🚀 go-pugleaf

I would like to add to this on-going saga... I myself spent eight years
in parochial schooling, yet i never experienced nightly homework which
kept me away from pursuing other activities.  I did, however (and still
do), procrastinate horrendously on long-term projects and was introduced
early in elementary school to the all-nighter.  I *never* had class-work
which needed to be completed at home, but there was alsways a fair
amount of homework which needed to be completed.  Perhaps the woman who
is having difficulties with the course load should go to her children's
teachers and explain the situation; the case may be that the work is
being completed in an unproductive manner, or perhaps *she* is over-
emphasizing the relative importance of this homework.  For myself, i had
an almost intrinsic desire to learn and to read; my mother never checked
to insure that my homework was done or even being attempted.  I learned
quickly what was necessary and what was not.  It seems to me that
pointless busy-work, when the child already has a firm grasp of the
subject matter, is ludicrous.  Perhaps Jan should evaluate the relative
importance of the work which is keeping her children awake until 10 at
night.
It is vital to realize that education is an integral part of our
technological society.  I certainly wich that i could spend my days and
weekends on nature hikes at the beach and in the mountains, yet i also
need to guarantee my future.  And, in America today, that means twelve
years of hard learning in order to qualify for menial, often minimum-
wage labor.  Children need to work hard, but this does not mean that
they should never enjoy themselves.  Rather, they should learn to
P
evaluate their options; if they *know* what they are doing, then it o
may be an option to face the teacher and let him/her know that they
didn't do the assignment.  Let me rephrase that.  If Jane says "no, i
don't have page 57 done" and page 57 is comprised of endless
times-tables, yet she already has these committed to heart, then she
will be able to perform on the exam.  The difficulty here is the fact
that all students learn at different paces, yet we do not wish to hurt a
child's "self-esteem" by holding them back or skipping grades.  So any
school, year-round or otherwise, necessarily attempts to cater to the
needs of the "median".
I would suggest that Jan ask if other children in her children's classes
are also toiling endlessly.  If so, then this should *definitely* be
brought to the attention of the teacher.  And, if not, then she should
try to discover *how* other students are going about doing their work.

This was typed very quickly, so i apologize for the general incoherency.
If anyone has any questions re. clarifications or otherwise, please let
me know.