10 Reasons Homework Sucks

School is back and we’re all getting on with our daily lives. With the new year comes a new set of responsibilities for our kids. This year Grand Master D is in 7th grade (OMG, he was just starting kindergarten last week, right?) and  Miss Gremlin is in 3rd grade, the first testing grade in New York state. So the pressure is on, middle school rigors, getting ready to apply for high school (valium please) for my young man and teaching my baby how to sit state tests which will decide if she’s smart or not until she goes on to brainiac college cos she’s that smart ! Yeah, ok, but she is 🙂

We’ve been back 2 and a bit weeks, well almost 2 weeks really because of the gazetted holiday days.

We mums talk, you know

Already I have had numerous conversations with mums about the H word……….. yes, H E double hockey sticks is the one that comes to mind, but the other H word which puts you right in the middle of H E double hockey sticks… Homework.

There are so many different points of view on the value of the dreaded H word, some say it’s essential to get ahead, some say it’s just busy work but it teaches good study habits and then there’s those who HATE it because of the friction it causes in our homes and family lives. The fights, the tears, the late night crabby kids, the even crabbier mornings because they need more sleep. Have you been there?

What is a reasonable amount, how do we get a happy balance, how do you keep your family life while still giving your child the boost they need by doing homework?
All these questions need answers and the millions of parents who go through this torture every night with their kids, deserve to know.

The Answers?

I have no idea, I’m just one struggling parent. What I do know is we live in a different world than when we were educated. What worked then doesn’t seem to work now. The question is why not and is it really better? Am I just longing for a simpler time 🙂  …sure.

Advocating for our children is our job and we must but when do we suck it up and when do we say this is too much for my child?

Try as I might, I have always struggled with the homework load. I’ve tried to adopt a different attitude, knowing that for my children, I must support the school’s policies because the children need to do what is expected and it teaches them that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do in life but sometimes I think the line gets crossed.

Some days they rock it and some days I reach for the vodka. I guess that as long as the days they rock it out number the days I need vodka, then we’ll survive this school year and maybe the next.

So here’s my ’10 reasons homework sucks’ list:

1. Homework sucks because I want to let my children play after 8 hours at school. Don’t they deserve some down time?

2. Homework sucks because we, as parents end up helping them, when all we want is to relax after a hard day working.

3. Homework sucks because it keeps kids up later than they should be, when they need extra sleep to be healthy. I bet there’s studies on this   🙂

4. Homework sucks because someone ALWAYS ends up in tears. In my house anyway.

5. Homework sucks because shouldn’t we, as parents, be teaching them other stuff. Let the teachers teach school stuff, we’ll handle the life stuff?

6. Homework sucks because sometimes it would be awesome to just play until bedtime.

7. Homework sucks because it makes me the ‘homework nazi’………and I hate that!

8. Homework sucks because shouldn’t 35 hours of school a week be enough?

9. Homework sucks because it just does, alright! It did when I was at school and still does now I’m a mum.

10. Homework sucks because……..I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna do homework with my kids! *stomp stomp

(did I just have a foot stomping tantrum? Why yes, yes I did)

Do you think homework is important? Or do you hate it? I’d love to hear your opinion.

Is there a ’10 reasons homework is good’ list? I’d be willing to read it, really I would.

Did I just give you guys homework? Oh I’m bad, so very bad…… mwah hahaha.

P.S. I’m not scared of saying HELL but H E double hockey sticks sounds funnier and Miss Gremlin always tells me I’m not supposed to say HELL.