Aerothorn on 17/9/2006 at 00:14
So, a new school year means new newspaper articles to write! Hooray!
Don't worry, I'm doing plenty of my own research, but I've found the TTLG folks to be a great help in framing the issue and getting ideas in the past. Besides, it's not like <strike>any of you</strike> <strike>most of you</strike> GBM & Stronts have anything better to do.
So the Issue of ze Month is Homework (or homeywork, to all my bruthas out there). I recently learned that somehow, this had become a big issue in the news media lately - the debate over whether students (K-12, not college) had too much homework.
As far as I can tell, the resurgance of this debate can be traced back to a 'research synthesis' (which seems to be taking dozens of different research papers and coalating/summarazing them in one paper) released by one Harris Cooper in March, 2006. Which doesn't explain why the debate has just popped up now - start of school year, maybe?
Anyway, while I struggle to find a copy of said synthesis, I want to know what you guys think. Note that this paper applies to the American educational system, and my article will be on high school specifically. But it would also be great to hear from people who went to school elsewhere (though please note when this is the case so I don't get too confused).
So, how much homework do you/did you have, per day, on average, in high school? How much homework do you think is appropiate? If it's true that the '10 minute rule' applies (that students should never be given more than (10 times their grade level) minutes of homework), why do schools assign so much more homework than that? What about AP programs? Who benefits? HOW CAN ANY STUDENT HAVE A LIFE?
anyhoo, argue away! Thanks as always. If I get some time I can scan my previous articles and post em here if anyone would be interested, weee.
Pyrian on 17/9/2006 at 00:16
I don't know how much homework I was assigned since I basically never did any of it. :cool:
Aerothorn on 17/9/2006 at 01:15
Please tell me you work at McDonald's :(
Mingan on 17/9/2006 at 02:18
There wasn't enough for me to take home. I, apparently, had time to do homework in-class, while the slow kids (apparently everyone else), made the teacher repeat the same stuff over and over again.
But then, I didn't have a life either. I fail at life. :(
SD on 17/9/2006 at 02:29
Our homework was supposed to last about 30 minutes per subject, and that was three subjects a day and four at weekends IIRC, which equates to 8 hours a week. I hated it, of course, but looking back, it wasn't too brutal. Bear in mind that I went to a (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Blue_Coat_School) British grammar school, so I probably had more homework than most other kids my age.
Homework is important because it pretty much introduces you to the concept of time management. For the first time in your life, you have responsibility for working off your own initiative rather than under someone else's watchful eye.
I don't know how much homework children get now, but I'd be surprised if it was much more than we used to get. I'd venture that one of the major problems is that parents these days are too poorly-educated or too busy to be able to help their children out with homework I used to get help off my mum and dad all the time if there was stuff I was having problems with. Poor parental knowledge and lack of time (typically both parents work nowadays) is also one of the reasons why children are eating so poorly too.
Turtle on 17/9/2006 at 02:49
I vote no.
But then, I get paid to print the homework for 10,000 K-12 students.
Aerothorn on 17/9/2006 at 04:46
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
Our homework was supposed to last about 30 minutes per subject, and that was three subjects a day and four at weekends IIRC, which equates to 8 hours a week. I hated it, of course, but looking back, it wasn't too brutal. Bear in mind that I went to a (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Blue_Coat_School) British grammar school, so I probably had more homework than most other kids my age.
I can't speak for Britain - or anything other than my high school. But here, we have 6 periods a day, and it's safe to assume that 5 of those give homework. Homework load varies depending on what courses and teachers you have, but it's safe to say that most of the people I know have more than 2 hour a day, and some have much more (4 hours a day or more) to the point where they are doing homework at 2 AM (which is the only way they can do it and still have a life). And I'm told that this is rather systematic of the US school system, not just around here. If I had just 2 hours of homework a day on weekends I would be a very happy clam.
SubJeff on 17/9/2006 at 11:21
da funk back to the party come on da funk back to the party come on
TF on 17/9/2006 at 15:01
The fuck is this shit. Just maths ensures a nice fat 2 hours per day, then there's the literature essays and then random little stuff like french and whatever show up with homework that has you copying a couple pages and translating them and welps free time is suddenly in the negatives.
PeeperStorm on 17/9/2006 at 16:25
Homework... I figure that I used to have about 90 minutes worth per school day, not counting assigned reading. I did about half of it on the bus coming home.
Edit: BTW college was a BEYOTCH compared to HS. Three times as much homework and a part time job...
