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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School bloody projects

62 replies

ovaryhill · 31/08/2015 12:46

I'm wondering what guff the school will come up with this year
I think they should be banned, last year it was build a castle a moat and different rooms that reflect your personality
No nine year old is capable of this without considerable input of time and money and I'm quite sure it's not fair on those families with a really tight budget
Some kids took ones in that had working electrics!!!
Aibu to say they they are an absolute pest and I have neither the time, money or inclination to spend my weekends helping to paint bloody cereal boxes and shopping for tat to go in them?

OP posts:
DawnOfTheDoggers · 31/08/2015 12:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Waffles80 · 31/08/2015 12:51

Just feed this back to the school and stop complaining!

wizzywig · 31/08/2015 12:54

Maybe the school do it to involve parents in their childs education

Spartans · 31/08/2015 12:55

It does seem to be more about how much parents are willing/able to spend. Both time and money.

Dd got one when she was 7 to make a dvd. They had to make a water powered rocket and film it and edit it together. Non of which they had ever done in school. Luckily for us dh, edits as part of his job so dds was great but I felt for the kids whose parents would find this more difficult. Lots of kids parents could only record it on phones and emailed it to school. Not everyone has a video camera.

I have no problem helping ds with homework, but projects are a nightmare and really do depend heavily on parents and their abilities.

Spartans · 31/08/2015 12:56

waffles this is aibu? Surely 90% of threads wouldn't exist if people just did that. What a silly response.

Original poster
ovaryhill · 31/08/2015 12:58

I have fed it back to the school to no avail
Just more elaborate crap to do year after year!

OP posts:
Spartans · 31/08/2015 13:00

wizzy most parents are involved with homework etc. those that dont, are not anymore likely to get involved with a project.

Original poster
ovaryhill · 31/08/2015 13:01

That's exactly my issue Spartan
It should be something the child is able to do and not involve expense
Some of the ones last year were clearly all done by adults which totally defeats the purpose

OP posts:
DawnOfTheDoggers · 31/08/2015 13:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BackforGood · 31/08/2015 13:03

I agree that you should feed it back to the school.

I happened to be within the eyeline / hearing of the HT of my dcs junior school when I learned they were planning another parent workshop thing during the day, for my dd2's class. My pain must have been audible and we chatted about it. Turns out they'd only arranged it because another parents had started raving about how wonderful it was that they had one every term in the infants school and the Junior school was letting the dc down. It was only by giving feedback (and they went out and then asked quite a lot of other parents) they realised that a lot of people just find these things a nightmare to get to (if they work outside the home) and the vast majority certainly did NOT want anymore than the current one a year.

We had a parents forum thing and homework was discussed at that most years - there's a group of parents that seem to like these practical 'parent has to do the homework' thing and a much larger group that don't. Our school said they would put ideas there if some parents wanted to do it, but that no-one was obliged to, and that they would definitely encourage dc to do the work themselves whenever a practical homework was set.

pigsDOfly · 31/08/2015 13:04

Absolutely agree. I can still recall some of the projects we had to do when my children were at school, and the youngest is 28 with her own baby now - although not school age yet.

The thing that really used to annoy me is the sort of thing you mention OP with the working electrics; yes, like any nine year old is going to be able to do that; but you can bet you life that child will be the one who get the high marks for the project, over some other kid who's done all the work him/her self and not achieved such a remarkable outcome.

What is the point? As Dawn says, Homework for parents. I'm afraid I wasn't brave enough not to do them but really someone has to make a stand and refuse to be made to perpetuate this stupidity. So yes, complain to the school.

BackforGood · 31/08/2015 13:04

x-posted.
In that case, I'd just not do it.

pigsDOfly · 31/08/2015 13:07

Oh see you have.

GoblinLittleOwl · 31/08/2015 13:08

Believe me, teachers don't like them either. (Apart from the one who thinks it is her original idea and will look wonderful on her CV.)
Make your feelings known to the school, forcibly.

ReadtheSmallPrint · 31/08/2015 13:11

YANBU

I, too, have tried raising this with my DCs' school, but to no avail.

It's not even as if the 'projects' are assessed. The kids do a sort of 'show and tell' (which can take 3 afternoons depending on how many kids have completed the project) and then it comes home again.

We get little enough 'family time' during term time as it is. I'm not spending one more hour designing and building a tutdor toy.

Original poster
ovaryhill · 31/08/2015 13:12

I will admit that when my boys were young the p7 project was always a pyramid with contents, we kept it in the attic and gave it a re spray every year and sent it in good as newGrin

OP posts:
Gileswithachainsaw · 31/08/2015 13:12

You are soooo NU. I bloody hate the things.

maybe if the kids didn't have to stay up late doing this crap or parents spending the time shouting or getting frustrated at kids who just want to watch sponge bob having been at school all day then had swimming and still have reading to do kids might well be better rested and more productive at school? ?!!

and what's the point when there's always "that" parent who manages to get actual moon rock for the space project causing nothing but disappointment fir those who have nothing more than a toilet roll rocket.

Spartans · 31/08/2015 13:15

Exactly OP at the very least it should be an extension of what they are learning and they should be able to do it with a little input from adults. Like all homework....or do it in school time.

It amazes me that teachers still don't seem to understand how much some people struggle with funding these things. They also don't seem to grasp that a lot of families don't have a sahp, and it makes fitting 10 hours of work in very difficult.

No issue with homework. My issue is with it taking an weekend up and costing a lot of money.

WombatStewForTea · 31/08/2015 13:15

We always set a 'project' over the summer holidays based on what the upcoming topic will be.
However we don't tell them what form it has to take and suggest it could be a poster, some facts that they've researched or anything else they can think of.
Some come in with elaborate models, others with a scrap of paper. It makes no difference to me as long as they've done something!

Spartans · 31/08/2015 13:16

Although I bet many sahp struggle with finding time with these things as well.

Scarydinosaurs · 31/08/2015 13:17

Refuse to do it. What a waste of time. So much stuff on Twitter now for paper free homework ideas- spending time with your children talking about the world. THAT is the best thing to do over the summer.

Orangetart · 31/08/2015 13:19

I hate hate hate them. Our school send out one a term, we had to make a tudor ship, house , shadow puppet theatre,Tudor knot garden in a tray, roman weapon, roman battle scene. All sorts it is ridiculous.
There has been loads of feedback that the parents and children hate it and want a return to the pack of worksheets a term. Yet every Tim we get a letter about it it is all about how positive the feedback is and how the children love their 'power projects'. Absolute Crap.

Spartans · 31/08/2015 13:22

I have made my feelings known, but schools do what they want.

The HT at dds primary (she just finished year 6) had arranged events so that one parent felt obliged to be in school at least one morning a week for the whole of last year.

We had aspire mornings every other week. Where a parent goes in for the morning and helps with the kids. I have painted school walls, put up projects on wall displays, created props and backdrops for school plays. They had assembles (at least one hour) on the alternate weeks for parents to attend and the HT made it clear what she thought of parents that didn't attend everyone.

Most people can't take that much time off every week. Then add on a weekend project and parents get pissed off.

Thankfully the ht left and the new one got rid of a lot of these things. But many parents complained to the old ht and she still carried on.

Original poster
ovaryhill · 31/08/2015 13:24

We spent a bit of money on thingsfor an 'ice cream' castle and yes I know it was my own stupid decision to do so but I really resented it and felt for families who can't afford to do the same
To be fair to the school , at the time of the pyramids, a wee girl took in a cereal box with a doll wrapped in parcel tape inside for a mummy
The school gave her a prize for it and rightly so as it was clearly her own work

OP posts:
MidniteScribbler · 31/08/2015 13:25

I never bother setting them. I'm assessing the students, not the parents. If I want them to make something, they do it in class.

Just read with your kids and I'll be a happy teacher.