WTF is this nonsense- teacher setting tasks like 'Make a meal' or 'Explore your garden with your five senses'

[ChillyColdBottle]

A) No, they are not 'making a meal' as we are in a take it or leave it situation due to not being able to leave the house

B) WTF?

Is it considered unacceptable to ask for some actual academic stuff that they can do silently?!

Twinkl is free atm and will have loads of academic stuff they can do quietly.

How old are they?

Twinkl has packs for each key stage ,free to download and print.

What age group, and is this really the only kind of thing they are setting? I don't see anything wrong with either of those activities as part of a wider range of things tbh. Why can't they make a meal out of your take it or leave it provisions? A meal can be sandwiches or whatever! Also, why would they need to be silent?

They are just trying to help by offering up activity suggestions. You don't have to do them. I've ignored all so far, but I appreciate they are trying.

For gods sake, how long do you think they had to pull together lessons suitable for home for potential 3 months?

If you don't want to do a certain activity then don't. Nobody will ever know or care.

If in primary you could just get them to write up a recipe they've thought up and for the senses they could write a poem describing their imaginary walk through the garden (what the ground eels like underfoot, what they an hear etc).

I had to pull DD out of school two and a half years ago. There was fuck all help because I was "electively" home educating. Was I fuck. She was being destroyed by constant bullying.

Now my DS has to stay at home, I'm getting around 7 emails a day, dictating what he needs to be doing. Same school, same stage in education.

Can you tell I'm feeling a tad resentful?

Also I think some teachers are trying to make a point that the kids would be better playing, doing every day tasks to keep them busy, not the national curriculum or endless educational tasks lead by anxious parents who irrationally feel they are going to fall behind with school work.

Sound like nice activities to me

I've been using Twinkle, thank you. I just don't want to choose the wrong things.

Just feel it's crap- kids are old enough to read the suggestions and I'm seeing loads of people post to the school twitter of them doing all these lovely activities when it's just completely beyond me at this point. They aren't offering anything academic at all.

I can see that they're trying to be helpful, but really, it's not helpful at all.

I do wish people would lay off teachers and schools.
So many of us are having to risk our family's health by going in to work and looking after Key workers children or vulnerable children while also providing tools for those at home to maintain their education.
Sort your own kid's learning out. There are plenty of resources out there.
If you don't like the suggestions, don't do them.

If you don't like the activities the school suggests, choose some 'silent' ones yourself. It's not the school's job to keep your children quiet when they're at home. And as a pp pointed out, give the school a chance - it may take a little while for them to organise more work. Schools have only been shut for 2 days fgs!

Also I think some teachers are trying to make a point that the kids would be better playing, doing every day tasks to keep them busy

Absoloutly this, they dont spend all day at school doing worksheets, there is absolutely no harm in the tasks they are setting being fun and practical. It's so hard to provide tailored academic work for a whole class whilst they are not in your care.

If you want them to only do academic stuff theres loads of websites which are currently free link Twinkl.

So many of us are having to risk our family's health by going in to work and looking after Key workers children or vulnerable children while also providing tools for those at home to maintain their education Sort your own kid's learning out.There are plenty of resources out there.

This seems backwards to me. Making a meal is not maintaining their education. Send me home two worksheets a day, I can get that done, but I don't want to choose the wrong ones. There's so much on Twinkle I can't even sort through it all.

Making a meal is parenting. I'll get round to that when we're not isolating any more.

Presumably you are eating? So they could help get whatever you’re eating ready. The 5 senses thing is a bit of mindfulness- not a bad idea.
As a teacher can I say that teaching online is very hard to get right for everyone! And very new to most of us!
Some kids love sitting at their laptop all day, some hate it. Some love being creative with more open tasks but some just like to be told to answer some questions. Some find detailed instructions hard to follow others need to have every single detail carefully described.
And we have had no time, guidance or experience to get this right. And we are working from with our own kids around just like you. So if you don’t like it I suggest you come up with something better yourself. Hmph!

Why can't they help you cook dinner?

The second does require a garden - I can see that it will be impossible without. But otherwise - what is the propblem?

I?f you don't want to do them, then don't. But they are decent activities. Unless your children are 13... then maybe not the second one...

Why would you think you would choose the wrong things? Anything appropriate for the key stage your daughter is in will be fine. You will already be doing above and beyond what the school expects so it’s more of a bonus than anything else. I totally respect that this all feels impossible esp if you are a lone parent and trying to work. But the resources are there. I feel more pressure knowing the school has set academic expectations that we haven’t been getting done. The school can’t win either way.

There is nothing wrong with either of those tasks. Presumably you’re all still eating, so there’s no reason why they can’t help cook especially if it’s not something they normally get involved with. The second task is something the school might well ask them to do anyway before starting a piece of writing, and it sounds like a lovely thing to do on a sunny day.

Plenty of worksheets all over the internet if you want or need them work in silence.

I think they're trying to get the children to learn holistically through doing everyday tasks so they're learning without realising.

Poor teachers.

How old are your dc ?

Echoing don't do it if you don't want to. No skin off my nose if the kids in my class don't.

I set English and Maths and then a bank of activities like the ones you suggested because a) it doesn't rely on the parents having a deep knowledge of Mesopotamia and Linnaeus and latitude and longitude (for example) b) children can be a bit more creative c) they don't require a huge amount of resources d) there wasn't a massive amount of time to plan.

Just ignore it - plenty of mine have. It doesn't matter, I'm not fussed. But it's there if they want to.

My daughter made a cake to day. (she does cooking at school any way so is something she would do. She made it herself by following the recipe. Encouraging, independence, cooking skills, how to use cooking equipment , safety awareness. Pride in achievement.
Education is not just about the three R,s.

I'm sure make a meal probably just means help make the meal that you would have been making for their dinner anyway. Doesn't need to be a special meal.