Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To tell the teacher that dd won't be doing the detention ?

377 replies

Wibblywobblyfoo · 06/10/2017 20:15

Dd came home from school tonight saying that she has been given an after school detention, to be done on monday, for missing a bit of homework that was meant to be handed in today. She went to her lesson and they were all asked for their homework. She told the teacher there was none and the teacher logged onto the online homework portal and showed them the set work, that she had set at 9.30pm last night!
Dd is 14 and was in bed at 9.30 last night. We also have a no computers after 8.30 pm for them all during the week.
Is setting the work that late reasonable?

OP posts:
MaisyPops · 07/10/2017 08:39

G1raffe
It's normal.
And rightly so.

I teach 250 students. People who teach non core subjects teach 600 students for often one or two lessons a week. Do you have any idea how much time is wasted chasing missed homeworks? Then next lesson has to be adapted because '20 of them have done it but 10 haven't so thry don't have thr material. So now i need a new activity for them'

Homework is set. Do it on time. Bring it in.

It's not rocket science.

Tw1nsetAndPearls · 07/10/2017 08:45

Wow I don't think we will be choosing a school with afterschool detentions for missed homework! I didn't realise that was becoming common.

If they do the homework there is no detention of any kind

Willow2017 · 07/10/2017 08:46

The amoubtbof people who just don't read what has been clearly explained and are making up thier own version of events is frightening! How do you cope in rl ?

Op has said clearly that
She saw the homework portal as dd did other homework that evening.
There was no homework from this teacher.
They did not have any teacher for the missed class.
They were told to read something in study hall no mention of the missed teacher setting work.
The portal has a time stamp and teacher left a note to confirm time.
Only 2 kids out of The class saw the homework.
It's detention as confirmed by school Not a free lesson.

Why is this so difficult to understand?
So many questions when the answers are all there already.

eternalopt · 07/10/2017 08:49

Do you know what the other parents in the same situation are doing? Definitely seems unreasonable to me so I'd stick up for my child in that situation too

prh47bridge · 07/10/2017 08:50

Very reasonable email in the circumstances.

If the teacher did not set the homework until 9:30pm it is thoroughly unreasonable to expect it the next morning and give detentions to anyone who didn't do it. Unless there is something missing here I would hope the teacher backs down. If they don't I would definitely escalate this.

NotBadConsidering · 07/10/2017 08:53

A healthy rule, I think. A fair few adults (incl me, tbf, when work allows) would probably do well to follow it likewise.

If the teacher had this rule the OP wouldn't be in this mess!

Besides, even if the OP's DD had seen the homework posted at 9.30pm, she would then have had to actually do it. Depending on what it actually was (I don't think that's been mentioned) kids shouldn't be starting homework that late.

sashh · 07/10/2017 08:53

MaisyPops

I suggested it was work not done with a cover supervisor, I posited this because it seems so, well odd, if it is just as the OP has said.

I don't think SLT would be impressed with the setting of homework at 9.30 pm

OP

Good email.

MaisyPops · 07/10/2017 08:59

sashh
I agree.

I had someone in my tutor group complain their parents were annoyed at a teacher that DC got a detention for not doing homework because it wasn't on the VLE/Moodle until 2 days before. It had been set in class a week earlier and students should have recorded it in their planner. Tech issues meant it wasn't on the VLE til later. The teacher was fine to give a detention.

It makes zero sense for it to be 'read for an hour. Oh its 930pm so have some homework'. If that is the full version then i'd be amazed as it's spectacularly poor planning.

The OP has dealt with it well.

ASauvignonADay · 07/10/2017 09:10

Good email OP. Let us know the response!

Lots of supposition that OPs dd and OP are wrong or liars,not paying attention from posters who have not bothered to read the whole thread.One of the things that most annoys me about MN.

It’s not supposition that people are liars at all.
One of the things that annoys me most on MN is post after post of teacher bashing, based on something a child of someone you never met has said. You have no idea if the OP is even genuine (plenty of thread removed as they’ve been trolls, plenty of threads that are so farfetched (not meaning this one) that either the child is not being honest or their perception is pretty skewed, or someone sour has made the whole bloody thing up just to cause a bit of angst against the education profession because somewhere along the line they’ve had a bad experience). Yes I’m sure there are sour and spiteful teachers, but they are few and far between. It’s posts like this that are damaging and mean that parents jump to conclusions when their dc come home complaining - because it must happen all the time because they’ve seen it on mumsnet!!

There are plenty of explanations for where this scenario went wrong, the OP needs to just clarify with the teacher (which she’s now done).

Willow2017 · 07/10/2017 09:11

In my kids school there is a lack of teachers for some subjects. It is not uncommon for pupils to be told to go to library or some other room to study if there is no teacher available if one is off for any reason. And it's not uncommon for some other teacher to go in all guns blazing asking them why they are there because they do not know that x is unavailable to do the class today and Mr Z or Miss Y told them to go there. Then call the students liars until they have actually investigated why the kids are there. Teachers are not infallible and some are down right useless and think they are gods gift to mankind just the same as every other profession.

flumpybear · 07/10/2017 09:19

Stupid teachers doing stupid things need to be managed ..... any child with anxiety problems could be left scarred - what next, she posts homework later and the kids worry and constantly check the portal ‘just in case’
This teacher clearly can’t see when she’s being unreasonable .... and needs help Ruth her organisation

Minidoghugs · 07/10/2017 09:24

At my daughter's school the teachers have to allow a week from setting for all homework. If not the students are allowed to go to their tutor if there is a problem and they will help sort it out. I think this rule came in response to a number of problems like this. It seems to work well and allows the children to be organised with their homework.

strawberrisc · 07/10/2017 09:28

@flumpybear. You sound like a terrible, nightmare parent. My own dd suffers from anxiety and I wouldn't dream of sending the email you drafted over something so minor before addressing it quietly first.

I can't abide the parents that write into our school threatening local newspapers/MPs/Governors/Ofsted etc because little Jonny is anxious because he got told off for forgetting his PE kit again.

MaisyPops · 07/10/2017 09:34

It’s posts like this that are damaging and mean that parents jump to conclusions when their dc come home complaining - because it must happen all the time because they’ve seen it on mumsnet
This.

It's like what a colleague said: 'most parents are very reasonable, happy with what you are doing and let you get on with it. Others love to whine. You only ever hear the ones who love complaining so your perception ends up being off and you forget that 95% of parents support you and if they have an issue they raise it politely (like OP)'

It's always worth remembering that happy people getting on with life aren't going to start threads on MN about x y z. So what people see on here is all the people who are pissed off at something. Some will be reasonable concerns/ queries (like this) and others will be ridiculous

Willow2017 · 07/10/2017 09:37

mini
Exactly the Same here.
It gets put in their planners when it's due.
Plus they have homework club at lunchtime once a week.
I would have no problem with lunchtime detention if they didn't do homework. (Not after school as the would be unable to get home unless I went to collect them due to location.)

JonSnowsWife · 07/10/2017 09:43

She saw the homework portal as dd did other homework that evening.

I agree. But if it is the show my homework app then they're are two different logins. DDs school used it. I log in with my email and password and it tells me what she has due.

DD has to log in with her PIN and a different password and it gives her more detail of what she has to do, by when, and any resources attached she might need.

OP. I think the email seeking clarification was the wisest thing. Let us know if you get a reply.

IdaJones · 07/10/2017 09:44

@strawberrisc What do you do if she misses the bus and you live miles away and don't drive?

IdaJones · 07/10/2017 09:46

Good email op and how i would have approached it.

IdaJones · 07/10/2017 09:51

You know this do you? Which teachers have shared this with you? It doesn't even make sense. What teacher would set work which could not be done, would occasion a detention, which they would have to oversee themselves? In their own time? FFS.
@echt i think twinset was being sarcastic and she is in agreement with you.

BlueSapp · 07/10/2017 09:54

People pay attention this is the ops dd who is 14 in secondary school not a primary school.

Op refuse to let her do any after school detention, this situation is just a total abuse of power by this teacher. Take it to the head after all if this was an adult being held against their will for something that was not their fault by someone in power, it would not be tolerated.

If you don’t challenge this situation with the school what does that teach your dd about when people have been unreasonable in the rest of her life. She should not have to face consequences for someone else’s inadequacy.

Btw my dd is 14 and is in bed with no technology at 9 pm having completed her homework, she has a homework diary provided by the school where they record what is required and when, sometimes she has next day homework and sometimes not. But for homework to be set when there has been no class totally unreasonable

IdaJones · 07/10/2017 09:55

I'm not anti after school detentions. DDs class got given detention recently for fucking about messing around the whole lesson. No one went to the set detention. I told her if she got an even longer one for disrespecting the teacher to not come crying to me
Did you say they are year 7s? They sound quite rebellious if none of them attended the detention.

G1raffe · 07/10/2017 09:55

Maisy - I was a non core teacher and it wasn't at all normal on our school!

ASauvignonADay · 07/10/2017 09:57

* Op refuse to let her do any after school detention, this situation is just a total abuse of power by this teacher. Take it to the head after all if this was an adult being held against their will for something that was not their fault by someone in power, it would not be tolerated.*
This is so outrageous it’s laughable. Detention is not being held against your will. 🙄

Mittens1969 · 07/10/2017 09:59

Very well worded email, wibbly. Hopefully you’ll get to the bottom of what the actual situation is. You’re also very much on top of everything to do with your DD’s homework which is great.

It is odd that only two in the class did the homework which suggests that they’re a couple of night owls who do their homework late in the evening. (I did.) And the fact that your DD has never missed a homework in 3 years.

Original poster
Wibblywobblyfoo · 07/10/2017 10:03

I got an automated response email saying that teachers may not reply outside of school hours ( which is totally reasonable, they are not on duty 24 hours and actually I wouldmt expect a reply in classroom time either) and that I will receive a reply within 48 hours of the teacher accessing email.

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread