So fucked off with DSs teacher & homework

[Fuckyousanta]

Yr7, not a natural student but works hard and does try.

Hates homework with a passion. I never made them do it in primary school as I personally don’t see the value at that age. This was his first term at secondary school and it’s been hard for him to keep on top of all his homework.

He had one subject where his homework was a term long project. This was made up of 5 tasks taking a few hours each. His first effort was terrible, really rushed and had hardly bothered. I sat down and talked to him about putting more effort in and taking pride in his work etc etc.

In the end he worked really really hard on his project. Over and above what needed to be done. I could see how proud he was when he showed me the finished project. He even bought a new binder for it out of his own money.

Due date was yesterday. When it got to the end of the lesson another girl put her hand up and said about their homework. The teacher, quoting from DS here, said “oh god yes the homework hahaha, um hands up if you have done it”. DS says maybe 6/7 people put their hand up. The teacher then just shrugged and said oh well don’t worry about it now, let’s see if we can do better on the next one” she then dismissed the class without taking the homework from the kids who had done it!

DS was really annoyed when he came home and said what’s the point in even doing it the teacher doesn’t even care. I know its end of term etc but AIBU to be fucked off with her lack of interest? Don’t bother setting homework if you don’t care about it surely?!

I’d contact the HOY or head not in a complaining way but explaining that your son struggles with homework but has really worked hard on his recent project and has found out on submission day that not many children completed it and they aren’t being collected in. Say you know they’re really busy but is there anyone at the school who could have a look at it as your son was really disappointed to have worked so hard and not have it looked at by anyone.
Your son will then get a heap of praise of a senior member of staff and the teacher will get a rocket up their arse for setting lengthy homework and then cancelling it. Problem solved.

I completely agree with you OP and I think you should write to the teacher saying that tasks should be defined as "extension tasks" or compulsory homework. Otherwise, what is the point?

Son used to suffer from those long projects, he found writing long research projects really difficult and counterintuitive - 2nwe supported him and tried to encourage him and he was really proud of the result, but if the teacher hadn't marked them or even taken them in...well I don't care to think of the knock on effects. 2nd son with asd used to complain in Year 7 about how he would do the homework and no-one would mark it, it really matters to some children, firstly the rule that they should do the work and secondly that there is some feedback.

Not everyone does things for the love of learning that age...what absolute rubbish some people talk.

In later years at ds's school they would set extension projects which only some children chose to do, and those extension projects would be displayed so that the children who did them had their effort recognised. AND there was the normal projects for everyone to have a chance, which were also displayed if they were of better quality or showed a lot of effort. But no-one just did nothing because they couldn't be bothered.

there has to be a critical mass though so that they can be bothered next time, because they look at everyone else's project work and learn from it. It is called peer learning I think.

At minimum the teacher could have used the school's reward system for the DC who had done the h/w. e.g. 3 credits each.

Although I agree with various PP that a lot of the value in the h/w is the doing, I know my own DD also gets a lot of benefit/motivation from praise and feedback.

Yeah that was a bit crappy from the teacher. I would email the teacher and ask her to take his homework and mark it.

And for what it’s worth my ds is year 5 and we do all homeworks except the bloody craft projects, because they are all done by parents anyway so totally pointless!

I can't believe you didn't make him do his homework in primary

What a truly, fantastic example to set. Completely disregard what the teachers ask as you can't see the point- oh the irony

I agree it’s not great OP and I can see that your son would be demoralised.

However, I would really recommend reading up on growth vs fixed mindset and trying to talk your son through the principles. It’s a shame he hates homework. Under a growth mindset, the process matters more and the project is an opportunity to plan, research, prepare, manage time, and he should have learned as he went along. It sounds a bit wanky but it is such a valuable framework, especially for kids. It puts the emphasis on learning and skills rather than tests and outcomes.

This is why our school has recently implemented a no homework policy, thank God. It’s too hard to track when you have 120 kids, as well as mark it regularly. Kids hate it, parents hate it, I hate it.

I only set homework for one pupil a week, at her mothers inisitence that she has extra work.

@Tunnocks34 at the risk of really outing myself, another school in our academy trust banned homework and the parents caused havoc! It was mentioned in the Ofsted report and the trust has now been disbanded. Not just because of homework obviously but it made good headlines.

@erykahb, if you can’t see the difference between homework in primary (crafts, drawing a picture etc) and homework in secondary then I can’t help you. Research has repeatedly shown that homework set in primary school serves no academic purpose whatsoever. DC already read for pleasure. They were never set spellings. Rarely times tables. Crafts are not homework ffs they are an excuse for parents to try and outdo each other with some papier machie

It's the principle and lesson it's teaching our children. Great outlook! 👍🏼

That’s awful. I used to set long term projects as as secondary teacher (before I retired) for good reasons to do with long term planning, managing own learning and so on. Most students did as required and gained a great deal from doing so - however it was incumbent on me to monitor, mark and feedback on their efforts so as to make it worthwhile.
This teacher has let the students down and deserves neither their trust nor their respect.

I'd email the teacher directly. I'm a secondary teacher who sodding hates homework and occasionally forgets it's due in.

Your son will have developed his knowledge through doing the task, so it's not a waste of time. The teacher should be at least acknowledging each piece of work. Very tough on your son. You could take him out for a slice of cake or something this weekend as a well done for his excellent effort.

The homework set in primary did have value ime it helped dd learn to plan her time, some of the things primary do isn't always about academic value but for getting ready for the next stage and introducing them for the more independent aspect so that by the time she gets to secondary it's not a big shock.

They've learnt the principles of homework etc at primary and would know what's expected of them, the amount of time required.

Dd spends at good hour or two hours a day on homework, I think it's a lot and I do think some of it is pointless but I'd expect her to do it and wouldn't go against the school and tell her she didn't need to do it. If I felt she was struggling or it was above her capability I'd have spoken to teacher but I wouldn't support her in opting out because I felt it was pointless.

No time has been wasted, simply because it wasn't marked. Unless the homework was wrong or had some significant misunderstandings that needed correcting, the teacher doesn't need to see it for the homework to have value
I absolutely agree and I would like to add that perhaps part of your son's problem is that previously when he has been given homework to do, you have not encouraged him to do it.

Perhaps if your son had been encouraged to do homework for the past five years, he would have gained an appreciation of learning for its own sake?

Also, you say that you don't see the value in homework for primary school aged children. How did you get to that conclusion, years of research or previous experience of working in an educational role?

Agree with previous posters: setting a long project homework and then not even bothering to collect it, let alone give feedback? Obnoxious behaviour & very short sighted.

I did a degree as a mature student - on one module the lecturer didn't bother to look at the coursework. A number of fully grown adults raised holy hell, as they should have done, because to demand work on the promise of offering feedback (feedback btw is actually a pretty fucking crucial part of skills improvement) and then to say "nah, can't be arsed" is outstandingly disrespectful. Doesn't matter if it's an 11 year old or a 51 year old, it destroys your motivation just as effectively. Poor behaviour on part of the teacher.

DC had this quite a lot over Y7-9. You learn to live with it, as PP has said doing the work has value even if it isn't marked or seen by the teacher.

Teachers are usually required by management to set homework, otherwise the parents of children who value education will complain.

Parents who 'force' their children to do it only because they think it will be marked, are in the minority. When they complain its easier to deal with them because ultimately the they would rather not 'force' their children to do homework.

Teachers do NOT have the time to mark every single bit of work a child has done. They have to prioritise. And quite frankly making a fuss or punishing Y7 children just before xmas is a stupid idea.

Just help your DC do the homework and be happy its done, try to give feedback yourself. The time to start seriously complaining about unmarked homework is Y10 when they do GCSE.

His primary homework was 85% crafts. He does enough of that at home
So why didn't your adapt your craft activities at home to accommodate the homework?

This thread is so ironic because you are cross that the teacher has not done what you expected but for five years you actively encouraged your son not to do what was expected of him.

Imagine how his primary school teachers felt all of that time.

Also, be very cautious about demanding feedback from your son's teacher. From the way you are posting it seems that you have no respect whatsoever for the education system and teachers.

Even so you say that your son works hard and tries, despite evidence to the contrary. You may think that your son's project is wonderful and I don't doubt you have told him so.

Just be prepared for the fact that his teacher to give your son's project her honest feedback, which may not be as welcomed by your son as your feedback.