So, several teachers and I had a conversation about just what an Honors or AP course was supposed to entail in terms of homework versus coursework. These types of classes are supposed to be more intense and are supposed to go into more depth and cover more material than regular courses. The payoff is that the course is weighted at a higher weight (4.5 for Honors and 5.0 for AP). In my opinion, it is my job to present, teach and discuss the course material for the class and then assign homework. The debate is about how much homework to assign.
On average, according to educational researchers (the National PTA and the National Education Association), students should take home 10 minutes per grade level of homework each night. So for a typical junior that means 110 minutes per day. Now if the average junior has a study hall or a homeroom or both, between 30-80 minutes of that homework could be done in school. GREAT!! That would leave 30 minutes of work which could be done in the hour before bedtime or the half hour between 7:50 and 8:20 because that is when a majority of the students in our school get here. That's the average junior.
Now what the about the juniors who carry Honors or AP courses. They should expect to increase that number by about 10% per Honors or AP course taken. A full load- 3 Honors classes and 1 AP class- would require about 154 minutes (about 3 hours) per night in homework. Is that workable for the students? Only for those with great time management skills. Add in work, extra curricular, family and church time, and there is not much time left for school work. So the issue I wonder about is should the school limit the number of Honors or AP courses that students can take or should they require a study hall for all students in Honors or AP courses?
Comments??
2 comments:
It is hard to do all that work in a night. The students would not be able to concentrate and they would struggle to stay awake. It is hard on juniors when they have all those things and then have 3 more hours a night. What about those people that are slow at it? It would take them almost all night.
Pah, if a student feels as if they can take on such a heavy load of work, then let them. I'm in APUSH, Honors English, AND Honors chemistry, and there's no way in Hell I get 110 minutes of homework a night. I have a homeroom, and here recently I have a study hall, which is VERRRRRRRY beneficial :)
I know that a lot of people in the classes I am (the advanced ones) have trouble managing their time, but I figure that I'm going to take a year off of doing activities and just concentrate on my school work. Sure it doesn't look as well on my application or resume, but I feel more comfortable knowing that my homework is done and that I know how to do it. And the sillier thing is is that the class that gives me the most homework isn't an advanced class--it's Algebra II, although it's a dang easy class.
So, to answer your question, no, I don't think the school should limit the number of honor/ap classes a student can take. If they don't think they can take on such a heavyload, then they don't have to. Although someone's going to blabber to us all about how they want to graduate valevictorian or top of the class or WHATEVER! Just think about it--how far in life are you going to get by telling people you were valedvictorian? That and a buck can get you a value fry at McDonald's, and that's pretty much it. Sure it makes you feel better, smarter, but it doesn't do anything.
Yeah...haha
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