My son began 7th grade three weeks ago. He has math four days a week and his teacher assigns homework every night including Friday. In the three weeks he has been back to school, they have covered about 100 pages in their math (pre-Algebra) book. Most of the class, including my son, got D’s and F’s on the first test. I don’t see how these kids can possibly be assimilating this information as quickly as they are moving through the book. With the homework four nights a week along with homework in the other classes, there is no time to review what they are doing in class, much less study for tests.
I really feel like the weekends are family time and no homework should be assigned and that the homework four nights a week is excessive. However, if four nights a week is reasonable, I feel that one of those nights should be set aside for review and study. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?
I can’t offer much insight re: homework since we are homeschooling, but I do know that many math programs include a LOT of basic review at the beginning of the book. For example, right my son is doing 4 pages a day instead of the usual 2 pages a day because the first few chapters of our math book are mostly review with just a little new material thrown in. After the first 120 pages or so, we’ll drop down to a slower rate. That may be why your son’s class is covering so much material so quickly- but if they all failed the test it doesn’t sound like they know this stuff, even if it is supposed to be review.
Jean