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Homework for primary school children - yay or nay?

i just want to reiterate what hocus eye said on page one.

most teachers hate homework. it's extra work for us, the quality of what's handed in varies enormously, and without resources or instruction it ends up being busy-work. The reason there is so much homework is exclusively because parents demand it. we tried to scrap it for non-core subjects at KS3, and let the kids choose a project to work on instead, but loads of parents complained and now we're back to setting meaningless weekly tasks.
 
spanglechick said:
i just want to reiterate what hocus eye said on page one.

most teachers hate homework. it's extra work for us, the quality of what's handed in varies enormously, and without resources or instruction it ends up being busy-work. The reason there is so much homework is exclusively because parents demand it. we tried to scrap it for non-core subjects at KS3, and let the kids choose a project to work on instead, but loads of parents complained and now we're back to setting meaningless weekly tasks.
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It really annoys me. Pushy parents :mad:
 
I might be being a little idealist with my thoughts on this but I don't agree with homework for school aged children at all. It makes me angry.
 
BoatieBoy (aged 8 - in year 4), is expected to read at home 5 times a week, he has 10 spellings to learn each week, he's going to be starting on times tables any day now and he also has 1 piece of homework that is set on a Friday and has to be done by Monday.
Personally I think it's too much.

It can be a real battle to get him to do any of it at times, he'd much rather be playing in the garden.
And tbh, I'd much rather he was playing in the garden :(

I try to get the reading and spelling out of the way as soon as he gets in from school, but this only works on the days I finish work early enough to pick him up from school.
 
A big fat 'nay' from me. Lessons are enough at that age. After school kids should be out doing hobbies or whatever, just playing football with their mates. As far as possible, they should be outside.
 
my three have had homework of some sort every day from Reception class onwards and yet the school is currently in special measures! it may be that the homework is the only thing saving the kids from being totally screwed cos some of the teachers there are fucking useless:mad:

But no, I disagree with homework for the kids until secondary school. They should be out playing. My wife and I have even had arguments about the kids' homework!:oops:
 
I think you should let kids enjoy their childhood. The odd fun project for them to do at home over a holiday is fine and maybe taking a book home to read every week. Anything more than that isn't needed imo. When I was at primary school I never had any homework. I think I 1st started getting homework when I started middle school (year 5 - 9/10 yo) and even then it was once a week over the weekend for the 1st year. I turned out fine :)
 
Where was that, elfman?

Finnish education is often cited as the best in the world, and they don't start compulsory education until age 7. Even then, kids are not given homework. They are actively encouraged to do non-school things after school, and don't have any kind of formal testing for the first few years at school. They tend to turn out fine too.
 
littlebabyjesus said:
Where was that, elfman?

Finnish education is often cited as the best in the world, and they don't start compulsory education until age 7. Even then, kids are not given homework. They are actively encouraged to do non-school things after school, and don't have any kind of formal testing for the first few years at school. They tend to turn out fine too.
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England and I'm 24. It has changed a lot in such a short time it seems...
 
An illustration of how schools get stuff completely wrong came a few winters ago. There was the first proper snowfall in years, and the headteacher at the school near where I lived in Brockley was praised for making the kids stay in and continue with their classes. This was on a Wednesday or a Thursday. By the Saturday, the snow had mostly gone. Fuck off classes for the day and go out and play in the snow, ffs! This was at a school in Hilly Fields - a school next to a park full of snow - where the kids were forced to stay indoors. By the time the school day was over, it was getting dark already. Yet this headteacher was on the news being praised for keeping the classes going. :facepalm:
 

Yep, that is too much, weeps. And one of the things some of the kids will learn from it is that you can fuck off homework and not have any major repercussions from it - basically, that the rules are arbitrary.

ShiftyBagLady said:
Last year, when he was 8, his class ha homework like reading and a few spellings a week, some times tables and a weekly project. The teacher would give them a letter and the children created a project based on that letter about ANYTHING. most enjoyable homework ever.
That's good homework, work which stimulates them and uses their imagination. Tells the teacher a great deal about their interests, favoured working methods (EG drawing, writing, crafting or PowerPointing as the case may be) and gives the experience of presenting and sharing ideas with the class. That's the only homework primary school kids should have in my opinion.
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I like the sound of that open project stuff.

strange-fish said:
My kids who are now grown up went to a local primary in what would be considered 'the countryside' oop north. It had such an excellent reputation that people from outside the 'catchment' were always wanting to get their kids in. The head was totally against formal homework, until the last year when small amounts were given (not compulsory) in order to get them ready for secondary school. Towards my son's final years there more 'middle class' people moved into the area and suddenly they all wanted their kids to have homework??? There was an expectation that they would not learn enough unless they had homework - I even knew one family who insisted on it ! WHY - the Head's attitude was his school wasn't doing it's job if they couldn't teach what was needed and more during school hours. Out of school was for playing, socialising, spending time with family and friends, having a childhood!!!
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That's so strange - there's nothing stopping the parents setting the kids extra practice independently. There are lots of decent workbooks out there if you don't want to think up your own projects.
 
littlebabyjesus said:
An illustration of how schools get stuff completely wrong came a few winters ago. There was the first proper snowfall in years, and the headteacher at the school near where I lived in Brockley was praised for making the kids stay in and continue with their classes. This was on a Wednesday or a Thursday. By the Saturday, the snow had mostly gone. Fuck off classes for the day and go out and play in the snow, ffs! This was at a school in Hilly Fields - a school next to a park full of snow - where the kids were forced to stay indoors. By the time the school day was over, it was getting dark already. Yet this headteacher was on the news being praised for keeping the classes going. :facepalm:
Click to expand...

when it snowed last year the school was shut a lot of the time, but there was one day when it was open but only a handful of the kids went in (kid1 included). they had a massive snowball fight in the playground with the teachers and hot choc afterwards :)
 
krink said:
my three have had homework of some sort every day from Reception class onwards and yet the school is currently in special measures! it may be that the homework is the only thing saving the kids from being totally screwed cos some of the teachers there are fucking useless:mad:
Click to expand...
ffs are you serious? from the age of four? no wonder kids drop out of education and learning. Think I'd be having words with a teacher that set my four year old homework!
 
It varies from school to school - we are going to visit the local comp on monday as my eldest girl starts next year and they have a 'we don't do homework' policy until final exam years.

But yeah, seriously, my 4 year old brings home homework. It's stupid.
 
I'm actually shocked that people here never got any homework in primary school! We were getting homework from no age in primary school.
 
My daughter has had three half days in school and already has brought homework home.
She is finding it a bit of a struggle and gets frustrated very quickly.
It's actually quite a lot for a four year old, but luckily I have the time to help her, I just hope it's not all intended to be learnt and sorted for Monday.
 
Fuck that. All the evidence is in favour learning through play until 7 yrs old, so what is to be gained by homework? How come evidence-based practice doesn't seem to extend to education?
 
Red Cat said:
Fuck that. All the evidence is in favour learning through play until 7 yrs old, so what is to be gained by homework? How come evidence-based practice doesn't seem to extend to education?
Click to expand...

Seriously fuck that. Only four and still on half days and they're expecting her to do homework? That's just wrong.
 
is there pressure from the school (to parents or indirectly through the kids?) to get this stuff done? or is it something most interested/available parents would be able to do in the course of normal life?
 
Baby Bahn's supposed to get 30 minutes per week, plus reading.

The literacy & numeracy homework she gets is never completed in under 2 hours, the current numeracy task has so far stretched over 3 hours.
 
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