Homework Headache

Let’s face it, the homework they send home is nothing like what they taught us back in the day. I haven’t been able to help my kids for years. I understand growth and the need to update kids to today’s standards. However, what are the parents suppose to do when their child doesn’t understand what is sent home and neither do they? My coworker was upset this morning because she tried to seek information via the internet to help her son with his homework last night but was unsuccessful after 4 hours of trying. Her son is in 8th grade and didn’t understand the math that was sent home. She tried to surf the net for help but found nothing. With all of the information on the World Wide Web, you would think a person could find something to help that didn’t require your credit card number. Everything she pulled up would claim to be free but when she went to the site, the company wanted to charge for their services. The majority of the stuff today is geared towards computers but what if you don’t have one? The schools say they offer assistance yet when you go to their website, are their e-mail addresses listed so that you can actually correspond with the teacher of your choice? She didn’t find anything. My son is a junior and it is mandatory for him to pass algebra 2 before he can graduate. HELLO…I don’t know about the rest of you but I have NEVER used algebra in my everyday life. Why in the world would it be a requirement? I wrote a letter to the school district but never received a response. My son will need to go to summer school for the extra help so he can pass this class before his senior year. They want the children to learn but don’t have the time to teach them. Something is definitely wrong with the system. The classrooms are over crowded and they are pushing information on the children, in some cases way before they are ready. What happened to no child being left behind? Are the teachers so overworked that they are unable to help a child that doesn’t understand what they are being taught? I have a lot of respect for teachers, don’t get me wrong, but are the behavioral issues they are having with other students having an affect on the children that actually want to learn? I’m not sure what the answer is to fix this dilemma but if anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them. Also, do you know of any free sites that offer tutoring assistance for children and parents?