TLS, I am very well aware that this topic has been chewed over many times, however no improvements have been made, and I am therefore discussing it again. Very simply put, homework is being given in unreasonable amounts and is wreaking havoc on families’ evening routines. Yes, homework has a purpose, but my teenagers’ assignments are most often things that should be completed in school. New material which has not been taught thoroughly enough in school is being given to the girls to ‘learn’ at home- which leads to hours of frustration, and little results. Homework should be an enforcement of understood knowledge, so that the girls can get through their assignments at a reasonable pace and complete it ON THEIR OWN. There is no excuse as to why girls are stumped by their assignments and therefore trying to get answers from parents, older siblings, relatives and anyone else who might know. I will add that my daughters are B’H very bright and I am speaking for them and more so for those whose daughters struggle more academically- those mothers very often don’t want to speak up because they will hear the unpleasant analysis of their daughters’ working habits.
When I speak to teachers and principals, they nod their heads understandably, but nothing changes. I know the competition between schools is fierce- each school wants to have the highest level education- however households are paying the price. Mothers with large families have come to dread the evening time, and often really cannot sufficiently manage. And it is your dear students who come to school with their completed assignments and hand them in to you with bitter feelings, for it is these very assignments that took away their family time, their parents’ attention, and their own valued time. And then the problems begin….
An educated mother.
the teachers are without Rachmanous. talking to them is like talking to a brick wall . exactly like you said, they nod their heads and that’s it . they have no clue how much havoc, shalom bayis and pressure it causes at home .
And how about the teachers who give homework on the nights of PTA. I can’t wait for those teachers to have there own kids with the problems that they themself coused
Everyone! Lets not lose touch with what we are doing on this planet! Boys and men have an obligation to learn Torah at every free minute. But girls!?!? Nope! Girls only have an obligation to learn the Halachos pertaining to their day to day life. Girls have no obligation to learn the Rambans or Klei Yakars. There is no reason the girls should be learning what they do. Actually the girls should be learning the more important things like cooking and parenting skills. That being said, girls should not come home with home work that should make life hard on everyone, child and parents alike. It is completely ridiculous and doing more harm that not. Homework should be to help the parents and to daven maariv. Homework should NOT be to learn a Gemora and rewrite it in your own words! Girls shouldn’t be learning Gemoras. Are we really that short of topics and subjects to teach our daughters?!
What I don’t begin to understand is that R’ Mattisyahu Solomon put out a book (ghostwritten by R’ Reinman) in which he explicitly deplores the negative effects of too much homework. He even goes so far as to suggest that Shabbos homework, for example, should be enitrely obliterated. So what gives? We are all cherry picking which daas Torah insights to listen to and which to ignore?????
Apparently we are since his opinion re: the internet is well known.
I spend lots of effort to get my kids in “the right” school. I have to work very hard to keep my kids in “the right” school. I am most thankful to all the homework and pressure they put on my kids so that :
1 – They get used to real life – which is full of pressure.
2 – So i can justify myself for sending my kids to “the right” school.
3 – So that I can be proud of my kids and socialize with the right people, get them to “the right” seminaries (and Mesiftos and Yeshivos) and get the right shidduchim.
4 – So that I confirm that my kids are very smart and can handle all that homework pressue.
B’kitzur…B’shveeli nivrah HaOlam…
work should be exclusively for school ,when not in school the girls should be there to help in the house
#6- You are a SNOB! I am sure my kids are not in the same schools as yours because my kids schools are the BEST.
I hope you were just joking by all your silly comments, as most people do on these things.
Too much homework means NO time to help out around the house and do daily chores. To me, that’s more important, and not having them memorize every word of Tanach.
Lets not make a big deal about chores at home. If your not on the phone while trying to tidy up your home it does not take long.There is plenty of time to relax when you get old. So now you increase your knowledge and your ‘b’kius’ in hashkofah, y’hadus, halacha, and l’havdil math and english. It will come in very handy in life.
“adam l’amal nivrah” . Homework also sets your schedule straight. You have to get things done with ‘zrizuz’. No time to waste for ‘narish’keit’. Think about it. It is the best training for youngsters how to manage their time between home chores and school work ( and in the future work and/or learning).
Anon i agree with you 100%. when are you opening a school i have 2 girls ready to go
Hello Wake up . There is a reason why there are different schools . Some girls thrive better with more homework and tests and others do better with less work and less pressure . It is up to you to know your daughter and pick the right school for her . If your kovod or gaava is so importasnt that you sent your daughter to the wrong school then its your fault and not the schools .
Some girls need a and can handle more homework . why dont you find out the schools homework policy before you send your kid not after . If it doesnt agree with your child then send her to a different school up front .
To parent “in” school I’m very happy I’m not your child and I feel bad for u child
To #10 & 11 – if you read TLS, you should know by now that many parents do NOT get to choose which school to send to.
With so much homework it should make one ask What is being taught in school Why do you pay an arm and a leg to have your child educated and then they are being sent home for you to educate. Children need some down time to learn other life skills
I have often said that nobody should teach a class until they have a child that age. (Of course you will say, how can that be? Well, I MIGHT agree to have them teach younger grades IF there is minimal homework (as mandated by the school)).
However: my daughter’s former teacher confirmed my opinion! She said – as a teacher of Grade X, I see a huge difference in how I understand my students this year, with a daughter their age, as compared even to last year when I had a daughter only one year younger.
However, you do have to do your research, find out how ‘pressured’ the schools are, and be willing to work with the school. In a reasonable school, the administration will be understanding if you tell them your daughter needs more sleep and must be excused from some of the homework. I think.
Then, of course, you do have the problem of whether the school will accept you. But that’s a whole different thread with hundreds of posts, which does not need to be re-hashed at this time, except to say that those that have opinions in chinuch should think about helping to open new schools.
Maybe the homework is to keep girls so busy they have no down time. Too much time on one’s hands for a girl can lead to ??????????????who knows what.
I believe that the schools that might not be so homework oriented are easier to get in to . why is there so much demand to get into the more academically inclined schools if the parents dont really want that ?
The enormous amount of homework given is completely the fault of the parents and no one else. Any girls H.S. that would lighten the academic load on the girls would immediately become known as a “lower level” school. A school that overworks the girls is considered a “top school”. Those very same (immature) parents who complain that the work is too hard are the same parents who run the other way from anything other than a “top school”. No matter how studious or non- studious their daughter is, those parents fight tooth and nail to get their daughters into nothing other than the “top school”. No one wants to send their children to the “lower level” schools, so the schools have no choice but to maintain a reputation of high academics. When the parents (of course there are exceptions) act mature, honest and get their priorities straight, maybe things will change.
reply to #17
perhaps with less HW of memorizing, memorizing, memorizing, girls “free time” can be used more constructively. they should need to do chessed (age appropriate) at least twice a week and then write a paper on what they learn from it (life skills, writing, etc.) . they can do a journal about working on a mida they want to improve. (writing skills, problem solving, self reflection, etc). i think that there is a lot schools can teach the girls that are more applicable and practical for real life then just overloads of paperwork. (medical documentattion is running in close competition to the amount of papers these girls carry around).
less HW doesn’t have to be “free time” it should just not interfere or hinder a girl’s social connection with her family, and more quality HW that will impress her for life.
BTW I do not remember a single pasuk that i had to memorize in HS.