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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that most UK secondary school children do not work hard enough

63 replies

ReallyTired · 19/10/2015 09:47

My six year old daughter who is year 2 has far more homework than my 13 year old son. My inital fear was that my thirteen year old was simply not doing his homework, however the parents' evening has reassured that he is in fact doing all the homework set.

DD seems to have a bit of homework to do every night. I find it insane that we push six year olds so hard academically, but allow teenagers to get away with doing very little. Frankly my six year old is tired after a day of school and doesn't always want to practice her spellings, tables, reading or do her learning log.

Last year my son had half days for sports day, fun run and spent a week doing activities. After the end of year exams there seemed to be very little meaningful learning. Some of what my son did in activities week were meaningful but other activities were nothing more than a jolly. I feel that more would be gained if school trips were spread through out the year and linked directly to the curriculum.

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 19/10/2015 10:31

A big issue for my son's classmates is that someone of them have nowhere quiet at home to get on with work. I feel that a prep period supervised by a cover supervisor/ teaching assistant would help children from challenging backgrounds. If there is not enough homework to fill the prep period then the child can read.

So have a word with the HT and governors and ask them to do what many UK schools are already doing.

I really do think you're basing a lot of what you're saying, on your own limited experience.

WorraLiberty · 19/10/2015 10:32

Plus if you want the school day extended and more homework given, where on earth are the sixth formers going to find time to mark homework?

SoupDragon · 19/10/2015 10:33

OP, so many of your posts sound like a journalist fishing for research for their current story.

Natkingcole9 · 19/10/2015 10:35

Stupid post YABU

Whatsername24 · 19/10/2015 10:40

My 15 year old son is in his GCSE year and I don't think he has very much homework. I also thought that perhaps he wasn't doing it but teachers have all said that he is. He said last year that they usually sit and do it during the tutor session which is the last 30 minute period of the day.

This year they've introduced "Show My Homework" for the whole school and both he and we have passwords to access his online profile to see what homework he has and when the deadline is, and I get a weekly email on a Friday evening which informs me of what's been set during the week. Last week he had four pieces of homework, this week just three.

IceBeing · 19/10/2015 10:40

spellings and times tables....its like schools haven't noticed the existence of computers....

I shouldn't complain...the Uni I work for hasn't noticed either

Ricardian · 19/10/2015 10:42

spellings and times tables....its like schools haven't noticed the existence of computers....

Computers that can't tell the difference between its and it's, presumably.

mummytime · 19/10/2015 10:44

I think you are a journalist too.

My DCs school has a homework club (held in the library, with access to computers), lots of schools do.

Original poster
ReallyTired · 19/10/2015 10:48

"ixth formers employed to do marking of the lower years? hmm

Jesus Wept! How do you think the sixth formers are going to get the grades they need for university if they're going to be spending the time they should be studying marking work? " Lots of sixth formers already have part time jobs and they still get in to university. Part time work can help university applications. Plenty of teens have a saturday job or a paper round.

Why not pay them to do an hour or so marking? My son's school already uses A-level English students to work with children who have not made enough progress in English in key stage 3 in their lessons.

The sixth formers are happy to have some extra money and its nicer work than a lot of part time jobs. It is not realistic to expect a teacher do in depth marking on every piece of home work. Would a bright sixth former be happy to be paid a tenner to mark 30 books? (Clearly they would need training as to what standard of marking was required.) A teacher's time is money and maybe that time can be used more effectively.

OP posts:
WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 19/10/2015 10:52

My dd is in year ten and hasn't had any science homework so far this year! I'm emailing the head today.

IceBeing · 19/10/2015 10:54

oh sorry ric couldn't you understand my sentence because of that? Oh you could? No problem then is it?

We should seriously rationalize our spelling and grammar in this ridiculous language...it would save a huge amount of wasted effort learning all the BS and make it a more useful international language...

I have a 4yo and it just totally pisses me off that we have c and k and then also ck and I spend all my time saying "yes darling, 'kace' really should work but sadly it doesn't"

I bet Italian children aren't still learning spelling aged 10/11....

IceBeing · 19/10/2015 10:56

People VASTLY underestimate the power of marking others work in improving your own understanding.

You see it again and again on MN, people all incensed that their kid is helping/marking work for others.

We encourage all our students to engage in peer marking because of the educational benefits...

PurpleDaisies · 19/10/2015 10:59

Peer marking is different to using sixth formers as a cheap way of marking lower school books though.

I often set students homework, then give them the mark scheme, have them mark it themselves and we compare my marking with theirs. It is really useful for them to see the buzz words that keep coming up on mark schemes.

trollkonor · 19/10/2015 11:03

My teenager goes to a school that has a policy of no homework and has a longer day. The last part of the day is dedicated to extended learning with personal and group projects. It does very well academically.

Sighing · 19/10/2015 11:04

A lot of what primary schools 'set' as homework isn't really. It's reading / practicing maths which parents do / children need to do regularly anyway. Older children are set actual question / response type work.

Racundra · 19/10/2015 11:17

ReallyTired, you do seem to have a lot of silly ideas about education.
Perhaps you need to spend time in schools (or indeed read some of the huge body of literature about schools) and you would be more informed, and have fewer daft suggestions?
If education was really so easy, surely ours would be the envy of the world still?

Panicmode1 · 19/10/2015 11:19

My son goes to a superselective grammar school with stellar exam results - but also produces really well rounded boys who have lots of interests outside school.....they currently have around an hour of homework a night (he's Y7) with some bigger project based work which takes two or three weeks....and the head is very keen that they do other things outside of school. Secondary school shouldn't be all about homework!

Original poster
ReallyTired · 19/10/2015 11:33

An hour of homework a night would be about right. My son does barely an hour a week. An hour a night allows plenty of time for extra curricular activities.

OP posts:
Lweji · 19/10/2015 11:39

My six year old likes doing home work. It is clearly doing her good as she is making outstanding progress.

Because of homework? :)
You'd need a controlled experiment to be able to say that.

As others, if anything, your 6 year old is doing too much. Even if she likes it.

Lweji · 19/10/2015 11:39

Your son should be studying in his own time, surely he doesn't need to be set up homework.

TheNewStatesman · 19/10/2015 11:40

I was reading about a school recently that got rid of almost all homework and replaced it with having students systematically revise the contents that had been learned, and do online maths. Massively cut the teachers' workload... Academically, the students seem to be doing well so far.

laffymeal · 19/10/2015 11:50

Your op refers to UK but clearly you're taking about English education, or perhaps more specifically "the schools your dc attend", or maybe you're an arrogant, condescending gf. Whichever scenario you're talking ill informed bollix.

TaliZorah · 19/10/2015 11:52

YABU. Homework is awful, you spend all day studying and then are expected to do it in your free time too. The iron fisted study till you drop approach you seem to be taking isn't helpful

Lweji · 19/10/2015 11:59

This thread is even more interesting by comparison with the thread where people argue for holidays in term time, as giving children a more rounded education rather than just curriculum.

I'd hope that children get that education outside of school and that less homework allows them interests outside of the curriculum.
Such interests may in fact lead to better results at school, as they will be able to approach school topics from a position of some previous knowledge rather than as if it was all new.

I have certainly noticed this with myself and my son.

noeffingidea · 19/10/2015 12:00

I agree with the OP. My son's homework seemed to tail off in year 10 and 11, when I expected it to increase. He did well enough (though not fantastic) in his GCSE's though. He did do more homework for his a-levels, at college. He's just started uni now and is struggling with the amount of work that is set.

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