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#Post#: 5978--------------------------------------------------
Homework Folders
By: Jack Date: May 27, 2018, 4:18 am
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With the end of the school year approaching, grades and homework
are getting more than normal attention. In the last week or
two, I have mentioned those things several times. In chat the
other day, it turned out that one member was really confused
about the homework folders. I know the old forum had a section
about this, and I remember discussing it with Journey in depth,
but the information doesn't seem to be available here, so I
thought I'd recap it.
First, let me say that the basic idea was my dad's, and I
honestly haven't changed it much since he came up with it.
While I have trouble sorting out a lot of exact details about
when I was in college, I'm pretty sure this was when Ben was in
6th grade, which would have made me 20. Ben had been having a
lot of trouble keeping up with homework, stuff hadn't been being
turned in, and Ben had been lying about it. It only took a
couple of weeks to fall apart, and I remember Ben got his butt
torn up.
I'm not exactly sure when I started using them. Steve's mom had
taught him to keep a spiral notebook with him when he went to
class, and he jotted down notes for things he needed to do, and
that always worked for him. I think I first introduced them to
my kids when Mikell came along, because he was very smart, but
very disorganized.
I will tell you know that this is a family thing, not a school
thing, though many of my boys' teachers know about it, and I
know it's been passed on to other families. It's honestly
pretty easy, and it's a great way to keep up with everything and
make sure you're not forgetting things.
You can really use anything, though I prefer a small brad
notebook with pockets. You take a peace of paper and date it,
then write each period down. When in class, the boy writes down
homework (if any). In Ben's case, and something I've done
before with a few boys, is to have the teacher initial what
they've written, but that's only when there's trouble.
First Period Math
Second Period Reading
Third Period History
Fourth Period (Gym)
Fifth Period Science
Sixth Period (Art)
Seventh Period Health
Eighth Period English
We've made a simple word doc, and adjust it for each boy. The
hardest part is getting the dates correct. There is supposed to
be a way to do calculated dates, but because of weekends and
holidays, it's just easier to do it by hand so far. We use
holed printer paper, which is a bit more expensive, but very
much worth it. That meant there was just a bit of trial and
error in adjusting the tabs, and then I can have each boy adjust
for his own schedule, then we're off to town. I do have three
small columns to the right - one for the boy to check when he
finishes, one to put a grade, and one for the teacher to
initial. We rarely bother with the third, and most of the boys
don't bother with the second.
As for checking on them, all the schools have online grade books
of some type these days. While the software varies a bit, it's
usually just a case of going to the school's web site, logging
in, then selecting which of kids I want to check on. I rarely
bother to compare the homework folders to the online grade
books, unless I see a specific problem. The only reason it's
hard at all is because of the number of kids on whom I'm
checking.
#Post#: 5984--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homework Folders
By: Journey Date: May 27, 2018, 9:00 am
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We did talk about this, Jack, although for some reason, I
thought we did it in this forum and not the old one.
I don't think I mentioned this before, but after you explained
what exactly the homework folders were, I realized that the
concept wasn't really new to me. During my grade school years,
each student was required to have a homework notebook. There
were three columns - one for date assigned, one for the
instructions, and (I think) one for the submission date.
I remember some teachers would print out the instructions and
have the students paste them onto the notebooks. As we got
older, teachers would get less strict about the homework
notebooks until they would eventually become optional notebooks
in late elementary school or in high school (can't remember
which).
It's a good habit for kids to develop. Noting down my homework
in a journal saved me multiple times during my college years.
#Post#: 5988--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homework Folders
By: Jack Date: May 27, 2018, 11:13 am
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[quote author=Journey link=topic=593.msg5984#msg5984
date=1527429650]
It's a good habit for kids to develop. Noting down my homework
in a journal saved me multiple times during my college years.
[/quote]
It's a good habit for most people, honestly. I keep a doc open
on my phone where I can jot down reminders of things I need to
do that don't really fit onto the calendar or alarm.
#Post#: 5995--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homework Folders
By: Zyngaru Date: May 27, 2018, 11:37 am
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I never worried about homework. If I got it done at school.
During free time, homeroom, study hall, library time, then it
got done, otherwise it didn't get done. I did not do homework
at home.
My philosophy has always been that school is school and home is
home and never the two should meet. Kids are in school long
enough every day to do whatever it is teachers want them to do.
There is no reason for a kid to have to take schoolwork home to
interfere with their home life.
I know. Teachers hate my philosophy. So be it. It is what it
is. No adult likes to have to bring their work home with them,
especially when they are not being paid to do their work at
home. Why should it be any different for kids.
#Post#: 5997--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homework Folders
By: Jack Date: May 27, 2018, 11:40 am
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[quote author=Zyngaru link=topic=593.msg5995#msg5995
date=1527439028]
I know. Teachers hate my philosophy. So be it. It is what it
is. No adult likes to have to bring their work home with them,
especially when they are not being paid to do their work at
home. Why should it be any different for kids.
[/quote]
I should point out first that, it's different for teachers.
Secondly, I should point out that homework is set so that kids
can do enough repetition to master a skill. It is for their
benefit, unlike an employee, where it's done for the employer's
benefit.
Having said that, I think that there was a period when there was
some mystic benefit seen in homework, or maybe teachers felt
they had to assign a lot so people (parents and admin) saw that
they were doign something. Either way, I think that there is a
good reason for homework, but I think it needs to be pretty
limited.
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