This is our second year in school, and halfway through the year they started sending homework from the #UFLI program. Two pages per week — our first real experience with “homework.” But the problem isn’t the homework itself… it’s what it asks for: decoding CVC words, reading, understanding, and even drawing what was understood.
For several weeks we tried to do it, but my son doesn’t understand it, gets frustrated, and loses interest. One day I wrote to the teacher saying we would only do one page, because honestly the homework doesn’t seem right for his age.
Her reply started a short email chain. She insisted he needed to do both pages because it’s part of the program the #school adopted and he “will need it next year.” On a call, she repeated that he needed to align with the rest of the group and suggested sending him to a special reading group. Between the lines, she admitted the homework is too complex for some kids: single words, sentences that don’t make much sense, unusual vocabulary… but still, that’s the standard.
One thing caught my attention: at some point the teacher said this #homework was “compulsory.” But for a 5-and-a-half-year-old, even 6, homework should be fun, playful, something that sparks curiosity… not a strict #obligation that kills motivation.
I recently talked with other parents. Everyone is going through the same thing: low understanding, #frustration, no interest. No child is reading beyond a short paragraph or, in many cases, only a few words… almost the same as what we see at home. Some parents even mentioned that the sentences didn’t make much sense and used words outside normal daily vocabulary, making it even harder.
That’s when I understood something: schools continue to focus on the program, not on the children. They don’t consider differences in age, language, background, or learning pace. Everything gets minimized.
As a first-time parent, I just want my son to learn without fear, without feeling “behind,” without carrying #expectations that don’t belong to him yet. And today I’m left with this thought: it’s okay to question things when they simply aren’t designed for your child’s real stage of #development.
