DD missed a cooking lesson so has to do it at home?

[EdwiniasRevenge]

Last week DD was ill, had the day off school. First one this term. She probably averages 1-2 days off per academic year and only when genuinly ill. She had been up all night with fever and still had a fever that morning (38+).

She was due to bake lemon biscuits in her food class. Yr9, not an examined course. In fact it is an 'option' not a compulsory subject.

Today she has been told that because she missed the cooking session last week she must bake the dish at home (biscuits) and take a photograph with a name label shown in the picture. What is the teacher going to gain from this? What is dd going to gain from this?

Now - if it was an academic subject I would feel there was some justification for catching up on the missed class content. But to complete a practical she missed?

She cooks competently at home -bolognese/chilli/soup/cakes/biscuits all from scratch and with minimal input from me.

AIBU to think that this task is unnecessary?
AIBU to politely email the teacher and explain that I feel this is unecessary.

Threads going round in circles now.
OP, do what you want!

"No bloody way would I be doing this. If my children are off sick then we don't get instructions home to do the PE they missed, the art they missed, or indeed any of the other work they missed."

Wow. So if your child is off for, say, 2 weeks in year 11, you'll just hope nothing that they were taught in that two weeks comes up in the GCSE paper?

Wow?

We're not talking about 2 weeks here, are we? My teens are responsible for catching up on their own work. They don't take art or PE as Nationals/Highers/Advanced Highers, so just as with the OP, any classes in non-assessed subjects that they missed would not be required to be repeated at home, independently or otherwise.

"Yep- anyone can be a teacher. Because they once went to school and have a child. What do teachers know!"

No, I am not saying I can be a teacher. I am saying absolutely the opposite of this. I am saying that there is a clear distinction between looking after a child, all aspects of the child, holistically (ie being a parent); and formal education.

Facilitating your child's formal education is an important part of being a parent. It's just a circle on the Venn diagram. (how is best to facilitate it differs for each child of course, aseverything does. That's another thing though.)

Being a teacher is being the person who operates, professionally, in that bit of the Venn diagram, for many, many children, for a salary, and with objectives set in that context that I don't even know what they all are - let alone am I trained or personally equipped to fulfill them.

But the fact that they are the experts in that bit of the Venn diagram does not give them the knowledge, or, more importantly, the right, to say what we do in our time or how we should do it. This is the important distinction that I am hanging on to here. It is not disrespecting the school, or the teacher, or Education as a Thing, to say that teachers don't get to say what you do at home.

I'm with you O.P. Also are they giving you the money for the ingredients, because I don't want to sound patronizing but how do they know you've got the funds.
Also why are they getting them to make biscuits which have no nutritional value why aren't they showing them how to cook a healthy meal for the family. ie stews ect.

Buy a packet of biscuits , take a photo , job done

Or go one step further - print off a picture of lemon biscuits from the internet and send that in

But the fact that they are the experts in that bit of the Venn diagram does not give them the knowledge, or, more importantly, the right, to say what we do in our time

I've heard it all now. ros I don't know old your children are but I would be interested to know if you've discussed your view with your dc's head teacher?

And how does your view manifest itself in every day life? Do you pick and choose which homework your dc do? I am genuinely curious.

She cooks competently at home -bolognese/chilli/soup/cakes/biscuits all from scratch and with minimal input from me

In that case why on earth can't she knock up a few biscuits when the oven is already on for other things? What is the big issue about it if she already -to quote 'makes biscuits'?

Also are they giving you the money for the ingredients, because I don't want to sound patronizing but how do they know you've got the funds

Seeing as DD already bakes I am sure they have flour, margarine and sugar in the house. It needs one lemon and and egg. It will save you buying biscuits which you must eat as we are told DD makes them!

why aren't they showing them how to cook a healthy meal for the family. ie stews ect.

Now that would be a cause for complaint if you were supposed to supply the ingredients for stew!

What a load of fuss. Did you ever get further than the text message anyway?

I can't see why OP is even being handed it as a problem -it is a year 9 child-she can decide, shop and cook or explain why she hasn't done it.

teachers don't get to say what you do at home

An interesting concept-no homework ever then.

Dancergirl, of course I haven't discussed any of this with my dcs' head teacher. Why on earth should I?

Are you seriously saying that you are stunned that I believe that the scope, and the responsibility to make decisions, that sits with a parent, is greater than that of their teachers?

Seriously?

As you are curious:

They are only little, only one of them is really at school - year 1. She does all the homework which is sent home, which is 1 or occasionally 2 pieces a week. It hardly takes any time, which I think is quite right. In addition to this she is supposed to read her books. They send two new ones a week which take her two minutes each to read straight through. They are not good enough books to bear repeat reading so we leave it at that. (and she practices reading other books instead)

The reason I asked ros is because I would be interested to know what your dc's teachers think about your view i.e. that 'teachers don't have a right to say what you do in your free time'.

Why does your dd do the homework at all if you don't think teachers are within their rights to set work to be done at home? Or is it because it only takes a short time and/or YOU see it as valuable?

What will you do when your dc get older and get more homework? And at secondary when they commonly get 2 or 3 subjects per night? Will you pick and choose which homework to do and argue that teachers can't enforce what you do at home?

Actually teachers DO have a right to say what you do at home regarding homework IF you send your child to that particular school where it is expected.

I think that by the time she is year 9 you will find it a little different and teachers will tell her what to do at home and she will find herself doing it in detention if she doesn't get it done at home when she is supposed to!

You know, this thread has really opened my eyes. I never used to believe the anecdotes about people saying "why should my child wear uniform/stay in school at lunch time/not have coke in their water bottles- teachers don't have to?" But I'm beginning to change my views.......

Er, Hakluyt, are you suggesting that one should unquestioningly accept the educational system as it stands without making any attempt to query or improve it...?

The main reason why I support dd1 to do her homework is because it is expected, she sort of enjoys it, and she likes to fit in. It is no trouble so why make things hard for her?

Later when she is older the homework will be more frequent and more substantive and I would expect it to be necessary to practise doing things they have learnt about in class (actually doing the maths problems, actually writing the essays etc). Working alone is a big part of mastering a subject in depth and I get why homework is set to do this at older ages.

However, if for some reason homework presents a big problem to dds or to family life, I will look at this holistically, not say "oh but the school said they have to do it." If they have to do a half term project that involves visiting an exhibition that is only open when we are, say, at a wedding, then I will be writing a letter saying that dd did her best on the project but couldn't make the exhibition. If it is stressful, or difficult in any other way, we will take a view. One of the criteria will be: what does this contribute? will she take an exam in this subject?

Ultimately, my maternal job is to look after my children's welfare. Their formal education is one (important) part of that. That is all.

"Er, Hakluyt, are you suggesting that one should unquestioningly accept the educational system as it stands without making any attempt to query or improve it...?"

Nope.

However "shan't won't and you can't make me" strikes me as being deeply unhelpful...........Which is, frankly all I am reading here.

There's good reason not to have coke in your water bottle, though I'd still say it was a parental decision, not a school one. The rest I definitely question. Doesn't mean I don't send my children in in school uniform, back up the teachers and look the part of supportive mum. But if there were a state school around that had more progressive values I'd be seriously looking at moving. I hate the teaching conformity that seems to pass for a "good" education here and I don't think it is good for our intellect, our citizenship or our economy.

I think what it comes down to really is that everything we do is at the expense of something else. Sometimes the thing is important enough in its own right, or for the sake of being nice and polite, or doesn't cause enough difficulty, to question it. So you just do it because it is expected. However, everything could in principle be questioned, and when something comes up where the cost is too high, or the thing that it is at the expense of is itself too important - then, you say no. I generally see no reason to say no. But I reserve the right to do so when it matters and this is part of my position as the parent in my family.

Everyone on this thread knows that really, because no one has questioned that the OP's dd missed that day of school because she was ill. If we were to take all your nonsense to its logical conclusion, the OP should have sent the dd to school anyway because lessons were scheduled at which her attendance was required. Of course she didn't because as the parent, she makes the judgement call about when dd's welfare is better served by staying in bed.

"If we were to take all your nonsense to its logical conclusion, the OP should have sent the dd to school anyway because lessons were scheduled at which her attendance was required"

Yep, that's exactly what I am saying.

I do rather rest my case........

Hakluyt
"However "shan't won't and you can't make me" strikes me as being deeply unhelpful...........Which is, frankly all I am reading here."

that is absolute nonsense. What is written here by those who are questioning this is an exploration about the scope of the teacher vis a vis the child, as opposed to the scope of the parent. If that is all you can see, you are either hard of reading or hard of thinking, and you should go back to your own school and ask for remedial work in those areas to do at home.

"Yep, that's exactly what I am saying. hmm

I do rather rest my case........"

that's not an argument. It's a snotty face and a class-fuelled use of a meaningless "rather".

really? The thrust of the thread is how very dare a teacher ask a child to make up some work she missed because she was ill- and that the request was a gross intrusion into family life.........

ros sometimes homework tasks CAN be stressful and affect family life but is that a reason to take the decision not do to them?

In your example, secondary school homework would be unlikely to be to visit a particular exhibition but it could be, for example, for children to do a project at half term when you might be on holiday as a family and there is little time to do it? So then what do you do?

I do see your point but in practice once dc are at secondary it will be very difficult to take this view. Homework is set, it is non negotiable by most teachers, and in some schools there will be sanctions if it is not done and and handed in on time.

It would be lovely if homework is never stressful and doesn't affect family life but unfortunately it can and does.