School District to Limit Homework Time
How much homework does your grade school child have each night? My 6th grader, depending on the night, can have up to an hour and a half of homework. That doesn't look like that will change any time soon because we are in the Shen school district. For those in the Niskayuna district, you can expect to see a decrease in the time, depending on the grade come the beginning of 2019.
The current guidelines are set for each grade level, with as much as 30 minutes of homework for second graders and 45 minutes for fifth graders. The new guidelines make the suggestion to limit homework time to no more than 15 minutes daily for students in kindergarten through second grade and between 15 and 30 minutes each day for students in third through fifth grades. These recommendations come from a committee of teachers and parents who presented this to the school board.
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lauren Gemmill told the Daily Gazette 'she hoped that the new guidelines would spark a broader discussion about the role of homework and whether what teachers were assigning was the most effective way to reinforce classroom lessons.'
Gemmill also said 'the district is working to encourage elementary students to spend time reading each night and that was a key factor in deciding to lessen other homework assignments.'
As a parent of grade school kids, I am all for homework as long as it doesn't take over an hour to do. What do you think of Niskayuna changing their guidelines for homework? How much time does your child spend each night on homework?