You might give a thumbs up to the French fry, though the fact is – fries are Belgian. For that matter, you might give a thumbs up to the French kiss, which is sometimes referred to as the Hollywood kiss in France, to the best of my recollection.
Naturally, I give a warm smile to French men bearing wine… or grapes.
And I personally give a thumbs up to Parisian parenting style – with a few conditions which I’ve previously stated, not to mention firming the floor for French amour (postpartum “re-education,”), and French women over fifty who contentedly admit to more sex.
French bras for little girls? Definite thumbs down!
French President François Hollande seeking to ban homework? Two thumbs up on that one, even if with caveats.
I am personally of the belief that we burden our children with an excess of homework, and it accomplishes little. I am personally of the belief that we increasingly insist on this in order to fill grade books, in order to prop up test scores, in order to evaluate teachers and schools on “success or failure,” in order to push along our “no child left behind” agenda which began as a great idea but, as currently executed… not so much.
I am personally of the belief that overloaded children and teens are not learning or reinforcing learning from these odious levels of homework. On the contrary, some of these assignments strike me as busy work (or teen torture), undermining the desire to learn, robbing our kids of much needed play and / or sleep, and adding to the pressures that make teen smoking, drinking, and other destructive behaviors commonplace.
This is one mother’s observations – yes, mine – along with agreement from other parents I know and concurrence from the kids themselves, most of whom are now in college. And in many instances, the college load is more manageable than high school. Among other things, more responsibility rests with the students, and less with the teachers or so-called curriculum.
To this bit of opinionated outpouring, I will add that I’ve had the benefit of discussion (on the sly) with teachers in both public and private schools who also believe that kids are not learning from the hours of homework heaped upon them.
As for the French president, the Time article reports:
Last week, Hollande reaffirmed his pledge to make education one of his main domestic priorities by outlining key strategic changes to revitalize France’s school system. It’s a sweeping package of changes meant to reform a system critics claim is outdated and inefficient, but for headline writers it boils down to one concept: the French President wants to outlaw homework. “Work should be done at school, rather than at home.”
The French educational system is not without its problems (one of the reasons for the proposed homework ban), and part of what President Hollande is proposing will cause significant child care issues that will need to be addressed.
But I suspect that in France – they will actually address them.
Moreover, the very fact that educational reform is considered a priority gets a thumbs up from this little momma who would like to see education at all levels in this country viewed as a wise and critical investment.
Do I automatically love “all things French?”
No.
But I have enormous respect for values that emphasize what I consider the hallmarks of a civilized society – health care and education as basic human rights. And yes, there is that “joie de vivre” that comes from accepting and celebrating the pleasures in life – as natural and essential.
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Think I need to go and live in France, preferably a place where men come bearing wine & grapes!
Fascinating! I had no idea that President Hollande had made such a proposal.
As a former teacher, I’m not sure how I feel. Pointless test-prep homework exercises? Who needs them. A reasonable amount of nightly review and enrichment? I can see the benefits.
Then again, as a parent, I have yet to enter the days of homework, so call me in a few years and I’m sure I’ll be ready to emigrate! 😉
I’d like to also add that throwing money at schools is not the answer either. All the money in the world isn’t going to make our kids better educated if the basic love of learning is absent. And that love is only present when there are teachers who are passionate about their craft.
And I’m with “My Age”….let’s find those men who are bearing wine and grapes!
Homework will be my focus (although the Slate article was interesting).
I always received homework. In the early grades some of it was simple minded, but maybe we were sort of simple then. By high school it was regular papers requiring work at the library or lab…lots of work to write them, and lots of work for someone to actually read them (which usually happened…it was a good school). Nowadays I see papers assigned and returned with only the comment “Good — A” (and the paper would be C in the old days). My General Psych course (not my lab courses) tends to get rated in a contradictory fashion. Assignments are rated easy, tests are rated too hard. What happens in college is that you are instructed to read the book material in conjunction with the lecture topics, then attend the lectures and learn the material and ask me any questions that you might have after you have read the material and checked your notes. I’ve found that successful students do all the above, on schedule including work outside of class; non-successful students read the book a couple of days before the exam and have missed some lecture days.
Of course you do work outside of class. I taught a lot of students precise writing and critical thinking via their lab reports, which would be returned full of red marks. They improved over the course of the semester…that’s what counts.
Paul, So glad you joined the conversation. As a college professor, you’re in an ideal situation to comment from your vantage point.
Yes, work outside class cements what is being learned inside class. But simply ‘working the system’ for grades doesn’t result in learning, and ultimately learning is what is required, so you can put knowledge and skills to use.
I realize that many of us took classes in things we knew we’d never need. So a quick memorization to pass a test was expeditious. But that’s a far cry from what I see high school students going through.
Your point about grading is also well taken. There’s a reason for the bell curve, whether we like it or not.
ETC. re homework:
Seventh grade extra credit could get a little crazy re homework. On the one hand, I made an impressive mounted display of exports of South America, with packets of coffee beans, cocoa, bananas, copper, etc. All I had known before about South America was that it was south of us. The teacher liked my presentation enough that I got to do it at assembly on parents’ day. On the other hand, when short of the required amount of extra credit for an A in world history the next semester, I made a plaster of Paris model of Vesuvius, complete with soda and vinegar loads and a cork at the top. Tip the vinegar and kaboom. Don’t know what good I learned from all that except that it was fun (which does not equal learning) and that I had manipulated the system enough to get the required extra credit points for an A.
More good points, Paul. I see nothing wrong with extra credit, especially at the ages you’re talking about. It encourages creativity, finding solutions to a dilemma, understanding that sometimes extra effort – real effort – can help.
We’re talking about acquiring knowledge and work ethic about learning itself. That, in my mind, is to be encouraged – but not always – or kids think they can (and should) always “game” the system.
As a tutor whose students are often overscheduled — there’s “no time” for tutoring more often than not for some of these kids who desperately need it — I do have to say pointless grade-book filler could use the boot! Then there are the homework assignments students have brought to me that are good in their intentions but so unclearly written and even more unclearly graded that I have to bite my tongue pretty firmly to keep myself from saying anything about the originating teachers within the students’ hearing. Quelle horreur …
So complex, CT. Clearly we have a ways to go, when it comes to the sort of detailed attention we need to pay to what works and what doesn’t. Systemically. And that includes encouraging the most qualified teachers (and paying them well), as well as finding more rational ways to assess student, teacher, and educational system performance.
I’m glad you weighed in on this one.
OmG the French guy holding the grapes is just gorgeous!!! Those eyes! That mouth!! Wow 10 out of 10 🙂