My daughter is a fifth grade teacher - she's not teaching this year because she has a new baby. Her daughter (my granddaughter) however, is in the fifth grade this year. OMG!
My daughter is appalled at the amount of homework that my granddaughter has each night.
My daughter didnt' want to complain, she didn't want to intimidate the teacher (since she is a fifth grade teacher and teaches in the same school district = same curriculum) but last night at "curriculum night" the parents let the teacher have it. My daughter said it was not a pretty sight.
The teacher is young and I think probably stressed about the students learning everything - but whew! it is way too much.
My daughter also says she has to reteach things to my granddaughter and thank goodness she knows how to do it. I remember when my granddaughter was in 3rd grade, she was staying with me and she had a worksheet to complete. I could not understand the instructions and I HAVE A PHD!
My daughter says that the children should have time to do most of their work in class. When she taught, she gave one sheet of math as homework each night, except for nights when they had tests the next day. She did not give all tests on the same day, and they also had some reading to do each night. She said occasionally they would have a small amount of homework on another subject, but very rarely. They also had weekly spelling words to study at night. But that was it! She said that sometimes she would get a call from a parent complaining about the amount of homework, and it was usually the child that clowned around all day and didn't do their work in class.
I can tell though, that the children in this thread did not do that. You should definitely complain if they are sending home excessive work or work that they did not teach. You can request that the teacher reteach or tutor (or someone else tutor) the child if they are having difficulty.
Homework should NOT be so stressful - it makes the kiddos hate school!