homework

[justalayman]

Oh! No. My DSL was down. Nothing was working at all.

glad to hear. Some people are not all that understanding of how things work and I can actually imagine a few people I know not realizing you can generally do a physical connection so they would be the folks whacking their foreheads going,

"DUH!!! I didn't know that"

actually, the more I think about it, the more I would actually like to see somebody do it.

If I recall, in most of the schools around me, the school actually provides a computer for the students. Not sure how young but it seems like middle school was a common group getting them.

and what is wrong with Open Office? It seems to work fine for me and anybody else I know that uses it.

and if you set-up a remote user or better yet a VPN, you could leave the laptop at home, log on from school using one of their computers and do your work in MS office and then simple send it to yourself at school and print it. No need to bring your computer just for the Office.

 

[Sculptor]

I was introduced to Open Office a few years back, loaded it and fired it up. It creates beautiful documents, is easy to use and is not compatible with Microsoft.Every single document I created at home and sent to work would not open. I'm back to Office......

 

[frylover]

I was introduced to Open Office a few years back, loaded it and fired it up. It creates beautiful documents, is easy to use and is not compatible with Microsoft.Every single document I created at home and sent to work would not open. I'm back to Office......

Bingo! I sat there at work and spent hours creating a beautiful class handbook for my parents. Forwarded it to myself at home to continue my masterpiece and....nothing. I couldn't do a newsletter at home because if I ended up needing any last minute changes at school I couldln't do them!

 

[haiku]

I wasn't disagreeing with you...I was mostly airing my own pet peeves on the subject.

Ok good! LOL I agree

 

[haiku]

Some schools, by middle school level, take the attitude that if a student doesn't have internet access at home, they'd better find someplace that they do have access to it.

I don't live in a rich area...I might actually be compelled to take it to the school board if my school implemented a policy such as that. At my kiddos school, any assignment that may involve internet the kids are given acces to school library computer time.

 

[profmum]

I am sorry I don't understand the "how dare the school require me to have a computer" for my child theory in THIS day and age! Perhaps for these parents then education is not all that important. You can get a notebook (basic MS Office package) for $200. You can get a USB tether from Cricket for $30 a month. Those of us who post here are from wide ranging socioeconomic status.. yet we find a way to post on this forum.

 

[AkersTile]

I agree and disagree with a lot of stuff posted on here.

I agree that kids need to know how to use the computer and that they should be working on school projects, essays, etc. at school. Rough drafts can be done at home (handwritten if no computer is available), but if a computer is necessary, it needs to be done at school.

I live in one of the poorest counties in MO. 90% of the people here can't afford a computer and/or internet access. Unless you live in town (which thankfully I do now), the only internet you can get is dial-up or satellite. Most of the time neither of those work.

I don't think homework is a reason to take Dad's time away. Mom could simply call the teacher and explain that kiddo is going to Dad's and doesn't have access, whatever. Ask teacher to assign it during the week when kiddo is at Mom's, or during school time.

 

[stealth2]

It would be nice if OP came back with some more info - age/grade of child, when the work was assigned, what the assignment actually involves, whether child was working on it between end of school Friday - 10am Saturday, etc.

Absent that info, some personal thoughts...

When my kids were younger - through middle school - they were on the way to Dad's in another state no later than the end of school on Friday, returning between 8 and 10pm Sunday. Dad felt that his time was HIS time, to have fun with his kids - not time for schoolwork. Okay. Not what I would have chosen, but I was also not keen on their being penalized for his choice. So I did a miraculous thing - spoke with their teachers, explained the situation, and asked if they could have an extra day to complete the assignments handed out on Friday. In almost every case, they were granted that extra time. Of course, I also impressed upon them that there was no reason they could not do homework while traveling, either by plane or car. Also that, if the assignment was given PRIOR to Friday, they should have it finished by Friday morning.

By the time they reached HS, I put the responsibility on THEM to figure out how to get it done. Whether they are with me OR with their Dad. They need to learn to prioritize their lives. And that sometimes means late nights. Or passing up something more fun to do. Or sucking up a poor grade for deciding not to do it/put in the effort. It's now on THEM. Just as it will be when they go off to college.

As for being home or not when they're picked up... All depends. I would normally be home, but there were times when I had to work. If they were old enough to be home on their own otherwise, there was/is no reason why they couldn't be when Dad came. If they weren't, then I'd have someone else stay with them. I don't see the issue, personally.

ETA... wrt the computer/access. When we do have a problem, like the printer's not working, access issues, etc - we contact the teacher. Printer issues are easily solved - jump drive, which is a good idea for the kid to use as back-up anyway. Of course, my daughter's school no longer allows jump drives to be used on their computers, so then one of us emails the work to the appropriate teacher to be printed at school. There are options.

 

[CJane]

Bingo! I sat there at work and spent hours creating a beautiful class handbook for my parents. Forwarded it to myself at home to continue my masterpiece and....nothing. I couldn't do a newsletter at home because if I ended up needing any last minute changes at school I couldln't do them!

Interesting.

I use open office exclusively at home (and therefore so do the kids) and as long as I "save as" a .doc (or .ppt or whatever) instead of a .odt (the open office extension) I'm fine. Word WILL NOT open an odt file, but there IS built in compatibility and I've never had an issue.

That said, my kids' school offers the microsoft package for $25. I might take them up on it just because I can.

 

[justalayman]

Interesting.

I use open office exclusively at home (and therefore so do the kids) and as long as I "save as" a .doc (or .ppt or whatever) instead of a .odt (the open office extension) I'm fine. Word WILL NOT open an odt file, but there IS built in compatibility and I've never had an issue.

That said, my kids' school offers the microsoft package for $25. I might take them up on it just because I can.

I believe you have the answer to the problem most seem to be experiencing. I do not recall any such problems as they are experiencing although I will admit most of my use has been with using OO to view MS-O documents and not the other way around.

hey guys with the problems; what specific program are you having problems with in MS-O? I believe I have some MS-O programs around here somewhere and would like to research the compatibility problems a but more.


btw: if any of you have children in college, MS has an agreement with just about every college to provide some software for a very minimal fee to the student for their use. The software itself is free and the charge is to reflect the cost of the CD and distribution. Operating systems (XP, Vista, 7) and I think MS Office are some of the available software.

I do not know if they have extended the program to high schools but it would seem plausible they would.

 

[californiamom3]

Sorry it took so long to get back.
Desktop. If I had a laptop this would not be an issue.
Kiddo is a 14yr. old Freshman in high school. She has 2 honors classes, Spanish, Biology and an athletics class. She has an extremely full plate.
At the beginning of the school year students were asked if they had access to a computer at home. The answer was yes, because at the time, kiddos were only with dad one evening a week. For the most part 2 of her classes require a variety of programs from MS Word to Powerpoint. A lot of graphing and such to be done as well.
The full plate is something kiddo chose. She has big goals in the Science world.
Some assignments are day to day, some are given a week in advance. Kiddo does not sit on her butt and neglect her work. (I wish my other kiddos were so enthusiastic ....LOL!)
Currently kiddos are with dad one evening a week and 2,4,5th Saturday-Sunday.
It is common for weekend homework.
If dads plans involve running around and he does not agree to give time for homework to be done**************.....I don't know**************...
This particular kiddo is at the point where she wavers between staying home and going with dad.
As it turns out Dad picked up 2 kiddos while the other stayed home Saturday morning to get the computer portion of her work done. Dad picked her up later. She finished the bookwork when she got home on Sunday evening.
I don't know how to handle dad that doesn't make homework, projects, etc. priority over playing mini golf! (or whatever)

 

[Ohiogal]

Sorry it took so long to get back.
Desktop. If I had a laptop this would not be an issue.
Kiddo is a 14yr. old Freshman in high school. She has 2 honors classes, Spanish, Biology and an athletics class. She has an extremely full plate.
At the beginning of the school year students were asked if they had access to a computer at home. The answer was yes, because at the time, kiddos were only with dad one evening a week. For the most part 2 of her classes require a variety of programs from MS Word to Powerpoint. A lot of graphing and such to be done as well.
The full plate is something kiddo chose. She has big goals in the Science world.
Some assignments are day to day, some are given a week in advance. Kiddo does not sit on her butt and neglect her work. (I wish my other kiddos were so enthusiastic ....LOL!)
Currently kiddos are with dad one evening a week and 2,4,5th Saturday-Sunday.
It is common for weekend homework.
If dads plans involve running around and he does not agree to give time for homework to be done**************.....I don't know**************...
This particular kiddo is at the point where she wavers between staying home and going with dad.
As it turns out Dad picked up 2 kiddos while the other stayed home Saturday morning to get the computer portion of her work done. Dad picked her up later. She finished the bookwork when she got home on Sunday evening.
I don't know how to handle dad that doesn't make homework, projects, etc. priority over playing mini golf! (or whatever)

Kiddo does NOT get to decide to stay home. Kiddo needs to manage her time effectively and realize that her time with dad is NON-NEGOTIABLE. End of story. Dad doesn't have to allow his time for child to do what SHE wants. Kiddo needs to work on her assignments Friday night and Saturday morning.

Just out of curiosity did she go out with her friends on Friday night? See them at all this past weekend?

 

[californiamom3]

Kiddo does NOT get to decide to stay home. Kiddo needs to manage her time effectively and realize that her time with dad is NON-NEGOTIABLE. End of story. Dad doesn't have to allow his time for child to do what SHE wants. Kiddo needs to work on her assignments Friday night and Saturday morning.

Just out of curiosity did she go out with her friends on Friday night? See them at all this past weekend?

I know it's unusual, but in this case,
the kids do get to decide on going with dad or not.
Kiddo didn't go anywhere Friday night. Dad lives out of town, no friend visiting over the weekend.
You are correct that dad doesn't have to allow HIS time for kiddo to do homework or anything else kiddos want to do for that matter.
I suppose this is a matter of personal opinions, should and shouldn't s.

 

[profmum]

Sorry it took so long to get back.
Desktop. If I had a laptop this would not be an issue.
Kiddo is a 14yr. old Freshman in high school. She has 2 honors classes, Spanish, Biology and an athletics class. She has an extremely full plate.
At the beginning of the school year students were asked if they had access to a computer at home. The answer was yes, because at the time, kiddos were only with dad one evening a week. For the most part 2 of her classes require a variety of programs from MS Word to Powerpoint. A lot of graphing and such to be done as well.
The full plate is something kiddo chose. She has big goals in the Science world.
Some assignments are day to day, some are given a week in advance. Kiddo does not sit on her butt and neglect her work. (I wish my other kiddos were so enthusiastic ....LOL!)
Currently kiddos are with dad one evening a week and 2,4,5th Saturday-Sunday.
It is common for weekend homework.
If dads plans involve running around and he does not agree to give time for homework to be done**************.....I don't know**************...
This particular kiddo is at the point where she wavers between staying home and going with dad.
As it turns out Dad picked up 2 kiddos while the other stayed home Saturday morning to get the computer portion of her work done. Dad picked her up later. She finished the bookwork when she got home on Sunday evening.
I don't know how to handle dad that doesn't make homework, projects, etc. priority over playing mini golf! (or whatever)

I am going to disagree with OG on this one (i.e., the canned response). If Dad is agreeable with picking up the kid later because she had homework to finish or any other reason, then no harm, no foul. Dad agreed to it. Good co-parenting is allowing for some flexibility when needed. Frankly on that issue, kudos to Dad.

And I am going to completely disagree with the "Dad can do what he wants on this time including not allowing time for homework". That is BS. Homework should never be considered optional or trump any other activity short of an emergency or a funeral!!

Having said that, OP, your best option is to get the kids to do their homework before their time with Dad begins or after they are dropped off on Sunday. Yes it sucks, but it gets done! That is the approach I would take.
If they have to do homework on Dad's time, teach them that responsibility. I do it with my first grader, when Dad is too lazy to get her homework done. It can be done!

 

[LdiJ]

I am going to disagree with OG on this one (i.e., the canned response). If Dad is agreeable with picking up the kid later because she had homework to finish or any other reason, then no harm, no foul. Dad agreed to it. Good co-parenting is allowing for some flexibility when needed. Frankly on that issue, kudos to Dad.

And I am going to completely disagree with the "Dad can do what he wants on this time including not allowing time for homework". That is BS. Homework should never be considered optional or trump any other activity short of an emergency or a funeral!!

Having said that, OP, your best option is to get the kids to do their homework before their time with Dad begins or after they are dropped off on Sunday. Yes it sucks, but it gets done! That is the approach I would take.
If they have to do homework on Dad's time, teach them that responsibility. I do it with my first grader, when Dad is too lazy to get her homework done. It can be done!

I agree wholeheartedly with this response. Dad certainly can be flexible if he wishes to be flexible, and homework is such a basic part of parenting that a parenting not allowing time for homework would be considered to be neglecting a child's education.