For Parents Mean teachers+Too much homework=No gymnastics?!

[GymTwinsMom]

Ok, so I see a lot of threads going around with starting school and dealing with the gym. Leah and Lexi are starting the 3rd grade in Sept, Lexi has a really cool and young teacher, she is super nice and great with the kids. She is stern when she has to be, and will get the kids ready for 4th grade. Now, Leah has this cranky, old, mean teacher who gives so much homework, never has a smile on her face, parents had complained to the office but couldn't get their kids switched out. I was talking to a 4th grade parent whos ds had her last year. He hated her, and was not happy. School comes first in our house, so if most of their homework is not done, they will go late to gymnastics. Leah had a breakdown when she saw she had her. I tried switching, but they won't switch her. Leah is afraid she will never be able to finish all the homework in time to go to the gym. Help!!

 

[ginnymac]

Try not to get too stressed about it yet. I have found that sometimes your child gets an undesirable teacher with a bad reputation and it ends up being fine for your child. If you are stressed about it, your dd will be even more anxious.

Homework is very individual. What takes one kid an hour to do may take another 15 minutes. Once your school starts, you'll see how it falls. If the homework becomes excessive, then you handle it personally.

Does your district have a homework policy? In our district (a very competitive one in CT) there is a policy of 10 min per grade level....for example, third graders would have at the most 30 minutes a night. If your district does have a policy and the teacher does not abide by it, that would be a problem. If there is no district wide policy, try to get one established!!!

Good luck...I find that my kids do their best work under pressure...when focus and concentration is a must!

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

I agree w/ ginnymac - see if there is a homework policy. Also, as the year begins if your one daughter has 30 min of homework and the other has 1.5 hrs then I would take this info - and documentation - to the principle. It does not seem appropriate that one class would have double (or whatever) the homework. A 15 or 20 minute difference is one thing.

 

[Billy]

How does a district-wide time limit on homework work? As was pointed out, what takes one kid 10 minutes might take another kid an hour.

 

[ginnymac]

The district wide policy is really a recommendation for grades 1-5. They should have approximately 10 minutes per grade level.

It states in the handbook (and the teachers always state) that if your child consistently has greater than that, to please let them know. If the assigned homework should take the average 3rd grader 30 minutes, and your child is taking an hour, you need to have a meeting with your teacher ASAP!

I have found that my kids have always had approx. the recommended amount. Maybe a couple times per school year they would have more, but usually that was because of finishing up projects or something.

There is alot of research on appropriate homework amounts for kids. This policy is a recommendation from one of the prominent researchers on the topic. I can't remember the name of his book, though....

 

[ginnymac]

Also....if a particular teacher frequently exceeds the homework recommendation, it is to be reported and I know that teachers have been reminded of the policy by administration and have adjusted accordingly.

 

[GymTwinsMom]

Thank you everyone, I am meeting with the principal tomorrow to make sure she DOES change her out. Let's see how well that goes......

 

[flippymonkeysmom]

Good luck tomorrow. Try and remember though - gymmie's are not like normal kids. The teacher that everyone else complains is too strict - our gymmie's usually love. Maybe that is because they are so used to being told what to do, how to do it and then correct it. A lot of gym coaches are 10 times stricter than any teacher I've ever met

 

[GymTwinsMom]

Good luck tomorrow. Try and remember though - gymmie's are not like normal kids. The teacher that everyone else complains is too strict - our gymmie's usually love. Maybe that is because they are so used to being told what to do, how to do it and then correct it. A lot of gym coaches are 10 times stricter than any teacher I've ever met

LOL that is a great point! But, I think Leah would only like this teacher is she was shouting "point your toes" instead of "read this chapter" LOL.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

I'm LOL at your "cranky old teacher" vs. " young cool teacher". We had quite the opposite problem last yr. My twins are starting 3rd grade too (next wk) and we still don't have our teacher assignments yet.

Last yr, Little Monkey had the young teacher but she was in no way shape or form, cool or nice. She was very very strict, super critical, and gave TONS of homework on top of the classwork. It was like she had something to prove. In contrast, M (my son) had an older teacher (over 30 yrs experience) who went at a pretty slow pace in class and gave very little HW (some nights nothing, other nights 1, at most 2 pages). Anyway, Little Monkey would do HW from the minute she got home from school till it was time to leave for the gym (3:25-4:40) while having her snack. Sometimes she had to finish when we got home. This was SECOND GRADE!!! It was crazy!

But, being a gymnast has its upside - our girls learn to be very disciplined, whether it's in the gym, at school or doing HW. I think that has helped my girls alot.

 

[Gymnasticsgirl521]

I am one that always takes little gifts to the teachers before school starts like extra school supplies and that gives me an opportunity to talk to the teacher myself and get a feel for how they are. I also use that time to let the teacher know things that the kids are involved in and ask them for an average of assignments. DS's teacher last year gave all the assignments on Monday and we just had to have them turned in on the correct day. Actually we had that two years. Now this year we have daily assignments. But I have told it would be approx 15 minutes a night.

Rule for us is 5 minutes of home work per grade. I also find my silly tokens help soften them and they are more accomidating to the children. DD's teacher already knows her gym schedule and that she may be a bit tired on two days. She is very flexible with this and said as long as all her work is in by Friday she doesn't have a problem. DS teacher knows his schedule and is willing if needed to give extra work twice a week to help accomidate his sports schedule.

I say talk to her and see how she ticks, you never know she may work with you. I would also talk to the administration about your concerns and if you are not getting the results that you want then I hate to say this I am not above going to the Board of Ed. I made a call when DS was in kindergarten and lets just say when I have any concerns now they listen attentively and take action.

 

[gymgal]

If you end up keeping dd in that class (through compromise or principal's refusal to budge), I would just see how things go. You might be pleasantly surprised.

We homeschool so I have a different perspective. (I am a former teacher as well - special ed) But I never "got" the need for nightly homework in the elementary grades. I can see studying for spelling tests (though there are much better ways to reinforce correct spelling than those dreaded tests) and studying math facts, the occasional math/vocab. tests. But these nightly busywork sheets... It would drive me crazy! LOL

I have always said - Heaven help the teachers who get my children the first year we decide to place them in school - There will be a frank discussion of my beliefs on homework and tests. I am not beyond letting the teacher know that my children will not be wasting their precious family time doing busywork they have plenty of time to do in school...

Good luck in dealing with this... and keep us updated.

Alison

 

[Monkeygirlsmom]

we just met my oldest dd teacher (she will be a 3rd grader as well)
she did say the kids will get an average of 30 min of homework a night
and that would be 20 min of reading and 10 min of math.
I figure the reading will be at bedtime and the other will be on the way to the gym (tho my kids only go 2 days a weel and 1 day is friday so we should be ok)

 

[Billy]

We have a 35 minute drive to the gym so my DD does her homework in the car. She's only in 1st grade so it's not much. She has a math worksheet three days, reading everyday and a spelling test on Fridays to study for. She can usually get the math sheet done in a matter of minutes. We do a practice spelling "test" in the car and we do her reading in the mornings before school. Since she's only in 1st, she can't do her reading on her own so we can't do that in the car. But so far this system is working.

 

[gym mom]

Good luck at your meeting !my dd goes to a private school she has had homework m-thur since 1st grade now in 3rd that can last 30-1hr the toughest is math sometime there might be 50 question other times 100 and she does not like math and i hate it.We dont worry about the spelling to much because that comes natural to her .It is defintly very stressful in our house when school starts,but we make it thru.We have a deal if she can get her work done in 30min she has time to play outside with her friends for 1hr if it takes her 1hr to do work she only has 30min.and if my dd does not get her playtime after school she is a bear.She is miss social butterfly

 

[GymTwinsMom]

Good news!!!! and bad news...

So, I had the meeting with this our principal. I wouldn't take no for an answer, I demanded any other teacher...I just wanted Leah out. Good news is that Leah is out!! Bad news is, she got put into Lexi's class. In pre-school, all they would do is fight. They would kick each other, and push. So when kindergarten came along I thought I would try to separate them and if it didn't work out, I would just meet with the principal (we had a different one.) It worked out great, they only saw each other at lunch and I separated for 1st, and 2nd. This will be one heck of a year.

 

[midwestgymmom]

We have a 35 minute drive to the gym so my DD does her homework in the car. She's only in 1st grade so it's not much.

That's exactly what we do too. DD is a expert at eating and homework in the car

Could you demand that they share the same teacher and classroom as a twin issue?Tell the principal that you tried them in different classrooms this yr and that they need to be together this yr.



my dd had a horrible teacher last yr in fourth grade, the kids hated her and so did the parents. She was awful,one day she had my dd stand against the fence during a whole recess because her assignment notebook wasnt signed when she came to school. Hello! I was in the hospital having surgery and the teacher knew it! Dd was a wreck as it was and teacher didnt care. She yelled at the kids ALL THE TIME and since we are in a very small district they wouldnt do anything about her. Our ped was so ticked off because she ended up putting her on an anti-anxiety med to help her through the rest of the school yr. The boys had her the yr before- and I can say I do NOT miss that woman at all!DD has usally half an hr of homework in 5th and the boys in 6th have an hours worth.

Sorry for the derail Let us know how it goes

 

[midwestgymmom]

So, I had the meeting with this our principal. I wouldn't take no for an answer, I demanded any other teacher...I just wanted Leah out. Good news is that Leah is out!! Bad news is, she got put into Lexi's class. In pre-school, all they would do is fight. They would kick each other, and push. So when kindergarten came along I thought I would try to separate them and if it didn't work out, I would just meet with the principal (we had a different one.) It worked out great, they only saw each other at lunch and I separated for 1st, and 2nd. This will be one heck of a year.

Hopefully it wont be as bad as preschool was with all the fighting. :hug:One up side is that they probably would have about the same homework. And they could do it all at the same time. Congrats on getting her away from the icky teacher

 

[GymTwinsMom]

Hopefully it wont be as bad as preschool was with all the fighting. :hug:One up side is that they probably would have about the same homework. And they could do it all at the same time. Congrats on getting her away from the icky teacher

Thanks! We have a monkey of principal so it wasn't easy LOL. Maybe they grew up a bit and won't fight.
midwest- did your boys ever fight when in the same class? I need some advice from twin moms LOL. And, about the homework, that is true! Now my life just got a whole lot easier. The night before I will have a "big girl" talk with them, and make sure they are nice to each other.

 

[GymTwinsMom]

That's exactly what we do too. DD is a expert at eating and homework in the car

Could you demand that they share the same teacher and classroom as a twin issue?Tell the principal that you tried them in different classrooms this yr and that they need to be together this yr.



my dd had a horrible teacher last yr in fourth grade, the kids hated her and so did the parents. She was awful,one day she had my dd stand against the fence during a whole recess because her assignment notebook wasnt signed when she came to school. Hello! I was in the hospital having surgery and the teacher knew it! Dd was a wreck as it was and teacher didnt care. She yelled at the kids ALL THE TIME and since we are in a very small district they wouldnt do anything about her. Our ped was so ticked off because she ended up putting her on an anti-anxiety med to help her through the rest of the school yr. The boys had her the yr before- and I can say I do NOT miss that woman at all!DD has usally half an hr of homework in 5th and the boys in 6th have an hours worth.

Sorry for the derail Let us know how it goes

Wow, what a mean teacher! Sounds like ours over here Thats horrible