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AIBU?

... to answer the homework questionnaire honestly?

38 replies

MrsHathaway · 29/04/2016 19:28

School has sent home a questionnaire about homework. They will be surveying the children at school.

Questions include "Do you think homework is important?" and "Ideally when would you like homework sent home and returned to school?"

I think primary homework (beyond reading books and maybe spellings/times tables) is at best pointless. At worst I think it risks disengaging children and putting them off school.

I should say so, shouldn't I?

Should I stop short of including copies of the articles that helped me to my conclusion?

I have a very good relationship with the school but this questionnaire is anonymous.

OP posts:

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Ginmakesitallok · 29/04/2016 20:26

We had a survey a couple of weeks ago about uniform. Some of the questions were like, did we think that being affordable was important?

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dillydotty · 29/04/2016 20:26

I hate the homework aimed at parents, like expecting a six year old to make a working model of a volcano. Pointless!

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dillydotty · 29/04/2016 20:28

We had a survey a couple of weeks ago about uniform. Some of the questions were hmm like, did we think that being affordable was important?

No, we like paying £30 for a monogrammed jumper whenyou could get an identical one save the logo for a tenner!

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Schwabischeweihnachtskanne · 29/04/2016 20:46

Yes, answer honestly.

Also yes, as acasual says "What's more, expect the findings to be cynically massaged if they do not accord with the headteacher's 'vision'."

When I was teaching I was sent to conferences as part of a fast track programme, along with a senior manager. I was initially excited and motivated by the ideas and pilot projects and studies we heard about at the conferences, all of which seemed to be suggesting steam lining and simplifying and addressing fundamental systemic flaws - until I saw how the senior manager I went along with reported back in staff meetings - we clearly hadn't been at the same conferences because the message she had taken away was always that we should tack extra data gathering and paperwork and the odd bit of box ticking but undefined "mentoring" and lots of after school and holiday booster class onto what we were already doing, but not actually change anything fundamental. This was never remotely what the presentations at the conferences had suggested.

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Cagliostro · 29/04/2016 20:49

YANBU my friend would agree with you, she's a primary teacher but is forced to set it. She doesn't agree with it. Mind you she gets pressure from both the HT/HOD and some parents. Really seems teachers can't win on this one :(

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MrsHathaway · 29/04/2016 21:20

I hope some of you are parents at the school! Fingers crossed everybody replies along similar lines.

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Chattymummyhere · 29/04/2016 21:23

Our head states the homework is optional (wish he would remind the teachers that when my ds didn't bother to do an extra challenge on his homework).

However I need buy the whole anonymous part of these things ours are all done on parent mail clearly there is a way to find out who sent what back in.

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CuntingDMjournos · 29/04/2016 21:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TwentyCupsOfTea · 29/04/2016 21:34

I genuinley wasn't aware there was homework in primary schools, other than a reading book

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CuntingDMjournos · 29/04/2016 21:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

kennypppppppp · 29/04/2016 21:55

our school has homework once a week in juniors and seniors. english and maths. so 2 bits of homework, given out on friday and back in on a tuesday. there's homework club after school (free) and lunchtime homework club in juniors.

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Schwabischeweihnachtskanne · 29/04/2016 22:08

We are abroad. Kids here get tons of homework daily right from the first (OK, maybe the 2nd) day of school (at age 6/7).

The only good thing about it is that by age 8 or so they are wholly self sufficient with home work and the idea of needing to sit with a non SN 9 year old to do homework is utterly alien :o

I am not sure the year or two of torture at the beginning it is worth it, and am not looking forward to enforcing the first year or two with DC3, but do like how home work self sufficient my 8 and 10 year olds are (which is a bloody good job considering the volume they get and the fact its all in German) :o

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BlueberrySky · 29/04/2016 22:08

Our primary school did a survey on homework. We all said what a waste of time we thought it was. They stopped homework for all apart from year 6. Year 6, then only had one piece a week.

Though recently I saw a parent at the same school complaining that she did not like them not getting homework and was thinking of sending her kids to a different school that had more homework but was not considered as good a school. Just so her kids could do more homework and be pushed more. Bonkers!