Yes, it is true. According to many other parents, and from personal experience, the average child in today's public schools brings home two to four hours of homework each day. Some teachers expect parents to go over the homework and make sure it is correct, before the children take it back to school. Now, of course, we need to be helping our children, but there is a big difference between helping them and walking them through their homework. Are we not schooling our children after school when we do this?
I schooled my son at home from kindergarten through second grade with a wonderful virtual academy and the K12 curriculum. For third grade, he was adamant about trying the local public school. My husband and I agreed to let him have the experience so it would not later be a 'what if' in the back of his mind.
The first day of school, he brought home a planner with daily calendars. The calendars listed the homework he should complete every night. He explained that his teacher said for me to initial beside each assignment to show that I saw him complete it. Sure, that sounded like a good idea to keep parents involved.
The second day of school he brought the previous day's homework back home. His teacher noted on one of his worksheets that I had missed a mistake he made. My first thought was, "How do you know where his weaknesses are if I am correcting his work?" My next thought was, "Isn't it part of his teacher's job to catch the mistakes?"
I decided to pay a surprise visit to the school and sit in on my son's class one morning. There was a large white board on the wall with the list of classes for each day. The mornings were three hours of language arts classes, and much of the afternoons were math classes. I wondered if this what they meant by "teaching to the test". Those are the subjects on the third grade standardized tests. It was obvious where the focus was in the classroom and why they were bringing home so much homework. Where were the science, history, and cursive writing lessons?
I have since been informed that if the school does not do well overall on the aptitude tests, it may not get the federal funding it needs and it may be put on academic probation. That status has to be reported and many parents opt to send their children to other, higher-ranking schools. We all know that the money follows the child.
I wonder what would happen if more public schools were to teach some test-taking skills and focus less on teaching to the test. Perhaps the teachers would have more time to actually teach the academics our students need to become successful adults. That would then cause less stress for our children and teachers. They might possibly have the attitude, "I'll just show what I know". Is that not what the exams were meant for in the first place?
For several reasons, we are back with our state's virtual academy. We did our state testing this spring, just as the public schools did. We recently received the report, "First scores are out and they are wonderful! Reading scores have been published and we rocked!" Guess what - it IS possible to just teach, and the students do well on the tests, and no stress. Also, since we have no evening homework, we have more time for family and extracurricular activities.
Now, the 99% figure makes more sense, does it not? I do not believe all public schools are poor or teach to the test, although it is happening more often each year. This issue is just one of many reasons why more and more parents are turning away from the public school system. They are searching and finding better alternatives to give their children a quality education and home life.
Author Info:
Anna Hodges has a passion for writing and has been an entrepreneur for many years. She is also an affiliate marketer. You can check out her blog and site here: http://annasversatilewriting.com While there, take a look at her blog roll for very interesting business resources, as well as healthy alternatives and other great links.
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