To think this teacher is lazy

[Cadenza1818]

So ds (6) is in a mixed year group, yr 1 and 2. The last two pieces of homework have been the same ones they received last year. I realise they could still benefit (it's just writing a story) but does anyone else think it's a bit lazy? I'd expect teacher to give yr 1 the same homework as mine had last year but not yr 2. Any teachers who also teach composite classes give advice please? Thanks :-D

If its a story, year ones would be expected to write a few lines, years twos to get finger spaces, capital letters, full stops, maybe speech marks. Etc. So its not the same expectation at all.

I've sometimes made DD7 so worksheets she's done before just to see how she's progressed and as Sally.

So, do you think once they have written a story they should never have to write one again?

I think you will find that for literacy children will be asked to write a story many many times in their school career! As a teacher you mark different things at different levels depending in what each child's targets are, even within one year group class. So, it's not lazy and YABU

No this is not lazy, if anything it's probably done on purpose. I work in education type environments and teachers often have to set the same work twice to see how well a child is improving. Improving on ones own learning can be very beneficial.

Isn't this called 'differentiated by outcome' or something?

Surely a teacher can see progress/improvements in a child's writing without having to set exactly the same task?

Mu daughter's school set them a similar writing piece at the start of every 'junior' school year. They go in a progress folder at the school. It's a lovely skim through.

lol, there is an lazy sod RS teacher at a local secondary school that has been there for donkeys years. The school gets dire results overall, but he gets good results in RS.
He set sets DC the same essays over and over again from Y7-Y11, on the basis that by the time to get to do the GCSE they can produce something perfect.

We can, but it is also helpful to see how a child interprets the instructions. Which is why parental input is not always helpful!

DS2 was in a mixed class of Yr1/2 in Yr1. He repeated practically everything in Yr2. He was bored shitless most of the time.

Depends if you remember or your child does?

Child 6 comes home and says - "I have to write a story about a dragon, I did this last year, borrrring "

I'd call that lazy teaching because I would assume that the teacher has just reused last years mixed class lesson plan. Yes the child should be more advanced and it is a way to benchmark their progress but one of the primary roles of a teacher in my view is to instill an interest and love of learning, not to trot out the same old stuff year in and year out.

It's probably the best possible way of assessing the progress they've made.

The teacher is only lazy if he/she doesn't bother to read the work after.

No, if you think the teacher should set a different story task then you need to take it up with someone higher up. There are reasons why same tasks are set. A year can make a lot of difference in a child's education

Are they all doing the same topic again this year? Or is it a very generic piece of homework?

It does depend on whether it's to assess development or is actually lazy.

At our parents evening DS6's teacher showed me 2 pieces of work (to show handwriting and spelling) from now and last year. She was showing me the improvements and was pointing out how for example when describing things he's writing words like 'wonderful' instead of 'good'.

This is because you have sent you child to a mixed class of yr 1 & 2. It's quite hard to differentiate between 30 mixed ability yr 2 children, never mind 30 yr 1&2 mixed ability. A story task will enable all children to show their skills, whether it be capital letters and full stops or exciting vocab and chronological order. Let the teacher teach and you parent!

As it's September, a writing task is common to show the teacher what the child can do. Even if the child did it last year, he or she is highly unlikely to right the same story.A years worth of skills have been learnt hopefully and this is your child's chance to show what he can do now, a year on.

Mumsnet rule 101: never criticise a teacher!

At least not for being lazy!

We can be rude, late, nasty, no nothing fuckwits... but we are hardly ever given the room to be lazy

know nothing

Why does autocorrect do that? Bastard thing!

My dd2 is at a mixed year group school. They have 3 yr 3/4 classes and 3 yr 5/6 classes. It works very well. They have a 2 year rolling curriculum so no child does the same topic again. I have seen the topics before, simply because dd1 has done them!

All children in the class get the same literacy/creative homework. Maths homework is by ability not by year group.

Its not lazy teaching to set the same homework task. In fact, setting homework (in itself) is barely teaching.

In fact, even setting homework that stretches the child, allows you to assess their current standard , marking it, giving details of the child did well and a target to improve is a very small part of teaching.