Is it ever ok to build barriers to learning

[MadgeMidgerson]

DCs’ school has this year been using an online platform for completing homework. All participation is logged, and work marked automatically.

I am a bit fecked off as the automatically disadvantaged children who do not have a computer at home, and there will be some who don’t.

I asked DCs what happens to those children, and they have reassured me that ‘it’s ok because they can do it in the ICT suite at breaktime’

AIBU or is this actually a bit shit?

I am not going to march in and complain to the head, but this is actually bothering me. I really do think state education needs to not impose barriers of this kind.

YADNBU, we don't have a pc or a printer, only got an iPad.

DD was assigned homework that she had to print out. I asked her if she could just hand write it and her teacher said he wouldn't mark anything hand written apparently!

Then don't shrug your shoulders.

Send an email to the Chair of Governors and see if they can put your mind at rest, by letting you know the exact procedure when a child has no internet access at home.

You might be surprised. There might be many more options available than losing their break time.

We have homework club in the library after school, which is great if you aren't a young carer and need to get home or need to pick a sibling up from a neighbouring primary school.

DD was assigned homework that she had to print out. I asked her if she could just hand write it and her teacher said he wouldn't mark anything hand written apparently!

And what procedure did the school have in place, for families who don't have printers or who have simply run out of paper/ink?

Once you get to secondary, it’s pretty impossible to complete exams and homework without access to a laptop or PC.

While I don’t think it’s fair to penalise children who don’t have those things, I do think internet and computer access is becoming one of those things that is another necessary cost of parenting in the UK.

I’m not saying I agree with that, by the way, but it’s the way society and the
curriculum is these days.

DS1 has just started High School and all of his homework is on Google Classroom. Great for us; we're tech people and all have computers, iPads etc. For children who don't, it's an absolute barrier to learning and entirely unfair.

However, his school are incredible and bend over backwards to support children who don't have access to those things (including loaned computer equipment and help with internet providers) so school aren't oblivious.

I think I will write or get in touch, Worra- I am normally supportive of the school, and there are some great people there. I don’t think that this is anything really other than a failure to think about consequences; no malice intended

Thanks all, talking it out with you helped clarify my thinking on this.

Good luck OP

worraliberty I don't know, she did it in her lunch break so I never asked.

And you know what, half the time the online resources are rubbish and not worth the thousands that they cost.

So true.

Like the online textbooks which are just pdfs of the paper book and are really awful to use due to various factors, such as constantly having to flip between screens, constantly having to resize etc.

As for "show my homework" - note to teachers: Use the bloody thing and don't discipline pupils who've not done homework that the teacher couldn't be arsed to put online!

As for VLEs - note to schools - if you're going to use and publicise it, at least make sure it's up to date and doesn't show last year's revision suggestions nor previous year curriculae!

IF, and only IF, the online resources are actually any good, and the teachers are actually going to use them properly, then fair enough, but to just use them as a gimmick is not on.

Do you actually know if there is nothing in place for those students without internet access? Whilst we don't have set homework in the grade I teach (lower primary), we do expect reading at home, and have an online portal with books online for parents to access. Those students who don't have internet access, or parents who refuse to access the books online, just take home readers. It's all done pretty quietly as the kids swap their own books over, and most kids wouldn't even think about who is getting books and who isn't. We also have lunchtime sessions where students who don't read at home can read with teachers or other students.

Depending on the age of the students, I don't actually have an issue with them using some of their breaks/before/after school to access ICT equipment. We all have various barriers in life, and part of learning how to navigate the world is learning how to overcome those obstacles, and that may mean making sacrifices elsewhere. Whilst I wouldn't accept it for very young children, I think that by the later primary years, and certainly into high school, learning how to effectively manage your time and resources is something that all children need to learn.

I remember spending many lunch breaks in the school library doing assignments, because my parents worked and couldn't or wouldn't take me to the library after school or on weekends (pre-internet days). Now, someone would say that it was unfair that I had to give up some lunchtimes to get my work done, and I wouldn't have to do it. But I don't think that is helping our students learn to think outside the box and find ways to overcome their barriers. You just got on with it and got it done without whinging that life was unfair.

The children in the OP aren't really being unfairly treated. If they weren't allowed to access school IT equipment to finish their work, and then being punished for not completing that homework, then that would be unfair. But they are being given the tools needed to get the work done. And I would presume it was open to all, so those who have swimming/dancing/parents who work/etc could also choose to do their homework during lunchtime as well.

My DS's school has before and after school clubs that you pay for, but they also run a once a week homework club before school for children who have difficulty getting homework done at home which is free.

Could you suggest something like that for the school?

I don't think it's sensible to say no computer based work. Many children don't have a quiet space at home to do work, so written work is almost impossible to do to a decent standard. Other children never read at home. Where do you draw the line?