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Education

How much homework does your primary school child get and do you think it is too much?

18 replies

RancidRhubarb · 31/10/2006 12:09

Following on from the thread about a 7yo dd who is not learning, I was shocked to find that her parents are giving her an extra hour after school and they don't consider this too much!

I have a 6yo dd and every evening she gets a book to read, and spelling games to play, she also has a spelling test once a week and I think this is too much. They are in school from 9am till 3.30pm, that's 6.5 hours, if you give them an extra hour after school that's 7.5 hours, a long day for a little one!

After school they are tired and just want to wind down and play and that is how it should be! I don't think that any child gains anything from being made to do extra work at such a young age after school! I think it worries them and puts pressure on them.

What do you think?

OP posts:

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southeastastra · 31/10/2006 12:10

my ds(5) has quite a bit, reading every night and today he has a spelling test! considering he can't really write well i imagine he'll get them all wrong

Bozza · 31/10/2006 12:10

My DS gets a reading book which we read every night and change as required. I don't think this is too much. I think it is just fine.

RancidRhubarb · 31/10/2006 12:12

My dd is quite behind having spent the first 2 years of her education in France where they don't push them at all. But I've found that giving her homework has not made the slightest bit of difference to her abilities.

I never had homework until Senior School and I went on to get a degree, so I don't think it makes any difference to performance.

So what is the point in giving them extra work at home?

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Bozza · 31/10/2006 12:14

Well when I was 5 (and in Y1 like DS only it wasn't called that then) I was given a reading book just like he is. I also did fairly well at school.

Bozza · 31/10/2006 12:15

I also think we got spellings in junior school. It was just that we never called it homework.

foxinsocks · 31/10/2006 12:15

we get very little homework (thank goodness)

Dd (6) and in yr 2 - gets reading 3 times a week (but no hassle if we don't fit in 3 times) plus some words to spell over the weekend (10 words) and every couple of weeks, we get a worksheet that takes about 5-10 minutes.

Ds (about to be 5) in reception has just started to get reading once a week.

RancidRhubarb · 31/10/2006 12:17

We didn't get reading books to take home, not that I remember. She doesn't just get reading books either, she has other games I'm supposed to do with her every evening, as well as go through her spelling and they asked me to check up on her maths too!

I would perhaps set aside 15mins to go anything I needed to do with her, but an hour is ott!

Didn't a recent report say that homework for primary children makes no difference to their abilities?

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hannahsaunt · 31/10/2006 12:21

Ds1 gets reading twice a week and just as of this half term is getting some written comprehension work to do linked with the reading. It doesn't take more than 20mins and he enjoys it. I wouldn't be happy with more at all partly because I found I really liked the very laid back approach to homework experienced with ds's first year at school in Australia. The teachers there were much more interested in them going out and doing things after school either in an organised way - swimming, gymnastics, Aussie Rules - or just play in the park. They felt that these things were as important to learning and development as the work in the classroom and that classroom work should not be replicated at home.

RancidRhubarb · 31/10/2006 12:23

Hear hear! That's what they did in France too! None of this competition mentality, they just let the children have fun and learn in their own time, which they did!

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southeastastra · 31/10/2006 12:25

i meant he had to learn the spellings for homework, it was like pulling teeth tbh

Mellowma · 31/10/2006 13:03

Message withdrawn

roisin · 31/10/2006 16:57

I'd be quite happy with no homework, as my boys do lots of "learning" anyway, and homework is often a hoop-jumping exercise. But they don't get much from their school, so I don't mind; and it does at least give the opportunity to establish good homework habits. (Get on with it, get it finished, don't spend too long on it, and work independently if at all possible.)

peegeeweegeeWITCH · 31/10/2006 20:38

Ds is in Y3. Every week he gets 10 spellings he has to learn. He is tested every friday.
He is encouraged to read every night (the children get 'house points' for each night they have read to a parent) In addition to this he get literacy on a monday, due in on wednesday. He gets numeracy on wednesday due in on friday. He gets topic on friday due in on monday. All of these consist of worksheets.

It seems like a lot, but to be honest each worksheet takes 15 mins max, reading 10 minutes before bed every night, and spellings take 10 minutes max.
He copes well with this.

Last year in Y2 he had nightly reading, 5 spellings every week and every weekend a 'project' to do - such as researching Florence Nightinggale and writing a one page report on her That we did find hard work and it took over half a day at the weekend...

crunchie · 31/10/2006 20:47

OK DD1 is now in Y3 and we have had the biggest battle with her and homework. In reception she would get reading every night, in Y1 she got spellings once a week and a worksheet that felt like pulling teeth whenever we did it. In Y2 she had the same, spellings, reading and maths and it usually got thrown around the house in a tantrum - I was never that great at inforcing it either as I just didn't believe in it for the infants. Now in Y3 she has similar stuff, but harder, and she does it. We insist and it gets done

However DD2 is in Y1 and now has spellings and worksheets that she does for pleasure!! We actually had to ask for harder words as she could do them all. SHE insists on doing them everynight, and doing her maths and asking us to give her sums to do and she'll still get on teh PC and play with an 'educational' CD rom like learning land and do more 'work'.

RancidRhubarb · 31/10/2006 20:50

Alright Crunchie, quit yer boasting!

dd came home today with a homework book! It's parent's evening tomorrow, I can't wait to tell them that I'm refusing to let her do the SATs!

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fizzbuzz · 31/10/2006 20:56

I am a teacher, and I think all kids get way too much hwk to be honest. In Scandanavia, they don't even start formal schooling until they are 7, and I think they have much higher levels of literacy etc over there.
I teach secondary, and have had loads of really hardworking kids nearly cracking up due to pressures of coursework. They are meant to do 3 hours per night, but this must leave them with practically no free time at all.

RancidRhubarb · 31/10/2006 20:58

3 hours a night!!!!!!! That makes their working day 9.5 hours! That's illegal!

With an education system like this I just want to sail right back to France!

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fizzbuzz · 31/10/2006 21:49

Yup, awful isn't it. Some of them are up till all hours doing coursework,it will be much better for them when government go ahead with changes to coursework. Also much easier for me, as no mountainous pile of coursework to mark. Wish I could get that done in 3 hours at night.....moan..moan..

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