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

When there is no differentiation, parents complain that their gifted child is not being stretched. When there is differentiation i.e Maths in ability groups rather than year groups, parents complain because little Johnny isn't in the top group with his friends even though little Johnny is way behind his friends.Parents need to back off and respect that differentiation and groupings are based on the child's performance in class and in assessments. Sometimes you just want to say, "Look! Your child is just not that bright ok!" Ahh that feels better.

cadenza I clicked on this thread thinking that you thought that this teacher was lazy because they had not set homework, had not marked anything etc etc.... You have however called them lazy because they have asked their students to write a story. Again....hmm]

YABU. You have no knowledge of how they will assess this work etc. Do you really think that they will mark the year one and two stories in the same way? Are you not aware or too dense that creative writing/story telling is often a homework set throughout primary/junior and senior school?

I don't buy the testing the child's development bllcks. It's homework, not classwork, so the teacher has no idea how much parental involvement there was in the work. They might still have a reason for setting the same homework again, but if they want to assess a child's development properly, they will be doing that in class time (all the time), not via homework. Given that homework is one way some parents judge a school, it's a bit foolish to give exactly the same homework two years running, rather than having a 2-year rolling programme, imho. It's kind of asking for trouble!

Thank you for the responses. In answer to some points

1. I'm fully aware that repeating a task still has benefits
2. that homework us technically not teaching
3. that they'll have to write more than one story in their life.

It was more the fact that the subject was identical and it would be nice if the topic varied. It's also the 2nd identical homework set. I probably notice it more cos u have twins.
Totally happy to accept it's normal practice. That's what I was checking for but thank you for the flaming

Maybe a private education is what you're looking for. With bespoke homework tailored to your child' particular interests.
ps I am premenstrual.

Good job you aren't a teacher then.

They have good reasoning behind setting homework, regardless of your pet theory. One measurable reason for setting homework is to give each child a chance to work independently, to practice what they have learned in class, sometimes even to ascertain what a child will hand in with or without parental input. It is part of how we get to know the individual child.

No teacher enjoys setting homework, as we lazy bastards then have to mark the sometimes parent led results. We do it so we can measure development, attitude and aptitude in a variety of settings.

That isn't conjecture. It isn't asking for trouble. It is the job...measured by Ofsted, expected by parents and HTs and. fortunately, often useful to, if disliked by, teachers and students alike.

Sorry OP, my last post wasn't popping at you. As a recently escaped retired teacher I thought your question was a fair one.

It was responding to roundabout's somewhat pithy post.

Ourblanche I am a teacher actually but private one to one tuition which is very different obvs.

I am glad I put my disclaimer in quickly

I'm about tis idea that homework isn't teaching.
If it isn't teaching, why on earth do they give homework to do to children? Why would they try and differenciate homework?

Homework is part of teaching.

And yes the teacher is very likely reusing the same material from year to the next. It's normal. They can not possibly redo the entire lessons every time. reusing some of the material is a way to leave space to improve the lessons that need to some twiking.
However, I would expect the teacher wo has the dcs two years in a row to give them slightly different things to do. It would be very easy to point out that the exercise looks the same but that she now expect x, y and z. I mean even for the children, It would be a nice boost to see how far they have come too.

Is it seriously normal practice to set exactly the same essay topic more than once? Surely you could achieve the same things whilst stimulating the child's imagination a bit more by varying it? e.g. If one year it's about dinosaurs, the next year it could be about dragons? After all, in the normal course of things when year groups are not mixed it is pretty unlikely that identical topics will be set in different years, so I don't really buy the notion that this was deliberate and pursuant to some higher teaching goal.

It isn't unusual, Jeeves. Such stuff can sit in a folder from one year to the next without being changed. Especially at the beginning of the year when there is so much other stuff to take on board: new kids, SENCO, staff, room and curriculum changes etc.

The intent would be to check progress, best practice would be to vary the question, the reality might be that homework doesn't get changed. This would not matter if the group was not a mixed one... when all the other stuff I listed gets even worse!

So, not a lazy teacher, but one who is focussing elsewhere and has put homework on auto pilot, perhaps.

OurBlanche, I quite see that stuff sits in folders, but surely in the majority of schools that still doesn't entail duplication because children move on to different teachers each year. I can also see that this is a fantastically busy time for teachers (though how much time does it seriously take to think up a slightly different essay topic?) and I could buy that as a reason; what I find difficult to buy is the suggestion that this is all done for terribly good and worthy assessment reasons and nothing else.

OurBlanche - I have siblings who are teachers (secondary); I've heard primary teachers and primary school headteachers talk about homework and question its purpose in my role as a school governor; my own children's school has been through several different incarnations of homework methods, strategies and approaches, all with different logic and explanations behind them; I am a parent and have in that context heard teachers explaining to parents that they haven't marked homework because they have no way of knowing how much is done by the children and how much by the parents; I've heard teachers say they only set homework because they are told to by the powers that be; I've known some teachers take homework seriously; I know the Ofsted criteria. The only method of homework setting I've ever seen work is one that was actually explained to the parents. Clearly this has not been done here. You are foolish if you set exactly the same homework for the same children two years running and not to explain why before you are asked by the inevitable parents that notice. It is also a fact that lots of primary school teachers resent setting homework, resent marking it and don't see the point in it.

Our school do this, but they cleverly have a two-year cycle so parents in mixed classes don't see the same homework twice.

The thing is, it can be for some very thought out reasons from the teacher, it can be because she is reusing teaching material, it can be because she doesn't believe in homework so does the minimum there or it might be the mark that actually there isn't much differenciation between the 2 years and the child is doing more or less the same both years.

I've had children in mixed classes and tbh I found you need an excellent teacher to be able to really differenciate for the two classes and the different levels for the children. In that particular school Ofsted thought that the lower and the higher ability groups were not well catered for. It was also my experience as a parent of two dcs in that school. I believe this was ,partly, due the mixed class set up.

Did you read my posts, roundabout? I acknowledged all of the possibilities, including my opinion that parental involvement can make homework useless, and said that teachers may still have a good rationale for setting homework. One that has as much research in favour as against.

You can argue round in circles if you want, I'll only respond snippily if you 'call bollocks' again, as that is your opinion not a matter of fact.

Having been both classroom teacher, sister to a primary teacher, a Head of Dept, BTEC Assessor and School Governor over 20 or so years, I have experience/knowledge from a number of perspectives. And my own opinion is that the teacher in question is as likely to be pushed for time and concentrating n other things as they are to simply be lazy.

Sorry that is extremely lazy.I'm with Round.

Presumably they should have learnt something last year so the learning objectives should be slightly different.

We've received shockingly lazy homework here,clearly churned out from a work book on areas they've never covered because it has to be set.

I am a teacher (although secondary) and am of the opinion that homework should be set to reinforce classwork and practice learnt skills (or alternatively prepare for upcoming work).

To be honest I wouldn't be too about that homework - especially as it sounds like it is something that is always going to be useful. I do however admit to a slight bias in favour of the teacher!

For me Lilytucker learning objectives are for the classroom - applying what has been learnt is for at home. I'm pretty sure the learning objectives in the classroom will have changed for the ops ds.

Housemover .. DS homework is set termly ... big sheet home at the start of the term. To be handed in at the end of term, based on help being independent at senior school. No rewards, no punishments for done/not done. No relation to class work, no reinforcement ... make your own sums etc ... hes year 6 ... now thats homework for homework sake.

Sorry .. question, how do you see that working in senior school?