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.

A tiny tiny proportion of your taxes, yes. In no way comparable to the cost of educating your child. People are getting this, to all intents and purposes, for free. And still complaining about it. It's disgusting.

I respect your work ethic, Twinkle, but not everyone should be held to your standard. Students can take on extra work of they like, by taking outside classes, or doing tons of independent study in their school subjects, but other students, who might prefer to spend their time working at a greengrocer's, and playing frisbee with friends every day, like I did, should not be overburdened with homework.

Enough is enough. I say this as someone who went to University and Medical School, and then did specialty medical training in the US. I am no stranger to homework, but I am not convinced of its utility.

Studying a subject and preparing for tests is another matter, I think. Asking a young person to read and learn material outside of class time is probably sensible and necessary on the university and beyond level.

I guess the system of school financing is different where I live. I pay 7k per year in school taxes and will continue to do so as long as I own a home in my town. So over time, I would pay an amount equal to the cost of my kids' education. People without children pay the same, based on home value.

However, we homeschool our kids, and you will never hear me complaining about teachers or paying school taxes. My beef is with the educational system, which hampers teachers and students alike.

I think my 6 year gets too much. She is expected to read 7 days a week, no way will that happen as we all need a break. I have a couple of health condidtions and find it too much sonetimes especially if dh away.

Fabrica That sounds far more like your own bad planning than any fault on the teachers' part, wiltingfast. Not their fault you only choose to have an hour a night with your children.

I suppose I could bother to ask how you worked that out and inquire what assumptions you are making, but you're making a perfect tit of yourself without my help so I won't bother.

Funinthesun DO I appreciate what teaching is like? YES both my parents were teachers, I have THREE no, actually FIVE friends who are teachers also, both junior and senior levels.

And frankly, they've no idea what the real world is like. None.

Washerdiris

Nothing wrong with working hard. But work hard in school.

I work hard, but I don't bring my work home if I can help it. Where is this idea coming from that the children should? Why can't they do all they are supposed to do at school? What's the big benefit of bringing it home?

Society is not the better for the constant pressure to conflate work and home boundaries.

It's not discipline for HOMEwork, it's discipline for WORK that's required.

Secondary, stay at school and do it.

Spellings etc, why can that practice not be done at school? I'm sure I'll be told it's simply not funded but in principle, there's no reason it could not be done at school.

It's not impossible to learn and exercise discipline at school and do whatever work you are set there. Certainly in the secondary I attended, the norm was to stay for "supervised study" and do your homework there. Worked fine, amazingly.

I don't mind it at 6+. English kids start at 4 though, and most of the stuff was my homework, not the dc's. Especially the project crap. No, I have absolutely no wish to make a model of Tower Bridge from egg cartons or design a milk bottle car that can actually propel itself forward. So the choices are:

A) Child does it and has the worst project in class by a mile (they are competing against architects and graphic designer parents who build their kids' models ffs)

B) I spend my weekend doing the damn thing whilst letting the child 'help' so they actually believe they did it themselves (extra hours fixing the damage arising from their help)

C) I kick up a fuss at school pointing out that no 4 year old can make 3D models of real buildings and become THAT parent.

I'm against it until maybe the final year of primary school to prepare them for homework in Secondary school . Reason I'm against it I have to sit with my children and explain it, then check it if its wrong explain again until its done right.

Have to nag them too because sometimes theyre too tired to do it. I think they should be completed in school. Or started in school so they understand it, then finished at home. giving them blnak sheets of work they've not covered then getting the parent to be the teacher like assuming we have the time is not on. I wouldn't mind if it was 1 child maybe 2, but now 3 come home with homework its too much for me, and them.

I used to get a tiny bit of homework in primary school mostly in my final year, and usually it was to finish off at home, it was never tons to do at home. I was fortunate because my parents didn't know English how the hell would they have helped me if I was stuck? Lucky I had an older sister, and teachers who understood this.

my brother did no homework all his primary years teachers only found out he was copying his friends work when he was almost due to enter secondary school. So they thought he was thick. He went to secondary school did all his homework without protest thrived on it, and he's a naturally bright individual. He's the kind of person everyone hates, he doesn't need to revise, he always passes his exams with top marks with very little effort. So I don't really believe all this crap about it helping to make it easier to do homework in secondary school, I did minimum and I always did my secondary school homework.

kids of today will have homework burnout and prob not care by the time theyre in secondary they'll be fed up of it.

I don't mind certain stuff which I think is important and parents should help with like daily reading, help with writing, spelling, learning times tables. I'm big on reading I don't mind if they have a new book everyday

Despite all this posturing about working so hard and prioritising children's education over everything else, research still shows that primary aged homework does not correlate to better exam results at 16 or 18.

So not only do people have a reasonable argument against primary school homework on the basis they have different values that place happiness or family time or something else over maximising academic results. Even if you do prioritise maximum academic results, primary school homework is not actually one of the activities that gets you that.

Despite all this posturing about working so hard and prioritising children's education over everything else, research still shows that primary aged homework does not correlate to better exam results at 16 or 18

Well, actually there's evidence on both sides.

One example is a study of 3,000 children over 15 years, which showed that those who did homework had better results at in maths, science and English at 14 than those who did none.

The study stopped at 14, but it doesn't take a genius to figure that those ahead at 14 will still be ahead at 16 and beyond. At the very least they've got a head start for GCSEs.

It also found children who had been to 'academically effective' primary schools did better in maths and science in later life.

And noted that the reason Indian and Chinese children tend to do better comparatively is that they put more time in.

link

Correlation does not equal causation. The Alfie Kohn book summarizes dozens of studies, not just one, and concludes differently.

I am fine with spellings, reading and timetables. But at my DC school there is a weekly project type homework (make a poster/booklet/powerpoint presentation). I can't stand it. They hate doing it and we all just get stressed and annoyed about the whole thing.

Beyond daily reading and the odd spelling practice i hate homework in primary schools as its not the children that have to do it, its me.
I dont have time to knock up tin can anderson shelters, cereal box pyramids or papier machie dinosaurs.
Ive done it though and i am far from creative - my poor children never get top marks like little johnny whos grandad made an anderson shelter including real vegetable patch etc
So yeah i hate homework.

Because its a waste of time. The only thing I did were spellings and reading.

I didn't say there was only one study, I simply gave an example of one.

Alfie Kohn has his PoV and quotes the studies that support those views.

I have time for some of his perspectives, but he's not my guru and I don't swallow wholesale everything he has to say.

In fact I think many of his theories are not borne out in practice.