Parent: No, my kindergartner won’t be doing that homework assignment
Kindergarten, as anyone paying attention knows, is not what it used to be. I’ve published a number of posts about just how academic it has become, with kids asked to sit in their seats and do academic work often with little or no recess or physical education, and with works loads that used to be in later grades. That includes daily homework, which researchers say has no value in elementary school (other than to read). In this post, a parent explains why she doesn’t want her kindergartner doing it. She is Cara Paiuk, a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in The Washington Post, the New York Times, and other publications. She is also an entrepreneur, photographer, and the mother of “a gaggle of ragamuffin redheads.” You can follow her on Twitter @carapaiuk. This appeared on Role Reboot, and I am publishing it with Paiuk’s permission.
By Cara Paiuk
I embrace the role I have to play in my children’s education through reading, playing, and modeling good behavior. But I also embrace my role in setting boundaries for our children, our family, and myself.
I received an email recently from my son’s kindergarten teacher regarding a new bi-monthly project that was presented as “an additional opportunity for your child to have ‘homework’ and the responsibilities that come along with it.” It sounds like a great project, yet I want to cry.
I am already overwhelmed enough as it is, and so is he.
Some nights I think his brain is at maximum capacity (I know mine is), and he dozes off by 6 p.m. Other nights, he arrives home overtired and irritable, and I inevitably have to send him to his room for a timeout. It breaks my heart when I walk in 10 minutes later and see him passed out with all his clothes on, knowing that he went to bed upset (and without brushing his teeth!).
And yet other nights he is a ball of lightning wildly unleashing the emotions Parent: No, my kindergartner won’t be doing that homework assignment - The Washington Post: