To wonder why people are against homework in Primary school?

[EmGee]

I'm intrigued by this after reading some responses on another thread about homework in primary school. A good number of responses were against homework.

My 6yo is in her first year of primary school (in France though, not UK). In France, this is the year kids are taught to read and write (in cursive). She has reading homework every night, often words to practise writing. Once every month or so, she has a 'dictée' (kind of like a spelling test) on words and sounds learnt during this time. In addition to this, she has English homework twice a week (she is in a French school with a bi-lingual section, so she has two hours a week of English with a native English-speaking teacher with the other bi-lingual kids) - this consists of a two-sided worksheet to complete, and eight words to learn for a spelling test every week (4 x phonetic words, 4 x sight words).

Homework is given right up until the last day of term and then you are given holiday homework. For the Christmas holidays, there was (for French) 5 sheets with exercises to do (not particularly difficult, mainly revision of sounds, words, basic grammar rules), review all the words learnt that term, and to aim for 15 mins reading a day. Luckily no English homework to do.

It sounds a lot, doesn't it? I've been told it gets worse and next year, she will have 16 words of English to learn plus story-telling as well as reading and of course, the French homework increases with a heavier emphasis on the dreaded dictées.

I felt very stressed and rebellious at the beginning of this school year although now we are getting into a routine but it means being very organised especially evenings where there is an after-school activity. I should add that on Wednesdays there is no school but the other days are long (9-5).

AIBU to suggest that homework is not such a bad thing? We are told 20-30 minutes an evening is enough at 6 years.

GinandTonic, with respect, on what do you base your contention that there is evidence for the value of timestables, etc, as homework?

I read a book which reviewed all of the studies done, internationally, regarding homework, and I don't recall those findings.

Not trying to start a fight, btw. My kids are homeschooled, so I don't really have a horse in this race, except for caring about my friends' kids.

The majority of research has failed to find a significant relationship between time spent on homework and overall academic achievement among primary school aged children. The argument could be made that forcing young children to complete homework simply robs them of time which they could devote to an alternative enrichment activity.
Even in secondary age children, a recent study finds that there is no relationship between time spent on maths homework and grades. The only positive relationship that researchers could identify in teens is between homework / revision and scores in standardised tests. In other words, revising is linked (but cannot be identified as the cause) to higher scores in tests, however there may be any number of other factors involved. As a means of achieving greater overall learning, homework has not been shown to have any statistically significant impact.

I don't mind the reading and spellings type homework, or the maths and English sheets that my year 3 child has started getting. It gets them used to homework from the beginning of school and doesn't take long.

What I object to are the learning logs that start in nursery that are practically homework for parents. I don't mind the 'practice your name' or 'draw these shapes' ones that just need a little guidance but asking a just turned 3yo to draw pictures from their favourite story is ridiculous. It turns into a two hour fight to get them to sit still and even then every page ends up being vague shapes with scribbles of colour.

Alfie Kohn's book, The Homework Myth, reviews multiple studies on homework and comes to the conclusion that it is rarely helpful, even as far along as in secondary school.

(I cited this book earlier in the thread, just repeating it for folks who have not rtft.)

My son is in YR 1, he is 6 in August. They get homework every Monday.

I would say it takes about 20 minutes to do. We try and read with him every day. but don't get round to it always.

I think we have the balance right...

my main objection is that my DC are tired after school, and I'd prefer them to relax and take a break from formal learning. We play lots of board games, read, bake and do craft, so it's not like home is an educational black hole.

my lesser and more specific objection is that my kids' school often sets lazy homework, for example undifferentiated worksheets. dd1 is pretty strong academically, and generally breezes through hers in a couple of minutes while keeping at least one eye on Operation Ouch. dd2's homework on the other hand seems to require quite a lot of parental input, which I (quietly) find irritating, and also I worry about the DC that don't have someone around to provide that input. Neither learns much from the experience. Both could benefit from less frequent, but more targeted activities.

I'm against it because it's generally for the parents to do rather than the kids.

If it were the odd Maths or English worksheet, fine. And reading is very important.

Building models of things is not fine. That can be done in school. Or at an art club. I am rubbish at crafts (before some MNer tells me I am an inadequate mother for not doing crafty things with my dc, well yes I am inadequate but by lack of talent, not lack of desire to help my dc out). It's a good job dc has a father who IS not challenged on the craft ability front. But why the heck should it even matter? Even now my dc is in year 8 and they STILL make models. :(

And while academic qualifications open doors to jobs, it's the soft skills that keep you in a job. So extra-curricular activities are important eg sport, music, cubs/guides etc. So I'd rather my 10 year old went to cubs or guides or played a sport rather than making models.

Im not against homework in primary school, I am against too much homework at primary school. The levels are ridiculous, as is the general attitude to education in the UK - as if piling homework on from a very young age is going to produce boffins. Which, it doesn't. It does feed into stress and competitiveness however, and the outcome of all this is really glaring in society. They're adults for longer than they are children but so early in life the notion that play is frivolous and academia is everything is planted in the mind. I fail to see the point of it all

my DS is 4 and in reception. He gets homework which I resent as it has no proven point. He gets home from school around 1530 and starts the gong to bed process at 1900. I prepare and we eat a meal in between. Ordinarily I don't get back from work until after 1630 so arrive home with him around 1700. He also has a swimming lesson once a week and has tea with his grandparents, so that's 2 evenings out.
The main effect of his homework seems to be to stress me, remove family time and put him off reading the shelves and shelves of wonderful books he already owns. I fully support the concept of reinforcing what he has done in school, but completing homework which serves no purpose, does not aid his understanding and is not marked seems stupid. I'm more than happy to talk about things he's done at school and welcome suggestions from school, but as has already been said, learning comes from a wide array of sources which go way beyond the classroom.

When I was at primary school we didn't get homework beyond spellings and times tables, it was one of the things that differentiated secondary school and showed you were grown up. And we all got the hang of it pretty quickly.

I so agree with this. Beyond tables and spellings, other homework is pointless. And I think actually harmful. By setting a 6-year-old a research topic, it means that I have to sit with him, help him find websites or books, help him digest the info, print out pics etc. Tell him what to write. I worry that it makes them dependent on adults for help. I was proud to get my first homework at secondary school, and knew that it was time to take responsibility in this way and many other ways. I think my kids will be so used to needing and receiving help that they'll need to be pushed to go it alone.
It greatly interferes with family life and creates stress where it's not needed. I hate it.

I trained as a teacher last year and recent research shows that homework does little for children's learning. I don't think it's necessary at that age. They're only young! That said, I don't think it's harmful and the school I am a TA at right now do send out homework weekly.

I would say its because most parents are working and then having to come home, cook teas sort out laundry, sort out uniforms and lunch boxes get the children bathed and ready for bed, spend quality time with their children. There's just not enough hours in the day
Plus children are in school all day. When they come home. They just want to play.

Don't feel too bad, my 2 year old (almost 3) gets homework from his nursery! Just once per week on a Friday, and so far very small enjoyable things. Last week was a picture with 4 lines that he had to trace which he drew around, coloured all over, and was rewarded with a star. We're told to expect daily homework from the age of 5, 30-60 mins per day.

I object to homework at this age because they're 6. They're already at school 8.45 to 3.15 five days a week and, to me, that is enough. DS comes out of school mentally (and sometimes physically) tired. He needs the time at home to wind down, recharge, and be ready for school next day.

This. But mine is 5. She's at school for enough of the day/wk/yr so when she is at home that time is for relaxing, playing with her brother and hanging around in the garden.

There is also evidence that homework is not only not benign, but can even be malignant in many cases.

There was a study done which showed that even as mild a prescription as having kids record the time spent reading books of their own choosing at home reduced spontaneous reading for pleasure! What a disaster!!

I think it's unnecessary. The research seems to support this. When I was at primary we didn't get homework - we all got the hang of it during the first term of secondary school and survived to pass our exams.

The idea that children need to start homework at age 5 in order to be ready for secondary school is frankly ludicrous.

The Sutton Trust cited that the big thing which benefited academically was quick feedback. Homework which doesnt get marked or which doesnt get returned until a week later is neither use or ornament.

Because it's a pita and there is no evidence that it improves education. Mine are already out of the house from 8.30am until almost 6 and I hate getting in from work and saying 'right, whose got homework?' before the kettle is boiled they've got their coats off
My secondary school dcs get home under their own steam and go to bed later so they have way more time to manage their homework and they also have access to the library at lunchtime and do it on the bus whereas my primary school dcs have maybe an hour to wind down, eat, wash, have some milk in front of the tv, read in bed etc but they are expected to 'design a game to show number bonds to 20' or 'design a fire safety poster' (this for a 6yo) instead.

I am very much in favor of homework regardless of age. It gives dc a chance to reinforce what they have already learnt. It also is a way of starting good study skills which will help them later on.

I've no issue with reading and a spelling sheet but add to that a maths sheet which tries to disguise itself as fun game because you need to use a dice and an English sheet wanting adjectives on some words then I get pissed off. There's no evidence it's even benficial. It eats into the wee bit of time I have from them coming home from school to going to bed. I have teas to prepare plus countless other stuff to see too and I'm also fucking knackered from being up at the crack of dawn.

So that's why I hate it.

I'm in France too, with an 8yr old at public (not private) school. OP it sounds like your school gives quite a lot more homework, which chimes with what friends have told me about their own children's schools, especially all the holiday revision.

DS gets approx 20-30 minutes of revision each night - times tables, spelling lists for dictee, or grammar rules to learn. Sometimes a book chapter to read. No writing though. And definitely no projects! Wow they sound ghastly - there is no way a French teacher would set that kind of homework! All hw here is meant to be done autonomously right from the start at age 6 - the aim being to get children into the habit of doing it for themselves. Oh, and it isn't marked - it's revision, and the teacher doesn't even check if it has been done.

I think the 'normal' schedules have a lot to do with it. French school days are 0830 to 1630, then dinner not generally eaten till 7:30 - 8:00pm, so there is plenty of time for homework, sport, to etc.

You're allowed to like it, but the evidence is pretty clear that it's of no benefit for children of that age and can sometimes even be detrimental. So for that reason, YABU to suggest it's not such a bad thing.

I feel that at primary age, school is for school work and out of school is for playing and relaxing. They get very tired at school at this age.

Our primary school used to do homework, at the request of parents they stopped in all years but year 6. Year 6 then just got one piece a week, which was about 20 mins.

My DD is now in year 9. In all the top sets and choosing her GCSE's. Not doing homework made no difference to her, she adjusted to it well when she went into year 7.

I think it is pointless for both kids and teachers. Wasting time.

I also dislike school uniform, our primary did not have one either. No homework and no uniform and is one of the best schools in the county and massively over subscribed.

I don't need research to tell me that I was extremely bored at my prep school which gave no homework, and perked up enormously once I changed to a much more academic school. I loved homework and tests.

I'm not sure homework at 4/5 is necessary or makes much difference, but further up the school it's important.

How you can you improve in English essay writing and comprehension, if you don't go home, write essays and have them marked?

How would you learn French if you're not given vocab lists to go home and memorise?

It might make people faint here but I was also doing 1.5 hours of music practice a night: 1 hour violin, which I started when I was 3, and 30mins piano which I started when I was 7 (and I regret not having started earlier).