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Homework over spring break (long)



 
 
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  #12  
Old April 12th 04, 07:07 PM
Beeswing
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Default Homework over spring break (long)

"Beth Kevles" wrote in message
...

My first reaction was that project homework over spring break is
unreasonable for the 3rd grade. Even more, any project homework

should
allow a reasonable amount of time for a family to get to the library
... and DURING spring break doesn't count.


I certainly agree. This is a blended-grade class (first through third),
BTW, and I know that the second graders had to do a state report over
break. I don't know if the first graders had homework or not.

If I were you, I'd have explained all this to the teacher BEFORE you
left for the break (in a note if necessary) and asked for an

alternative
assignment, questions to answer that would have required primary
research (looking around, talking to people in Mexico) rather than
library research. Then your daughter could have written up what she
learned in a journal rather than having to spend time she didn't have
answering library-type questions.


I thought about doing this but chose not to. I don't know if that was a
good decision, but that's the one I made. I didn't want to get in the
teacher's face if there was any chance at all that my daughter could
actually complete the homework. Before we left for our trip, our
daughter was very gung-ho about trying to complete it. I thought that if
she was motivated, I shouldn't be the one who was a wet blanket.

We went to Mexico once over Thanksgiving week one year. Since The Kid
missed some actual school days, she was required to keep a journal of
her trip. I didn't think a journal would be a satisfactory replacement
for the report, but I also couldn't quickly figure out what *would* be,
and we didn't have much time to get in contact with the teacher.

But that's split milk, so send in a note with your daughter along with
her (incomplete) assignment tomorrow, explaining what she DID
accomplish, that she used the only library she had available.


Actually, there was no library there, just one tiny bookstore that had
some used books written in English. Your point fits either way, though.

(Was she
able to ask any of these questions to local residents? DId you or she
try, by the way?)


It didn't occur to me to do so. That would have been a great idea.

Explain in the note that she's willing to complete
the work next week (or whenever you can get to the library), but that
you'd prefer if she could write up an account of her trip to the

actual
country, perhaps using some teacher-provided questions that are

relevant
to her experience.


My daughter worked very hard last night and this morning and is very
close to finishing the fact-finding portion of her report. I did write a
letter to the teacher, explaining the situation and requesting a few
more days' time.

Our school, thank goodness, doesn't give our homework over weekends or
holidays, and projects are given at least 3 weeks for completion so

that
families can get to libraries.


I wish our school did that.

Thanks for writing!

beeswing




  #13  
Old April 12th 04, 10:44 PM
Robyn Kozierok
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Default Homework over spring break (long)

In article ,
dragonlady wrote:

I'm on a committee that inadvertently scheduled a meeting for the first
night of Passover. We DO know better -- at least one of the people who
was in the room when we did the scheduling was Jewish -- somehow we just
missed it. (We rescheduled it once we DID figure it out -- and I like
to think that I'd have somehow caught the mistake eventually, myself,
though I don't celebrate Passover -- but someone did have to draw our
attention to our goof.)


This is made more challenging by the fact that the holidays move around
on the secular calendar. It's quite easy for even most Jews to miss
the fact that a certain secular date is going to wind up conflicting
with a major holiday more than a few weeks before the date.

--Robyn

  #14  
Old April 12th 04, 10:45 PM
just me
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Default Homework over spring break (long)


"beeswing" wrote in message
...
that since we won't have this teacher in the future. If you were in my

shoes,
would you push it, anyway?


Yes, if I had the energy and time I would push it. You said that this is a
known pattern with this teacher. It is time administration knew the pattern
and addressed it with her for the children coming behind yours. Someone
raised a good point, upthread, about school breaks being designed to give
kids a break from school, not spending it doing major projects. This
teacher needs to change her pattern and allow kids to have that break and
the parents of the incoming students don't need rude awakenings when she
assigns things during their vacation, stressing everyone out.

Just my two cents.

-Aula

  #15  
Old April 13th 04, 01:47 AM
beeswing
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Default Homework over spring break (long)

My husband caught our daughter's teacher on the phone this morning just as The
Kid was about to hand her my note. Apparently the teacher had had no
expectation of The Kid turning her report on time, given the fact that we were
going to be out of the country, but she'd never said as much. I don't know
whether to be relieved or angry. While it was good for our daughter to have the
push to get the work done reasonably promptly, the stress the false deadline
had on all of us really wasn't necessary.

And I want my vacation back.

beeswing

beeswing

  #16  
Old April 13th 04, 01:47 AM
dragonlady
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Default Homework over spring break (long)

In article ,
(Robyn Kozierok) wrote:

In article ,
dragonlady wrote:

I'm on a committee that inadvertently scheduled a meeting for the first
night of Passover. We DO know better -- at least one of the people who
was in the room when we did the scheduling was Jewish -- somehow we just
missed it. (We rescheduled it once we DID figure it out -- and I like
to think that I'd have somehow caught the mistake eventually, myself,
though I don't celebrate Passover -- but someone did have to draw our
attention to our goof.)


This is made more challenging by the fact that the holidays move around
on the secular calendar. It's quite easy for even most Jews to miss
the fact that a certain secular date is going to wind up conflicting
with a major holiday more than a few weeks before the date.

--Robyn


When you live in an area that is seriously multi-ethnic and
multi-religious, things get interesting. I try to have all of the major
Jewish, Christian and Islamic holidays on my Palm Pilot, but somehow a
bunch got dropped off when I bought a new one. Right now, I don't think
I need to add any others -- but could easily see adding Ba'hai and Hindu
and Jain and Buddhist in the not too distant future! The trick is to
know TWO things: when the holidays are, and what the
expectation/restrictions are for them.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

  #17  
Old April 13th 04, 02:17 AM
beeswing
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Posts: n/a
Default Homework over spring break (long)

I wrote:

Apparently the teacher had had no
expectation of The Kid turning her report on time


I, of course, meant "turning in her report on time."

beeswing

  #18  
Old April 13th 04, 02:36 AM
Beth Kevles
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Posts: n/a
Default Homework over spring break (long)


In my opinion, YES, you should push the issue with your daughter's
teacher. It's not appropriate for children to have to do project
homework over a vacation period. It is appropriate for kids to make up
missed work or to do enrichment if they're falling behind in some area,
but even that shouldn't be so much as to overwhelm family time.

One of my kids was asked to do some handwriting practice and some math
facts practice over the break. It was listed as *optional*. My other
child took the chance to catch up on some work missed due to illness and
is now caught up with the rest of the class.

I've noticed that, on breaks of any length with no schoolwork, my kids
grow intellectually. One child (age 8) LOVES to read and write, and
spends his breaks writing novels. (He's up to 4 pages now ...) My
other child (age 6) runs, jumps, plays, and then spends evening time
reading to himself ... something he NEVER has the energy to do on school
days, and rarely on weekends.

School does somtimes interfere with life ... :-)
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

  #19  
Old April 13th 04, 08:07 AM
animzmirot
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Posts: n/a
Default Homework over spring break (long)


"Robyn Kozierok" wrote in message
...
In article ,
dragonlady wrote:

I'm on a committee that inadvertently scheduled a meeting for the first
night of Passover. We DO know better -- at least one of the people who
was in the room when we did the scheduling was Jewish -- somehow we just
missed it. (We rescheduled it once we DID figure it out -- and I like
to think that I'd have somehow caught the mistake eventually, myself,
though I don't celebrate Passover -- but someone did have to draw our
attention to our goof.)


This is made more challenging by the fact that the holidays move around
on the secular calendar. It's quite easy for even most Jews to miss
the fact that a certain secular date is going to wind up conflicting
with a major holiday more than a few weeks before the date.


Not any observant Jew that I know. Jewish people own Jewish calendars for
this exact purpose. Schools with Jewish students consult these calendars.
They're free at Funeral Homes nationwide...they're all over the internet,
and they are sold in bookstores the world over. I can certainly understand
a non-Jew scheduling a meeting without checking a Jewish calendar, but a
Jewish person suggesting a business meeting during a holiday time (say
Sept/Oct or March/April) without checking a calendar is just asking for
trouble. And FWIW, most secular calendars have the major Jewish holidays
like Passover, Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur on them as well. It's VERY hard
to actually claim to have missed Passover. After all, we didn't miss Ash
Wednesday, Maudy Thursday, or Good Friday.... they're all on my secular
calendar, even if I have no clue of what Maudy Thursday is (something with
washing feet?).

Marjorie


  #20  
Old April 13th 04, 01:47 PM
dragonlady
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Homework over spring break (long)

In article ,
"animzmirot" wrote:

"Robyn Kozierok" wrote in message
...
In article ,
dragonlady wrote:

I'm on a committee that inadvertently scheduled a meeting for the first
night of Passover. We DO know better -- at least one of the people who
was in the room when we did the scheduling was Jewish -- somehow we just
missed it. (We rescheduled it once we DID figure it out -- and I like
to think that I'd have somehow caught the mistake eventually, myself,
though I don't celebrate Passover -- but someone did have to draw our
attention to our goof.)


This is made more challenging by the fact that the holidays move around
on the secular calendar. It's quite easy for even most Jews to miss
the fact that a certain secular date is going to wind up conflicting
with a major holiday more than a few weeks before the date.


Not any observant Jew that I know. Jewish people own Jewish calendars for
this exact purpose. Schools with Jewish students consult these calendars.
They're free at Funeral Homes nationwide...they're all over the internet,
and they are sold in bookstores the world over. I can certainly understand
a non-Jew scheduling a meeting without checking a Jewish calendar, but a
Jewish person suggesting a business meeting during a holiday time (say
Sept/Oct or March/April) without checking a calendar is just asking for
trouble. And FWIW, most secular calendars have the major Jewish holidays
like Passover, Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur on them as well. It's VERY hard
to actually claim to have missed Passover. After all, we didn't miss Ash
Wednesday, Maudy Thursday, or Good Friday.... they're all on my secular
calendar, even if I have no clue of what Maudy Thursday is (something with
washing feet?).

Marjorie



Yes, we obviously all screwed up, including the folks at the meeting who
celebrate Passover. Don't quite know how it happened -- maybe we were
all just looking at the calendar wrong, or thinking that since we
normally met on the first Monday of the month, we'd meet then again.

This particular group would be more likely to go ahead and schedule
things for Ash Wednesday or Good Friday (and I doubt very many have a
CLUE about Maundy Thursday -- it is traditionally when (some) Christian
churches recreate the ritual of Jesus washing his disciple's feet at the
Last Supper by having the church leadership wash parishoner's feet).

My point is that to attribute it to anything other than an unthinking
error without first spending some time to find out what happened seems
short sighted, and almost as though one is looking for a reason to be
offended.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

 




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