Althouse: "This week my kids have been outside until it’s time for bed, just playing, being kids, like I remember after school."

September 16, 2014

"This week my kids have been outside until it’s time for bed, just playing, being kids, like I remember after school."

"When you come home from work, most people don’t want to work. That’s what the kids need to do."

31 comments:

Unknown said...: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." People haven't changed and it is a little unnerving that the regimes developed since the beginning of civilization are being discarded because it makes children feel better.; 9/16/14, 12:05 PM
Scott M said...: The first week of school, my wife and I decided to institute a no-electronics policy running from Monday morning through Friday evening. No TV, no personal video games like the 3DS, no computers or Kindles except for school use.

It's worked VERY well so far. I thought they would be in withdraw that first week, but the excitement of going back to school canceled that out.

They're free to go outside or do whatever they want in their rooms, but no electronics.; 9/16/14, 12:10 PM
FleetUSA said...: I think some homework is an important preparation for higher education when self study is paramount.; 9/16/14, 12:11 PM
Original Mike said...: "I think some homework is an important preparation for higher education when self study is paramount."

I couldn't agree more. I didn't do a lot of homework when I was a kid and I really paid for it when I got to college and everybody was smarter than me. It took awhile for me to get that I had to study. A lot.; 9/16/14, 12:21 PM
virgil xenophon said...: I attended the Lab school at Eastern Ill Univ in the 1950s. No grades were given until 7th& 8th grade--only written evaluations. And NO homework reports, etc., of ANY kind until the 7th also. Of course we had the entire facilities of the university campus available to us, (art galleries, theater stages, the Chem & Biology bldg, etc) oodles of student teachers and separate weekly specialists in handwriting, song, art and P.E. but the no homework didn't seem to harm us much, although I'm not sure how applicable my experience is as being mainly the sons & daughters of univ faculty our collective IQ level was way above the average of most of our opposites in the public schools plus we came from homes full of books where reading was encouraged. But the point is, we seem to be going "back to the future" as the "no homework" mantra was THE 'progressive" movement in K-6 education the late 40s, early 50s; 9/16/14, 12:23 PM
virgil xenophon said...: PS: And I would add that as avg SAT scores peaked in 1963 (I grad HS in '62) and have been in free-fall ever since, it would seem the 40s/50s primary school methods were superior to anything being accomplished today.; 9/16/14, 12:27 PM
MadisonMan said...: I have to say that when I first saw the headline, and realized it was about Chicago, I envisioned a mother being arrested for letting her child be in harm's way because of all the shooting.

I do not recall much homework at all through Jr. High, and not even much in High School. I paid for it, a little, in College. But I wouldn't re-write my childhood to include more homework.; 9/16/14, 12:37 PM
tim maguire said...: My 6-year-old just started 1st grade and I'm glad there has been no homework beyond reading with mom and dad. When I was little (1970's) I didn't get homework until 4th grade. That seems about right.

In these first years, I don't care in the slightest what she learns so long as she develops a love of learning. Piling on the work interferes with that much more important priority.

This weekend we are going to the planetarium, her request. I asked whether we should go to the educational one at the university or the entertainment one at the science museum. She chose the university--she wants to know how we send machines to other planets. I will fight as hard as I can to keep the schools from stamping that out of her.; 9/16/14, 12:46 PM
Fernandinande said...: "... work. That’s what the kids need to do."

Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line; 9/16/14, 12:47 PM
Michael K said...: I remember homework after about 5th grade. Before that, there wasn't much benefit. I do recall doing times tables at home. Homework in kindergarten is nonsense.; 9/16/14, 12:48 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: tim maguire said...
In these first years, I don't care in the slightest what she learns so long as she develops a love of learning.

This is the right attitude.; 9/16/14, 12:54 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Gotta add that once 7th grade hit we had tons of homework all the way through HS. (Although here again my experience was perhaps not typical. Although I transitioned to our one public HS, our teachers were not the usual run-of-the-mill instructors. Our Chem teacher was the wife of the Head of the Chem Dept at EIU, our Sr English teacher the wife of the Head of the English Lit Dept at EIU, our freshman General Sci teacher the head of the towns Civil Defense Ofc (hence expertise in atomic/nuclear matters) and our Physics teacher had taught electronics for 25 years in the Navy. And my French teacher the wife of the Zoology Dep Head. (Guess friend Crack would say this all comes under the heading of "white privilege" n'est-ce pas?..........I HAVE SINNED!! Must. Apologize. For. My. Existence!......... Must. Do. Penance. ); 9/16/14, 1:00 PM
Edgehopper said...: "People haven't changed and it is a little unnerving that the regimes developed since the beginning of civilization are being discarded because it makes children feel better."

Homework in kindergarten is a regime developed since the beginning of civilization? Generally mandatory public school at all is a 17th century invention, homework much more recent than that, and the idea that primary school kids should be subject to high stakes testing and nightly homework much more recent than that, On the other hand, children learning primarily from being involved in family life is a "regime developed since the beginning of civilization."; 9/16/14, 1:29 PM
Mark said...: My first grader has a book to read every evening and most days has had about 5 minutes of homework sheet to do which she can complete herself. Once a week it has had a few math problems, which I am more than happy to spend a few minutes with her on.

She is a good reader so it's all over in 10 minutes, 15 tops.. While that's 15 minutes more than I remember having, she spends probably that much time every afternoon helping around the house, unloading the dishwasher and picking up her room.

Weekends have nothing more than the books she takes home from the school library .... I find the short amount of homework is helpful while I try to get dinner ready.; 9/16/14, 1:34 PM
SteveBrooklineMA said...: I wish my 1st grade kid didn't have homework. Then I could teach her some math after school. I think she is ready for something more advanced, but her time is taken up with assigned homework. It's too easy for her.; 9/16/14, 1:41 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: They assign all that homework assuming that parents never have anything of value to impart so why not fill the time.; 9/16/14, 1:56 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Homework takes elementary public school out of the possible options for our family. How can you offer enrichment and play time with homework added in?; 9/16/14, 1:58 PM
gspencer said...: A real treat for me and my sisters (born late 1940s and into the 1950s) would come in May when the weather was getting nicer and the days longer was being allowed to play outside "after supper." Yes, it was only a little bit, but fun. Then back to school work. When school let out in late June, it was playtime "after supper" every day.

Great memories.; 9/16/14, 2:23 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Can whites PLEASE just raise another generation of, extremely-insecure, drug-addled alchoholics in denial - determined to "find themselves" OR ELSE - and be done with it? Blacks need a break from so much common sense being delivered out there.

Just hand your babies a highball glass to play with, for Christ's sake, and - if you ask me - they're educated enough,...; 9/16/14, 2:42 PM
CatherineM said...: Homework before 7th grade is a new thing. I remember looking at my best friends older (by 5 years) sister and thinking how grown up it is to be in Jr high and have homework because you couldn't run around anymore. There was pressure.

When we did have homework, it was light in those early 1st and second grades. 20 words to learn that week with a test on Friday, but it was fun (learning words in a game like hangman). I also remember my times tables drilling, but it was also fun. Fun enough that I would ask my parents to let me show them my skill. Today my friends kids have hours of work after school and yet the schools aren't improving scores. Makes the parents and the kids miserable.; 9/16/14, 3:02 PM
Shanna said...: Today my friends kids have hours of work after school and yet the schools aren't improving scores.

Because a ton of it is busy work. Even in high school.

Before a certain age, I think stuff like memorization, times tables and reading should be about it. At some point add math problems, because I think that's something you need to work on on your own.; 9/16/14, 3:32 PM
m stone said...: No homework should benefit the children provided they have parents who encourage them to read and even get ahead in their studies. Ultimately the success factor resides in the parents.

I'm talking about children who enjoy learning. Other children are better off playing outside, except in parts of Chicago.

Do kids still skip grades by excelling?; 9/16/14, 4:24 PM
Wince said...: Is reading considered "homework"?; 9/16/14, 4:52 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Freeman Hunt said...
Homework takes elementary public school out of the possible options for our family. How can you offer enrichment and play time with homework added in?

You can just say, 'my kid doesn't do homework'. They are public servants, they can't make your kid do homework. This is not a serious objection to public schooling. I have in fact said no to some of the bullshit assignments. Life is too short to have to make another volcano.; 9/16/14, 4:57 PM
The Godfather said...: Gosh, I don't remember having regular home work before the 7th grade (1955). In elementary school we did have special projects we had to work on at home, but that certainly wasn't daily.

But my parents encouraged us to read, and talk about what we were reading, even before we got to Dick and Jane in school. I had a "stay at home mom" until I was 14 or 15, and an involved dad after 6 pm most evenings and almost all weekends, so that made a difference.

In 7th grade I started in a private day school, and my parents were shocked by the amount of work we had to do at home after school (school got out at 4:30 pm). When I was about the leave for college, I remember my father saying, After what you've been doing for the last 6 years, college is going to be a piece of cake. Not so, as it turned out.

Whoever on this thread said that it's the love of learning that counts (sorry I didn't make a note of who said it) is absolutely correct. Whatever system promotes that for your kids, that's what you should support. And if the schools don't do it, find an alternative.; 9/16/14, 5:05 PM
Drago said...: The Crack Emcee: "Can whites PLEASE just raise another generation of, extremely-insecure, drug-addled alchoholics in denial - determined to "find themselves" OR ELSE - and be done with it? Blacks need a break from so much common sense being delivered out there."

LOL

Someone light up the Bat Signal for Betamax3000. Cracks last posting screams out for proper betamax treatment.; 9/16/14, 5:50 PM
Drago said...: ARM: "They are public servants, they can't make your kid do homework."

I see you have not dealt with some of our CA teaching geniuses.

Not only will they penalize your child, if they even get a hint that you aren't "on their side" your child can be in for a rough haul.

After going thru the CA school system myself, I reached my limit with the local CA morons when the "math" teacher (who knew no math at all) insisted that a collage was a required assignment for the math class.

I homeschooled my oldest after that until we moved to a much more competent public school system on the east coast 2 years later.; 9/16/14, 6:23 PM
ALP said...: My question is this: why isn't the school day adequate time to teach subjects and then allow time for students to work on problems/projects during specified times thus negating the need for homework? If the school day is 6-7 hours, 30-35 hours per week, why isn't that enough? If I had kids I would also be concerned about yet MORE sedentary activities. We are killing ourselves with the amount of time we spend sitting on our butts.; 9/16/14, 6:26 PM
Drago said...: ALP said...
My question is this: why isn't the school day adequate time to teach subjects and then allow time for students to work on problems/projects during specified times thus negating the need for homework?

Most good schools are run this way.

And most of them are private.

My littlest guy is currently knee deep in Singapore Math and rocking along with his classmates and they only have about 3 quick worksheets to complete for math each week. Takes him 5 minutes or less to complete each.; 9/16/14, 10:23 PM
Ctmom4 said...: My older sons were in school during an insane homework phase in our school district. They even had summer work, starting after fifth grade. Summer reading - 5 or so novels, with written assignments,- and a math packet of about 25 pages. When they were in HS, in honors and AP classes, they had 2-3 hours a night. Imagine that, after 2-3 hours of sports practice or activities. They would do homework and go to bed. By the time the younger two got to HS, they had kind of given up on that. No summer work, even for AP courses,and an hour or so each night. They didn't realize how easy they had it.; 9/16/14, 11:24 PM
Unknown said...: "Historically, homework was frowned upon in American culture. With few students interested in higher education, and due to the necessity to complete daily chores, homework was discouraged not only by parents, but also by school districts."

Translation, in "the old days" leisure time was extremely limited, it is not longer required to work sunup just to sundown to survive. Prior to the Land Grant Colleges, higher education was for the elites, although there is probably going to be disagreement, a college education is essential for a successful and lucrative career.

Automation, mechanization, and industrialization has had a deeply profound impact on growing up. The US education system has been grappling, waffling, and vacillating on what to do about homework since my father was a child.

Encyclopedia.com, how homework is regard in the U.S.:
20th centrury, in favor
1040's, out of favor
1950's, in favor
1960's, out of favor
1980's in favor
1990's out of favor

A review by researchers at Duke University of more than 60 research studies on homework between 1987 and 2003 showed that, within limits, there is a positive interaction between the amount of homework which is done and student achievement. The research synthesis also indicated that too much homework could be counterproductive. The research supports the '10-minute rule',the widely accepted practice of assigning 10 minutes of homework per day per grade-level. For example, under this system, 1st graders would receive 10 minutes of homework per night, while 5th graders would get 50 minutes' worth, 9th graders 90 minutes of homework, etc.

IMHO, homework habits will benefit a kid bound for upper education of any kind. (Trade and tech schools, keep in mind that there are now now something like 55 microprocessors in a car and machine shop/millwork is now CNC based.) Upper education is not completed in lecture and recitation sessions, and absolutely requires work outside formal class. Not having the homework habit is crippling.; 9/18/14, 8:36 AM