How much homework is too much? High School

[smilequeen]

My boys are on a block schedule too, except we are on the "A/B" type schedule. So 4 classes a day on rotating days (8 classes). That sounds like a lot per night to me. How do they not schedule in work time at school too? That's kind of the benefit to long classes...that they can have time to change things up...lecture for a bit, independent work, lab work, etc. No study hall? My Junior is not doing that much work at night even with a similar class schedule. Imagine if all 4 teachers did that...there would be no time in the day. Crazy. Now, there is some truth to some kids taking longer than others. My freshman is taking the same basic schedule that his brother took as a freshman and he spends more than 2x as long doing homework. For the same results. But he has ADHD and is a bit of a perfectionist.

[Green_Tea]

That sounds like a lot of homework. Does your kiddo have friends in the class they can compare notes with in terms of how much time they are investing? If the teacher is saying 45 minutes and it’s taking 3 hours, something is not right - though I do think teachers almost always underestimate how long things should take. If she’s been a teacher in the school for a long time and has a good reputation, she’s not going to change.

Just as another data point - my oldest is a freshman in college and told me over the weekend that she had way more work in her HS classes than she does now. That may change as the semester goes on, but HS was really intense.

[georgiegirl]

Thanks everyone. Her friends are having the same issue. I had a conference with the teacher today (scheduled before I expressed my concerns here), and she seemed to think there was something wrong with how much time my daughter was spending on the class. She admitted it was the first time she taught the class, as she inherited it from another teacher (high school split in two), and this class had quite a reputation. She’s delusional, and she didn’t really give me any good suggestions. She’s kind of placing the blame on DD (asking about her study habits.). DD is an amazing student, works super hard, and has great time management skills. She’s on swim team, so she doesn’t get home until 5PM at the earliest. DD is freaking out about her GPA, and I had to talk her down. This class isn’t good for her mental health (or mine ), so if things continue, I’m going to try to get her out of this class. There is absolutely no way things can continue like this, as she breaks down crying multiple times a week about this class. (Of course it doesn’t help they are doing a traditional curriculum and reading books by dead white men…no women…WTF?)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[georgiegirl]

I was just comparing the two experiences that DS1 has had and mentioned very pointedly that your experience might be at a different level.

ETA: What I was trying to shake out is to determine your intent when you teach. Do you try to make it difficult to attain an A grade? Do you try to "winnow out" the best students? Or do you try to challenge them and help them grow and master the material. I feel like high school classes sometimes strive to do the former. Might be still applicable to your more elite school, or maybe not.

Yes, my teaching philosophy is different. I want my students to learn how to think critically about visual culture and to make connections between the past and the present. I want them to be intellectually curious and research works of art that interest them. I’m not concerned with formatting citations and having them memorize names and dates of works of art. That is pointless. I don’t care if everyone gets an A. I know grades matter a lot to students, and I don’t want my class to be a stressful learning experience since that impedes learning.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[JBaxter]

My senior has anywhere from none to hours they do a standard 6 class schedule he has 4 AP 2 honors

[carolinamama]

It seems like more than necessary but it's hard to know if all students have the same experience. How could a student spend 2 hours per night x 4 classes if every teacher assigned that amount? Are your DD's friends also finding the same time requirements? If it persists, I would encourage your DD to approach the teacher, explaining how much time she's consistently spending and see if the teacher has any tips for cutting it down. Hopefully the teacher can provide direction and may even realize how much her assignments require outside class. This is also the age where students are figuring out how to learn more difficult content and complete more advanced assignments. And figuring out that some teachers are just unreasonable. It's even harder for conscientious, high-achieving students to learn the concept of working smarter, rather than harder and which corners they can cut. Hopefully it will be learning experience either way and next semester will be lighter. DS1 is a sophomore on a block schedule this year and he's definitely spending WAY more time on homework than I've ever seen but I don't think its 2+ hours a night on one class.