Homework

My friend Leah left a comment on the post below that deserves a post of its own.  She mentioned that in her area 3rd graders are at school eight hours a day and expected to do two hours of homework a night.  Sure, the eight hour day may include travel time, but two hours of homework a night?  These are eight and nine year old kids! 

My question is,

Why are parents tolerating that?

In the middle of all these posts encouraging homeschoolers, I want to say a word to encourage public and private schoolers:

You are still in charge of your kids.

You get to decide.

I like to use the analogy of building a house.  You, the parent, are the general contractor.  You are in charge of the whole project.  In fact, you're like an owner/builder.  You have a double 'stake' in the project! 

A good contractor often hires sub-contractors (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, etc.) just like you do - teachers, coaches, tutors, and the like.  But you are still in charge of the project, and you hire those subs and expect them to work toward your goals on the project. 

Now, you don't hire subs to argue with them over details that they specialize in and you don't, right?  You hire them for their expertise.  They may have a different way of doing things that you can learn to appreciate.  Or tolerate.  Even so, they may know more about the details, but you know more about the project.  You see the big picture.  And if they don't, you either correct their course, or you fire them and hire a different sub, or you do it yourself.

This is especially pertinent for those of us with HoH kids.  We see a lot of specialists.  Probably most of them are wonderful, compassionate, and helpful.  (Hi Darcy!  Hi Kimberly!)  But I've run into a few with their own agenda.  And I've run into a few who really think that parents are idiots who ought to just shut up and let the specialists run the show.  Thankfully, they seem to be the minority.

Getting back to the hours of homework issue...  when our kids were in public elementary school there were times I felt they were being given too much homework.

So I told their teachers we wouldn't be doing it. 

And we didn't.

Now, had they been goofing around at school and not completing the work they should be doing there, that would be different story, and not what I'm talking about.  The school already had them for the majority of the day, and I was not about to 'give' the school any more of our family time. 

Our life is far more enriching

than a bunch of busy-work.