What do you think about no Homework?

we have the same problem senua, the school are so disorganised. either they forget to set work, or don't hand it in, and they rarely give more than a tick for marking, if they bother at all. or if they do set work it's worksheets that are rarely anything relevant. their school could never instigate a scheme as suggested by OP :(

Hmm, I'm not sure about this 'homework set for the sake of it' argument.

DD's school used to send home all sorts of guff, including the homework rota, and I was supposed to sign the Parental Agreement. It used to peeve me that the school would say they were going to set, say, Geography homework on a Wednesday and then not bother. I wasn't happy that the school set the example of "here's a plan ... but we can't be bothered to execute it".
What was the point of the tick-box exercise of Home/School agreements if the school didn't keep their side of the contract? I would have been very pleased with homework for the sake of it as per the agreed plan.

I think it would be fantastic, as long as the parents were aware of what was going on.

I would certainly encourage DS to work as hard on optional homework, as I would compulsory.

Then only thing I would ask is that I was informed of the homework (pref by email) personally, and not through my child (who is not a reliable messenger)

hmm.

maybe you don't need to, but it'd be nice to have it acknowledged and praised. if you have 2 students, one who makes a big effort and one who does bugger all, would they both get the same response?

My 7 never did homework in Primary school - I didn't allow it.
Home is home and school is school.
If children aren't learning what they are supposed to be learning in school to such a degree that they have to bring work home, then there is something wrong with the system.
Two of my granddaughters attend a local grammar school. They come to my house to their homework and use the laptops.
Projects go unmarked as does other work set as homework.
So how can homework be productive if homework is not marked or there is no feedback?

I don't know, as I said above I've always been a geek and I don't see it as a total waste of time. badly organised silly worksheets, yes of course, but a well thought out piece of HW is important IMO. and feedback too, which as I said my DSDs do not get ATM... I'd rather they had one piece of HW a week that was properly set and marked with decent feedback, than 10 pieces of pointless drivel which the teacher can't even be arsed to look at

I was brought up with an overwhelmingly positive view of school in general, and of HW specifically. I really believe that's seen me through my academic career when other circumstances would've destined me to fail - I had to leave my grammar school due to these circumstances, and ended up self-studying a few GCSEs, then onto FE college where you were pretty much left to it, and ended up being famous among the faculty because I actually got straight As, shock! I'm now doing an OU degree. I really feel that if I didn't have that attitude I wouldn't be able to do all that, especially now when I have a family to look after too. my friends on the OU course are struggling, they are just 'getting through it', whereas I LOVE it.

I am so happy that since before she turned 3 my DD has been asking for 'maths' and 'homework' (I should clarify this isn't something I told her to do, it's just because I talk about my own maths homework!) - of course to her it's just scribbling on preschool workbooks and magazine puzzles, but I hope she continues to feel that work is fun and exciting and that school doesn't drum that out of her. I can really see how too much govt-box-ticking type HW could do that though

sorry I'm really waffling... speaking of studying I should go and get on with some!

I am a teacher and completely disagree with homework- how nice to read like minded posts

Set homework extinguishes any desire to learn independently out of school- this is what should be encouraged, students actively reading around a subject because it's interesting and/or it will improve their marks, but doing it under their own steam.

I would prefer my kids to spend time at home helping out around the house, cooking, doing sport, gardening, or doing something they enjoy.

Homework IMO total waste of time - theres lots more to life.

I like the supervised work after school idea, but I would still prefer there to still be a little proper homework (in whatever form, but must be done at home) - I think it's important kids learn to prioritise, organise time etc and are able to direct their own study at least part of the time. they'll have to learn to do this as they get older and from the experience of my friends it is very difficult to get used to being self-sufficient at a later age when you're used to being 'spoon-fed' at school.

IMGeekyHomeworkLovingO that is

OP - I would rather stick pins in my eyes than stand over my dc to do their homework. I hate it, and feel enough work has been covered during the day and they need a break.

Obviously if a child chooses to study a little bit extra in the evening through choice then that is great.

In our school we set extended homeworks, usually a couple of weeks to complete with full written feedback. There are on average 2 per half term per subject. To the parent who said she doesn' t like this type, it's great that you are supportive but I really don't care if they are difficult for YOU to keep on top of, hopefully your kids can learn to be organised though. At gcse I tend to give worksheets weekly for pupils to chech they've actually understood the the work we've covered in lesson. Sometimes it is better to go through this in class and explain how the questions should have been answered, not laziness but actually making sure the kids get something out of the work (as a side note I hate marking homework it is the most boring and thankless task ever and much more than putting a tick, it's arranging the consequence for those not doing it and rewards for those that do..... For each of the 200 or so kids who pass through my door weekly)

I think it is a great idea for some subjects and should be up to each dept how they want to use/set hw (with some kind of built in approach to those depts that just can't be bothered). I would want my DS to receive some kind of feedback though - WWW/EBI rather than a grade maybe.
I appreciate your point on not writing but surely there would be some evidence of their research/thought process (in whatever form) that could be assessed/looked at.

( i say that as a teacher and mum)
utter waste of time and effort and ££
id say 3opm everyone back to tutor rooms
20 mins ( or whatever) to do once bit of study skills or timed essay all together
NO SHEETS no books to lose, no stuff to leave at home.
teacher to help

i HATE HATE HATE hw
woudl rather have superbvised learning as a form group alone in room at end of school

I'm definitely all for no homework which is given for the sake of giving homework and meeting government guidelines.

what really winds me up is when my stepkids spend ages on homework and all they get is a tick. or, they rush through it not giving a monkeys and produce something really poor. and still all they get is a sodding tick.

not a great message to send out, is it.

I would support activities which werent internet focussed (avoiding copy/paste homework). I think that children who did the work should be able to get it assessed rather than marked eg explaining how it could have been improved in different ways.

This sort of thing is great for the child who doesnt necessarily get the opportunity to express their enthusiasms or hobbies.