000 808love 428733@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/12/02/166193594/pencils-down-french-plan-would-end-homework?ft=1&#038;f=1001" rel="nofollow">http://www.npr.org/2012/12/02/166193594/pencils-down-french-plan-would-end-homework?ft=1&#038;f=1001</a></p> <p>As a teacher, I noticed I had many of my class' parents take note and comment about the large amount of homework sent home this year, much more than past years. Our school has a policy that limits homework but after becoming a parent, I am much more sensitive to the amount of homework. I found it very interesting about how the article suggest the motivation of the poor who wants the homework and the rich don't care for it. Did your parents want a lot or a little homework for you when you were growing up? Other related random thoughts? </p>