This past year, I found myself rather frustrated with the fact that my fifth grader was coming home with 1-3 hours worth of homework 2-4 days of the week. As a teacher I realize that education doesn’t end the minute a student leaves the school and that homework is necessary to encourage thought and further education. However, as a teacher in a junior high I was aware of other obligations my students had and was careful not to assign more than approximately 20-30 minutes worth of homework, and it wasn’t more than once or twice a week. If the students were diligent during the class period, oftentimes the homework was completed before they left for the day.
But as a parent, how much homework gets to be too much for your student? Parents are now calling for less homework assignments. This grassroots movement has taken place throughout the nation as parents speak out against hours of homework that many see as “busywork”. The argument is that too much homework takes away from family time and is detrimental to the time students need to be creative and active.
Because of the attention being focused on homework amounts, many schools are adopting a standard of ten minutes per grade level, for example, a student in 7th grade should have no more than 70 minutes of homework. While in the higher grades homework levels have remained roughly the same over the past 50 years, the amount of homework given to younger grades has gone up. I certainly don’t remember doing the amounts of homework when I was in 5th grade that my son is doing! I was instead running around the neighborhood playing games with neighbor kids or hanging out at the local youth center playing soccer. There were actually a few nights when my son would get home from football practice and would do homework from the time he got home until he went to bed. Is this what we expect of our young children?
It shouldn’t be, and in fact, some schools are looking at homework and experimenting with cutting homework altogether except for studying for tests. One school, two years into the experiment, hasn’t had any backslide in test scores or in the classroom. Students are less stressed at home as well. In another case, a parent was told by his 13 year old’s pediatrician that his son should exercise more. The parent’s response? And when would he do that? He too chose to tackle the homework load that his son brought home each night, instigating a new policy for homework in the Toronto School District.
Developmentally, are children really able to sit still for that much longer after being in school all day? It was difficult for my son, who is considered to be a great student by his teachers. If it is difficult for him, what about students with ADD and ADHD? Are we being fair to them by expecting them yet again to sit still for 1-2 more hours doing school work? Children are starting to burn out earlier and earlier. Many say that we are just preparing them for “real life”, but are we? What about responsibilities at home that are going on the wayside because they don’t have time to complete the chores that their parents need them to do?
This is an issue that we as educators (and some of us, parents) need to be mindful of. Sure, we expect a lot out of our students and we want them to succeed in the real world. But, are we just setting them up for stress and burn-out earlier in life?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bullying...more then words.
School Bullying…Let students know that YES, it is starting to be considered a CRIME.
No one asks to be bullied. Kids don’t wake up in the morning hoping for someone to pin them down in a locker room and call them names. But yet it happens every day in schools nationwide. And name calling is the least of it.
In the past school year alone, 32 percent of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying. That number is up from previous years and it just represents those cases that are reported. Sometimes it is calling names, making fun of someone, laughing at someone. And sometimes, it is physical…pushing, punching, kicking…sexually assaulting. One of the most horrifying cases of school bullying occurred in Tampa, Florida. Four teenage boys held down a teammate in retaliation for a bad play during a flag football game. They raped him repeatedly with a broom handle and a hockey stick. They told him that if (the game mishap) happened again or if he told anyone, the abuse would happen again. It wasn’t until school officials began questioning those four players about a fight after a game that the truth came out. And the brutality is happening elsewhere.
California-a member of a debate team is wrapped in plastic and tape by other team members.
Ohio-a basketball player is attacked by three teammates while waiting for the team bus. They punch and kick him; one team member exposes his genitals and rubs them in his face.
South Florida-Two teens are charged with stalking and battery after an attack and “pretend” rape in a school locker room.
Why is this happening? One kid made a bad play on the football field. Another was younger than the other teammates. Bullying doesn’t have a rhyme or reason. It can happen because of a person being shy or different. Or simply because of the color of someone’s hair. And with the new technology, bullying has taken on a whole new face…on Facebook, MySpace, and other internet sites. Many may remember the case in Missouri in which a girl committed suicide after being taunted by a “boy” she thought liked her. The “boy” turned out to be the mother of a classmate of the girl. She set up a fake MySpace account, got to know the girl by pretending to be a boy who liked her, and then began to trash her. Suicide because of bullying has a name. Bullycide.
This past year a student in our school began cyber-bullying students over a social network. While it was brought to the notice of the staff, we weren’t given enough information to be able to watch for any activity at school. How can we as teachers be effective in stopping bullying? We need to be kept in the loop information-wise so that we can help battle this problem. But we also need to be sure to take a stand against bullying.
The Tampa, Florida case? Witnesses (yes, there were witnesses who did nothing!) said that the boy being raped screamed. Why wasn’t he heard by a coach or other staff? Why were they so far from their students that they could not hear a young man screaming?
We as educators, as those charged with the well being of children, need to always be mindful of what is going on with our students. Yes, we are only human and we will miss things. But talk to students. Let them know that if they are being bullied or know someone who is to please talk to someone. Please, be aware.
No one asks to be bullied. Kids don’t wake up in the morning hoping for someone to pin them down in a locker room and call them names. But yet it happens every day in schools nationwide. And name calling is the least of it.
In the past school year alone, 32 percent of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying. That number is up from previous years and it just represents those cases that are reported. Sometimes it is calling names, making fun of someone, laughing at someone. And sometimes, it is physical…pushing, punching, kicking…sexually assaulting. One of the most horrifying cases of school bullying occurred in Tampa, Florida. Four teenage boys held down a teammate in retaliation for a bad play during a flag football game. They raped him repeatedly with a broom handle and a hockey stick. They told him that if (the game mishap) happened again or if he told anyone, the abuse would happen again. It wasn’t until school officials began questioning those four players about a fight after a game that the truth came out. And the brutality is happening elsewhere.
California-a member of a debate team is wrapped in plastic and tape by other team members.
Ohio-a basketball player is attacked by three teammates while waiting for the team bus. They punch and kick him; one team member exposes his genitals and rubs them in his face.
South Florida-Two teens are charged with stalking and battery after an attack and “pretend” rape in a school locker room.
Why is this happening? One kid made a bad play on the football field. Another was younger than the other teammates. Bullying doesn’t have a rhyme or reason. It can happen because of a person being shy or different. Or simply because of the color of someone’s hair. And with the new technology, bullying has taken on a whole new face…on Facebook, MySpace, and other internet sites. Many may remember the case in Missouri in which a girl committed suicide after being taunted by a “boy” she thought liked her. The “boy” turned out to be the mother of a classmate of the girl. She set up a fake MySpace account, got to know the girl by pretending to be a boy who liked her, and then began to trash her. Suicide because of bullying has a name. Bullycide.
This past year a student in our school began cyber-bullying students over a social network. While it was brought to the notice of the staff, we weren’t given enough information to be able to watch for any activity at school. How can we as teachers be effective in stopping bullying? We need to be kept in the loop information-wise so that we can help battle this problem. But we also need to be sure to take a stand against bullying.
The Tampa, Florida case? Witnesses (yes, there were witnesses who did nothing!) said that the boy being raped screamed. Why wasn’t he heard by a coach or other staff? Why were they so far from their students that they could not hear a young man screaming?
We as educators, as those charged with the well being of children, need to always be mindful of what is going on with our students. Yes, we are only human and we will miss things. But talk to students. Let them know that if they are being bullied or know someone who is to please talk to someone. Please, be aware.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
College or Career? Are We Pushing Our Students in the Right Direction?
As educators, we are all thrilled to hear the college choices of students as they near their graduation from high school. But how do we react when students tell us they aren't going to college? Do you pressure them to rethink their goals, saying that employment is difficult without a college education? While I do tend to strongly advocate college to my students, I am mindful that there are students who aren't cut out for college. So, why not promote careers that don't require a college education? Many blue collar careers make very good money with some making more than $50,000 a year.
Instead of encouraging all students to head for college, maybe we should encourage some students to look at career options that do not include traditional four-year college. Not every student is cut out for the college path with roughly 39% of high school graduates entering college, and college dropout rates have risen. For years now the education system in Europe has given students choices in their secondary education. Students choosing the path towards a college education take classes that prepare them for that experience. Students who are aiming towards a vocational career are given the opportunity to take classes that are geared towards more “blue collar” trades. High schools in Louisiana may soon be giving students a similar choice, offering “career diplomas” earned by taking classes that prepare students for jobs, career training, or community college. While some may see this as contradictory to the aims of the nation’s education system and No Child Left Behind, I believe that this system is realistic in that it is acknowledging that not all students are going to go to college. This is a system that could very well work to keep more students in school as it would ready students for employment that does not require a college degree.
I have long been a fan of the European education system, in more aspects than just this one. The students who don’t wish to take advanced mathematics and science, knowing that they aren’t on the college path, could instead take classes teaching them customer service skills, techniques of their desired trade, and management skills. Would we be doing students on a career path a disservice by not requiring advanced courses? I don’t believe so. I believe we are doing students who are looking at a trade profession a disservice by not putting the same emphasis on the preparations for their path that we give college bound students for their path.
So the next time a student tells you that they aren’t college bound, don’t get discouraged. Instead, discuss what their plans are and encourage them on their path should it be going right into a career or attending a two-year school to learn a trade. As long as they have a plan, chances are they will do just fine.
Instead of encouraging all students to head for college, maybe we should encourage some students to look at career options that do not include traditional four-year college. Not every student is cut out for the college path with roughly 39% of high school graduates entering college, and college dropout rates have risen. For years now the education system in Europe has given students choices in their secondary education. Students choosing the path towards a college education take classes that prepare them for that experience. Students who are aiming towards a vocational career are given the opportunity to take classes that are geared towards more “blue collar” trades. High schools in Louisiana may soon be giving students a similar choice, offering “career diplomas” earned by taking classes that prepare students for jobs, career training, or community college. While some may see this as contradictory to the aims of the nation’s education system and No Child Left Behind, I believe that this system is realistic in that it is acknowledging that not all students are going to go to college. This is a system that could very well work to keep more students in school as it would ready students for employment that does not require a college degree.
I have long been a fan of the European education system, in more aspects than just this one. The students who don’t wish to take advanced mathematics and science, knowing that they aren’t on the college path, could instead take classes teaching them customer service skills, techniques of their desired trade, and management skills. Would we be doing students on a career path a disservice by not requiring advanced courses? I don’t believe so. I believe we are doing students who are looking at a trade profession a disservice by not putting the same emphasis on the preparations for their path that we give college bound students for their path.
So the next time a student tells you that they aren’t college bound, don’t get discouraged. Instead, discuss what their plans are and encourage them on their path should it be going right into a career or attending a two-year school to learn a trade. As long as they have a plan, chances are they will do just fine.
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