As my oldest son prepares himself for high school next year, we get to meet a variety of parents from other schools and see what other schools are doing to get their Grade 6ers ready for the big transition. Some schools have a 'no homework' policy except for nightly reading, other schools understand that homework is the expectation of what life gives you, therefore we need to prepare them now.
I must admit, the level of homework at my children's school has hit us over the last term. Before it was a weekly activity sheet of maths and the occasional news group project, but now, there is so much more. My 6th grader was given a reading assignment for the term... he had to read four novels, 2 information books and 3 picture books and do an activity for each of them to show he understood the text. The activities have included creating a new book cover, a diorama of a scene in the book, a character analysis, a poster to advertise the book, a plot analysis as well as a few others I can't remember. On top of that, they are doing a 'government' theme, so they have had a grid of multiple intelligences that they have to do one each week... which include writing a persuasive speech about a political issue, designing a new parliament house, etc. Plus they have themed English and maths tasks on hot political agendas at the moment, for instance the rise of the Medicare tax to including the National Disabilities Insurance Scheme. They also have to log onto Mathletics and do their assigned weekly tasks. And they have their spelling homework, calls Words Our Way, which is 6 activities designed to strengthen their understanding of Greek and Latin roots in the English language so it's easy for them to recognise the meaning and association of similar words. So there is a lot going on in Grade 6.
As for my 4th grader... he too has been overwhelmed with homework tasks. However, his needs are different because of his learning difficulties. He has his standard class homework of a maths worksheet, an English worksheet and nightly reading. He has a speech therapist who gives him sequencing homework. He has his tutor giving him spelling homework. He has drum lessons that he needs to practice. He has news group homework to do and practice speaking. And his special needs teacher has assigned him a reading manual called Toe By Toe that will help him identify blended sounds to help him create memory continuity in his reading.
For me, especially my 4th grader, I need to be there for him every step of the way when it comes to his homework, so I find myself dedicating 1-2 hours a day to help both my boys with their learning needs. For my older son, who is completely capable, my help is usually to stretch his thinking ability to go beyond what is required. I help him identify grammatical and punctuation errors in his work, as well as just being their when he doesn't understand something. All of it is in his own words and his own work. I get disheartened sometimes because I want him to be 'perfect' but I let him submit work that is his own, and I know that he is just a 6th grader, and that areas that I feel he needs improving will come in time with maturity and age-appropriate expectations. I just want him to understand that a higher standard is possible.
So how does this level of homework prepare our children for their adult lives? Even if we have a standard 9-5pm work day, there are still things needed to be done at home... if it's paying the bills, preparing for a holiday, dealing with legal issues, organising a renovation or buying a house, household chores... I guess what I'm saying is, the working day goes beyond school/work hours and we need to prepare our children for what is continually becoming a more stressed lifestyle that we live in this modern age. And if we want to strive for our dreams, we have to put the effort in, especially in times when we want to relax and enjoy ourselves, but can't because we have too much to do.
Yes we need a balance in life, but at the same time, we need to teach our children that there is no rewards without effort. I put the effort into my boys so that I can give them the best chance in life. I tell them that if we work hard, we can play hard... and they like the sound of that. And very very soon, they will understand what the rewards of the 'play hard' is all about! I'll keep you posted! :)
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