to think that parents who moan about their kids gettting too much homework..........

[rudolphsmum]

........to think that parents who moan about there kids getting too much homework can't then expect them to do well in exams.

If my son is finding something difficult I sit and explain it to him and if I can't I speak to his teacher. The most recent complaint I heard was that one mum spoke to the head teacher about her daughter finding homework hard but that she wasn't interested because all she is cares about is the school getting good results ....sorry I thought that was what a good head teacher was supposed to be concerned about.

There seems to be a certain group of parents that send there kids to school and expect all learning to go on between 9-3 Mon - Fri and then wonder why their children struggle and before anyone starts on about children being to tired or need to play and relax when they get home, I am not talking about hours of the stuff either - ok rant over ;)

You are ridiculous with your schoolgirl sniggering.

Yes I did love. I just didn't preface it with "I am angry because.."

I speak from a position of privilege. It does not stop me seeing how billions of pounds have been wasted creating an education system which reinforces social stasis.

its not surprising that blue, in her "leave them to rot" bubble can't see it.

But that you, as a teacher can't see it, is dreadful.

You both embody the blinkered complacency which has brought us to this sad pass.

I agree it's pissing in the wind. You can't grasp a cogent argument when it's spelt out like ORT One.

And love, I don't need you to agree with me. It doesn't mollify or gratify me me in the slightest. I knew I was right anyway; you might be into scoring points but really, I am not.

Oh dear right I pity you - I am a product of social mobility and so is my DH very much so - you have some good points but the manner in which you have conducted yourself is terrible, I mean I cant see where you did answer my question about being angry, and you try to justify it by saying you didnt use a full sentence FFS.

ou are not right and I will rest well tonight and tomorrow night when my DS comes home with his certificate for getting achieving his next stage in his reading because I encourage the homework set by the school which I agree with.

Maybe you just a teacher wannabe, if so then I feel so sorry for you

There is no evidence to suggest that at primary school homework brings any benefits at all. On an individual level there may be, and it may be that some teachers set their homework very carefully and it is really helpful and supportive of learning (and that's great) but the research evidence shows no connection.

Plus a great deal of homework does not seem to be age appropriate or useful (of course I speak as a parent here). Lists of words that children don't understand or use. Projects which require stupid levels of parental completion. Books that are so boring that they actively put children (and their parents too I expect in some cases) off reading. Worksheets that neither the child not the parent understands. Totally unrealistic ideas about the amount of time the work might take (10-30 mins set always seemed to translate into hours at home IME)

What's the point of it all? It's stressful for many children, and uses a large amount of both teachers and parents time that could be spent on more useful activities.

LeQueen I admire your spirit. We found that not making sure that homework was done (even at the cost of half our weekends at times, or at a last recourse doing the stupid bloody projects for him) resulted in ds losing his playtime, meaning his behaviour went to pot (that break was essential for him) and he got into further trouble. Not really fair to set projects that always required drawing many pictures and writing for a child that the teachers knew struggled with hand control.

Oh, and I think that rightpissedoff has made some pretty cogent arguments here. Yes some teachers set good home work (and I agree that at secondary school it is probably useful, although the evidence isn't great there either) but a great many do not. Lots of teachers don't even want to set homework but do so because parents (generally the ones with plenty of time and resources) have asked for it.

It is a real problem that educational standards are not rising in the UK. It will hit our children hard, even if they happen to be in the lucky group that have every advantage in life. Actually it will probably hit us parents hard too, as it is in all our interests to live in a well functioning productive country, and our pensions and services will only be provided if there is a high quality workforce paying enough taxes.

For me I could be like blue and say "I'm alright Jack" because we have moved countries. To one that consistently performs better on the international league tables than the UK, but starts school later and where homework for primary children is the exception not the rule. When my children go off to high school at 12/13 they will as receive homework, which I am told causes no great problem, it's just accepted as part of growing up.

I work in a primary school and think homework is a waste of time until key stage 2 and then it should be no more than about 15/20 minutes a couple of times a week to reinforce what has been learnt.

Having said that I also think that all primary children should be reading for about 10/15 minutes at least a few times a week (or with little ones, being read to) - at home. The ones that struggle in primary with reading, and then with all the other subjects as their reading is behind, are generally the ones who don't get any reading input at home.

This is a big bug bear of mine. No such thing as too much homework imo! Well mabe there is. I used to teach and it's a pain in the arse to extract from students and mark and chase up but it's very good to get a decent amount a week and should be encouraged.

Thank you Nooka.

I think this issue is the biggest facing us. A good state education helped people like me into the professional world. What is so frustrating is that billions have been spent, to no good effect, and a few simple, cost free solutions would improve the situation tremendously. It's as if there are too many vested interests to allow them to happen. Teachers, good teachers, need more freedom and independence. Gove has made some mistakes but I think he is on the right path.

Sorry, got to disagree with you there, I think the man is an idiot.