What to Know
I have a confession: I hate homework. When I was a kid I hated doing it, and now that I’m a parent, I hate having to help my kid do it. And I’d wager to bet I’m not the only parent who feels that way. After a day at work, making dinner, and tending to a million other things at home, most of us don’t have the energy to fight about spelling words or long division. But just because I hate doesn’t mean I don’t help him, it just means we’re both exhausted and upset when it’s done. However, there are parents who will try to get their kids out of doing homework. And one math teacher has had enough.
She made a video highlighting the ways parents message her about homework.
@kai.mer I held my students accountable and expected excellence from each one of them. The parents made it difficult to do so when they themselves did not want to hold their child accountable. #teachersoftiktok #teacher #math #middleschool ♬ original sound – Kai
The math teacher, who is named Kai, shared emails she received from parents about their children’s homework.
“I was notified by my child that you made them miss lunch in order to do their math homework. This is problematic. You have traumatized my child. I will be reporting you to the admin and I want him removed from your class,” one parent wrote.
Another parent said their child had “an emotional breakdown” while trying to do their work and said the teacher “assigned too much homework.”
A different parent wrote, “my child had soccer practice until 8pm and was too tired to complete the homework. Please excuse them from the assignment.”
“Teachers cannot hold students accountable when parents will find every excuse in the book because their child is too emotional or too tired. It’s the parents’ fault that the child is failing,” the teacher said.
Overall, most people were shocked by the parents’ behavior and took the side of the math teacher.
@kai.mer Our goals are their success. #edutok #edutokmotivation #math ♬ original sound – Kai
“School is the priority, sports are EXTRACURRICULARS. If my kid can’t play football and do their homework, id pull them out of football,” someone wrote.
“Are parents not sitting down at the table with their kids anymore? Like I used to get the ‘if you don’t do your homework you’re grounded’ like,” someone else wrote.
“Parents should help their child, and kids will learn that they’re always in the right and will refuse to do homework even if it is easy,” another person commented.
“This!!! I don’t understand why parents think that their kids are exempt from doing assignments because they’re participating in EXTRAcurricular activities!! If I wasn’t done my work or was failing a class, the extracurriculars were the first things to go!!”
“Parents not encouraging their children to excel is crazy. My dad used to make me do homework IN THE SUMMER.”
Others weren’t so sure the parents were wrong.
“Are we sure if several parents are speaking up it’s not the teacher asking too much…” someone wrote.
“It’s been proven that homework makes no statistical difference to results — it does not enhance learning. What it can do though, is cause family tension. Why do you give out homework?” someone asked.
“I wish there just wasn’t homework. They’re in school 8 hours already, it’s a lot.”
“Idk. I just don’t like the idea of homework. These emails would make me not want to assign it even more.”
“Get rid of homework. Parents have 3 hours after work to cook, clean, bathe and spend time w/ their kids in this crazy world we’re all navigating. You have them for 7 hrs a day 5 days a week. The learning can get done there! Rather than blame teachers or parents, how about we overhaul the entire education system,” someone else wrote.
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