If You Disagree with the Councilman - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Reader comment on:
Council Member Calls for Limits On Homework
in response to reader comment: Spoken like a true lib.....

Submitted by John, Nov 29, 2007 02:04

then very likely you don't have kids in school. You think you had a lot of homework when you were in school? You have no idea. My daughter (8th grader) has, ON AVERAGE, four and a half to five hours of homework every night, and this INCLUDES weekends. We often spend the weekend to catch up on what we didn't have time for during the week or doing homework that's due the following week. She does homework from the time she gets home from school to the time she gets to bed at 10:30 PM, and she doesn't goof off or go slow. There are several reasons for the homework overload. One is that politicians got involved in the first place, claiming that the schools are failing our kids and that test scores are lower than in other countries, so they passed laws making the schools teach to a test. But the fault was never with the schools. To meet the political education standard, the teachers assign more homework. This just punishes the kids that were doing well in the first place because they do the homework. The kids who weren't doing homework before are still not doing it. They are just not doing more of it. The problem is at home, where the TV is always going. Kids don't read for fun anymore when they can just watch TV. Another reason why there is too much homework is because the schools employ teams of teachers for each subject. The problem we encounter with this is that none of the teachers communicate with each other to coordinate class assignments. If each teacher assigns an hour of homework each night, which isn't much for one class, then with 5 teachers you get 5 hours of homework. Guess what? There is a very high failure rate in the school because if you give kids 5 hours of homework, a lot of them just blow it off. Also, a lot of parents aren't in a position to help kids with homework. So there you have it.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
We all hate homework and i can't even hang out with my friends anymore. i have a test everyday (no... [MORE]	Kaesha	Feb 15, 2008 16:07
home work should go out immediately!!!!!!!! [MORE]	nathali	Feb 6, 2008 23:09
The New York City Student Union is a student-run organization that adresses issues in public schools. As a group, we... [MORE]	NYCSU	Dec 3, 2007 20:55
I can't believe the whining of you kids today. Look, here's the facts: we all have jobs to do in... [MORE]	A. Cole	Dec 19, 2007 14:22
Perhaps if the administration and public at large were to stop their anal number crunching of standardized tests to evaluate... [MORE]	Vanessa Rodriguez	Nov 29, 2007 23:49
Although I do think there is too much homework, to me, the issue is that there is just too... [MORE]	ken kand	Feb 20, 2008 11:52
Is this man crazy????? Our country's education system is behind as it is, if he doesn't like what his children... [MORE]	Karen	Nov 29, 2007 11:56
Don't forget that most of the teachers ARE liberals, and what this guy is talking about is family values and... [MORE]	Ryan	Nov 28, 2007 23:10
You call yourself a good teacher and you DON'T go home with 3 hours of your own homework!? Are you... [MORE]	Vanessa	Nov 29, 2007 23:57
The moment to abolish the City Council passed long ago. The average voter has not the vaguest idea why the... [MORE]	Kolyma	Nov 28, 2007 18:19
"It's not fairrrrrrrrrrrrrr" boo hoo! I can't find time to play with my kids - whaaaaaaaa! There should be a... [MORE]	A. Cole	Nov 28, 2007 17:55
then very likely you don't have kids in school. You think you had a lot of homework when you were...	John	Nov 29, 2007 02:04
A role model is someone who shows kids how to CHALLENGE things that are UNFAIR, not follow along like sheep... [MORE]	high school student	Dec 3, 2007 21:07
I agree with John. Students today, especially those of us trying to compete in the brutal culture of test-preparation and... [MORE]	Another High School Student	Dec 3, 2007 21:59
for the record, I do have a child in school - who also gets 4 to 5 hours of homework... [MORE]	A. Cole	Dec 19, 2007 13:49
Wrong again dear - a GOOD ROLE MODEL teaches others that everyone in life has responsibilities that must be met... [MORE]	A. Cole	Dec 19, 2007 14:05
By all measures, the quality of primary and secondary education in the United States -- especially in NYC -- is... [MORE]	BrianZ	Nov 28, 2007 11:26
Vallone is right on. I have been saying this since I was in high school. Now, with a graduate degree... [MORE]	Your daddy	Nov 29, 2007 10:13
The dumbing down of America continues. How about spending time working with your children on their homework, reading with them,... [MORE]	twinheart	Nov 28, 2007 09:07
He's not saying take away all homework. He's saying that teachers should give less, and that there should be one... [MORE]	Ryan	Nov 28, 2007 23:12
Maybe this teacher should stop and play video game too......the kids today are graduating and they can't even read or... [MORE]	Lynn	Nov 29, 2007 11:58