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2nd Grade Homework

Bottomlover

Bottomlover

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OK , this is way OT. Is 1 hour of homework a night appropriate for a 7 YO in the 2nd grade? I say yes, her mom says no, it is too much.
 
We need more information.

On the face of it, an hour a night is far too much. An hour once a week might be OK.

But the main question is what is the point of the homework? Is the child behind its classmates? If so, why is that? If not, why the homework?

In a family living in parts of the world where education is considered all-important homework for an hour a day for a 7 year old would be a light load. But most 7 year olds wouldn't be expected to do homework at all except for a class project that would be more about enjoyment than work.

At age 7 the school day is already long and tiring. At age 9 or 10 they have more energy and stamina so homework would be possible.

A 7 year old is a young child that needs play and rest as well as schooling.
 
How does your child feel about school in general? What happens when they get frustrated with it?

For a child of 7, play is still a very valuable form of learning. Playing outside builds a budding biologist. Baking is a tasty way of reinforcing fractions. String art ( http://altaarts.org/events/stringartcraft ) teaches them how to hammer nails - particularly important if your daughter thinks 'girls can't play with hammers' - and follow instructions. Working on a project of their choice is still teaching them the value of finishing what you started. Reading a story of their choice to Dad and Mom is practice reading. If you watch the news in their hearing, talking to them about what's on the news can help them put world affairs into context. Talking to Mom and Dad about whatever gives you both the chance to informally teach your child about a vast array of stuff.
 
An hour a night for a second grader seems excessive. My 6th grader is getting an hour of homework a night. When she was in second grade, I think her homework was probably 10 math problems and writing her spelling words.
 
I am a teacher. It's WAY too much. Is your child struggling with the work, dilly dallying, or is it a true hours worth? Ten minutes per grade level is far more appropriate and some school districts are getting away from homework altogether because numerous studies have shown that homework has very few benefits.

I suggest you talk with the teacher and find out how long she is expecting the homework to take. If she says an hour, contact the administration, because that is excessive.
 
Thanks to all for the replies. An hour was my estimate. It was 25 pages of reading (a kids' story book), 20 math problems and writing 15 spelling words 3 times each. It took her longer, but she dragged her feet and fought it.

In retrospect, it was excessive. Last night's homework was more in line, and she willingly breezed through it in less than 20 minutes. Maybe the teacher is on to something...
 
oggbashan said:
We need more information.

On the face of it, an hour a night is far too much. An hour once a week might be OK.

But the main question is what is the point of the homework? Is the child behind its classmates? If so, why is that? If not, why the homework?

In a family living in parts of the world where education is considered all-important homework for an hour a day for a 7 year old would be a light load. But most 7 year olds wouldn't be expected to do homework at all except for a class project that would be more about enjoyment than work.

At age 7 the school day is already long and tiring. At age 9 or 10 they have more energy and stamina so homework would be possible.

A 7 year old is a young child that needs play and rest as well as schooling.
Click to expand...

Ogg, that's the American Government Indoctrination...I mean, Education System. Load the kids up with homework. And now especially with Common Core they are giving not only more, but less logical homework.

And yes anything more that 10, 15 minutes for a 7 year old is too much.
 
Last edited:
Bottomlover said:
Thanks to all for the replies. An hour was my estimate. It was 25 pages of reading (a kids' story book), 20 math problems and writing 15 spelling words 3 times each. It took her longer, but she dragged her feet and fought it.

In retrospect, it was excessive. Last night's homework was more in line, and she willingly breezed through it in less than 20 minutes. Maybe the teacher is on to something...
Click to expand...

My guess is the teacher got an full inbox of emails from angry parents. 25 pages of reading? Excessive, I would expect that of a 4th or 5th grader. 20 math problems is overwhelming and more in line with middle school, unless that was the only homework assigned, and the spelling words 3x each is also something that should be an only assignment or paired with something light, like 10 mins of reading.
 
I am a teacher. The research that I have seen argues that there is not much benefit from homework up until the last three years of high school. The only real benefit seems to be that it gets the student into the routine of doing homework, which is important in the final years. Reading is key, but it has to be something they enjoy. As far as maths goes, every maths teacher I have asked says just get your child to be really good at their times tables before they hit high school.

Otherwise just let them be kids!
 
Were all the children assigned this much homework or was the child, perhaps, finishing up work she didn't get done in school?
 
Young school children do not need homework, this is a reaction to parental pressures and should be avoided by professionals

There's no research that proves homework at this age ...or even up to end of primary school (age 11) has any positive benefit
 
I remember never having homework in grade school. It wasn't until eighth grade that we were introduced to homework. It continued on into high school.

Of course this was before the bureaucrats got their fat fingers involved in the education system. There was a infant Department of Education at the federal level of government, but they had yet to dabble in the federal control of indoctrination that is happening today.
 
geoff0833 said:
The only real benefit seems to be that it gets the student into the routine of doing homework, which is important in the final years. Reading is key, but it has to be something they enjoy.
Click to expand...

When my niece was in elementary school, she was a great student. She had a heavy homework course load, and developed stress related symptoms (headaches, upset stomachs, etc). The administration wouldn't do anything about it, so my brother and his wife had to change schools. The symptoms magically went away when the absurd homework did, and the kid never got less than a 4.0 all the way through her master's degree.

I realize that comparing boys and girls is like comparing apples to monkeys riding bicycles, but here's my own experience. My daughter had a very light homework load all the way through middle school, and learned how to budget her free time. She's a 4.+ student. My son never had homework. When he hit high school he wasn't prepared, and his grades showed it. We are all still licking our wounds from trying to get him to do homework all through his Freshman year. "I never had to do it before and was fine, why should I have to do it now?"

Even if you get the teacher to drop the homework load, try to find time to do something educational in the evening on a routine basis. I think it helps.

Good luck
 
Isn't the rule something like 10 minutes for each grade level? 10 minutes for first grade, 20 minutes for second, etc.
 
I had homework all through grade school. I don't remember how much I had in second grade.

I think some homework is appropriate at this grade level. It gets the parents engaged and lets them see what their children are being taught, as well as letting them see the child's weaknesses and strengths. It also gets children to learn to budget their time, as someone else pointed out.
 
My son is eight, in Grade 2, and he has ten minutes of reading every night. Unless there is a special project, that is the only assigned homework he has.

Sometimes I will test his spelling, but only a few words at a time, and he will come to me randomly and ask to do math problems (I taught him some math skills above his grade level and he likes them), but I don't make him do them.

Ever since my kids were little, I played alphabet, letter, and number games with them and made them fun. Such as when we were waiting in line at the supermarket or at the DR office, to keep them entertained.

As I said, though, the only assigned homework he has is reading each night.

To the OP, I'm glad the teacher relented the next day. They probably did get a few concerned queries from parents. I know I'd be asking questions!
 
20 math problems really isn't that much. In 3rd many schools will have them do the 100 addition or subtraction problems in 5 mins. Many kids need to practice that at home. Too many kids can't do that.

As for the reading, what was the subject or the book? Large print or a lot of pictures is very different than 25 pages of a Judy moody book.

As a former dilly dally homework doer 25 mins of work can easily become an hour with out really trying. I did it too many times.
 
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