Reply to CP

I ampursuing a Secondary Education Licensure, but for my discussion post, I amgoing to be talking about elementary curriculum issues in my area because it iswhat I am more familiar with. I am a nanny for two elementary school-age boysand I handle all their schooling. Two of the main concerns I have when it comesto their curriculum are homework and difficulty levels of activities.

Theolder boy I take care of is in third grade and the homework he assigned iseither way too long or is too easy and provides no real improvement in hisunderstanding of the concepts being taught. My view of homework includes theunderstanding that kids should have time to be kids outside of school. Therehave been many times we will be sitting at the table doing homework for atleast two hours. This is due to the length of the assignment. He has come homewith twenty-word problems for math, that all demonstrate the same concept, butare long and take at least five minutes to do each one. I understand theseassignments are used for review, but homework should never take longer thanabout thirty minutes for someone in third grade. Maria Onzain discusses the issuesof homework in Elementary school and two of her points include, “homeworkleaves less time for kids to be kids,” and “kids need to rest to beproductive in school.” (Onzain, 2018) A way to help with theoverwhelmingly large amount of homework he comes home with regularly is byhaving open communication with the teacher. His parents have had meetings withthe teacher about this issue, but so far there seems to be no change. If theteacher insists on sending home homework for the students in large quantities,then there needs to be a time in class for them to work on it before they leaveschool, so we are not sitting at the table for two hours. Another way to helpthis issue is by picking out around five problems that best demonstrate eachconcept the students are learning about and letting that be the cap for theamount of homework.

Theyounger boy I take care of is in first grade and many of the assignments hebrings home for me to see are way below his academic ability. There is no realchallenge in any of his assignments and I can tell he is bored in school. I canunderstand that not all students in his classroom will be at the same levelacademically, but the teacher needs to offer more difficult assignments thatreally work the brain for students who are a little more advanced. Every daythe boy comes home with reading and math homework but finishes both assignmentsin under five minutes and without any difficulty. Teachers need to pay closeattention to their student’s academic levels and work to assign activities andhomework that will truly challenge them.

Holdinga Christian worldview can heavily affect the classroom and help direct thecurriculum to better fit each student’s needs. Romans 8:28 tells us, “andwe know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to thosewho are the called according to his purpose.” (New King James VersionBible, 2006) This Bible verse helps demonstrate the understanding thateverything an educator does for their students works together and we mustprepare them for their next steps in life. When thinking about curriculum it isimportant for teachers and staff to determine what will best fit theirclassrooms and how can we better encourage our students to achieve the greatestoutcomes.