To think that teachers need to teach stuff and not me.

[caroline161]

DS has just started at Grammar school. Ridiculous amount and type of homework. For example: Learn about Archimedes principle, explain what you have found. AIBU to email the school and say, " I would appreciate it if you could teach him this instead of me and what the f are you doing all day which means that I have to teach him Archimedes principle"

It's not for parents to explain anything to their children, OP. Each child research the same topic, and share what they think/found out in class. That's the whole point of individual research. There's no right or wrong.

I think the school could do to hold a parents' evening to explain to all parents exactly what is needed to cope with the jump up from primary, things like how to ensure HW is organised, i.e. do not leave it to the last minute, ensuring DCs have adequate working space and materials, access to internet and laptop or tablet, which some schools may provide anyway, etc, etc. It IS arrogant to assume all parents know this stuff, many don't. They could also explain "flipped learning" and any other "new" methods of teaching. To me, ensuring all children know what will be covered in the next lesson would give them all chance to research that topic in advance and thus be properly prepared for said lesson, but very few teachers do that, although this one seems to. But then I retired in 2015, so what would I know!

What is Flipped Learning? Is it the latest fad?

Some children find independent research tricky a first. The key is for them to keep trying. Look at key words in searches they will bring better results. At this stage it might be just adding 'kids' to the search to bring up simpler results.

He should have been shown how to use google, and equivalent, internet searches and the idea of key words, checking a site is valid and reliable, etc as part of his key stage 2 computing curriculum. I teach how to do internet searches and key words, and interpreting search finds at key stage 1.

If he really can't do it - get him to just write our one or two result findings and I suspect it will then be covered in the next lessons anyway,

Stanley
We do have open information evenings for every key stage. We also provide a lot of the information on homework on year 6 transition days/evenings too. It's the norm in most schools I've worked in.

But explaining "new methods" is a bit much. There's really not that much that's genuinely novel in schools it usually comes back to:

• teacher tells information and skills
• students apply knowledge and skills
• students complete prep work and research

It's really not rocket science to work out that you check the homework planner and don't leave it all to the last minute. Primaries have homework throughout key stage 2.

The reason I said it was snobby is that there seems to be an implication that OP doesn't know how grammar school works and that must mean that she was not highly educated herself and therefore doesn't belong there. Which is bollocks as that's literally the point of grammar schools.

But also a weird undercurrent of "OP is clueless rich/class jumping idiot who thinks grammar schools are a magical place of instalearning when they are no better than any normal school".

I also think there is a skew on mumsnet - I admit to not being fully up to date with how English primary schools tend to work but from my own memories of them years ago, when I moved from one with a very MC demographic to one serving the local council estate although the content covered was the same the style of teaching was very different and of course it had to be. I don't remember any independent research being done in Y6 and I couldn't really imagine that being set as homework, because half of the kids wouldn't have had the means to do it. Internet of course was less available than it is today, but also at 10 children do tend to need help with self-directed research, it's not something you can just have a go at, it's quite a complicated set of skills, and even "googling something" requires knowing that google exists and what it does. So I could well imagine that schools in areas with parents with higher than average involvement/resources are more likely to attempt this kind of thing with children, whereas schools in areas where the parents are less involved and have fewer resources might just be trying to get them through their SATS. And I think MNers' children are more likely to be in the former kind of schools than the latter, and sometimes don't seem to believe that any other kind of school could exist.

But even if it was introduced at primary that does not mean a child will follow, even if they are academically able.

OP you got people's backs up with the suggestion that teachers do bugger all teaching and just send the kids off to learn it themselves. Maybe that was supposed to be a joke, but it didn't come across that way.

If your post had said 'AIBU to think the Archimedes principle is a bit complex for year 7s to research by themselves', nobody would have reacted badly.

Your son's teachers will be working incredibly hard teaching him and his peers a lot of stuff. Setting some 'investigation' type homework tasks as part of, or prelude to, a topic is not a bad thing to do. I find it hard to believe that you'd think the teacher was going to let them just teach themselves a whole topic on their own!

Sounds like you helped him way too much throughout primary to get him into the grammar school and now he's at grammar school he can't cope with the level of work because of all the handholding he received from you before. Your bed = you lie in it.

I work full time. I don't have the time to think about everything in my life with great detail. I've been under a lot of pressure at work. I'm not a scientist. I don't know about Archimedes principle, I know teachers work really hard but wanted to ask the question that if we were having to do this as homework then what on earth must be being taught by the teacher? I was being facetious, it is my humour. But have now apologised on 3 occasions for this. I'm not a horrible person but I have seen a nasty side of mumsnet over the past few days. And so it continues.

Just lovely , my bed for me to lie in. What marvellous warm support. How about being nice because some people are struggling with things you know nothing about ?

@caroline161 I often used to set research as homework (flipped learning), but would try to be very specific about my expectations. Homework like this, while it's good for developing independent study skills, can be quite distressing for perfectionist students and needs to be introduced gently.

If I were you, I'd try hard to reassure your son that he has completed his homework - he's already done exactly what was required. The teacher will (presumably) use the next lesson to take what the students has found out and build on that.

To those implying that the OP or her son are somehow thick - shame on you. SHAME on you. We've all struggled with concepts at some point in our lives and I've certainly struggled with simpler things than this.

students have found out...

Grammar `school is a big step up and the homework will be considerable - it's designed to encourage independent learning, instill class teaching and encourage diligent study habits. It sounds like your DS's primary/prep school did not prepare you/him very well for the change! Let him get on with it and if he is really struggling then send a polite email to his form teacher explaining the problem. Do Not accuse them of not doing their job! As other people have posted, after all, you chose Grammar School - in my opinion, a wise choice if you have a academic child! Good luck to you and him! Be patient though - some children take longer than others to settle into new routines and teaching styles.

I don't get it OP - either you really were questioning 'what on earth is being taught by the teacher' or you were being facetious. Your continued remarks following up the original post suggest the former. You only started claiming it was humour after people criticised your attitude.

Yes people can be very nasty on MN, and being rude about your intelligence or that of your son was totally uncalled for. But YA still BU about teachers not teaching things.

So earlier on in the thread I was a terrible mum who should want to help their child? Now I am a terrible mum because I have held his hand too much in primary school making him un prepared for this. I wish the mumsnet jury would decide which one I was

He’s supposed to Do the research. Be glad he’s got computers! When I was that age we had to go to the library.

I was just being a little bit of both but clearly thats not allowed , I would never ring or email the school. I was just thinking out loud what are they doing if I'm doing all this , with a bit of a twinkle in my eye. But genuinely I thought the sum total of my son's Archimedes principle experience would be what I could teach him ! Which seemed a bit unfair if your mum is someone more intelligent than me.

And it's very difficult for tone of voice to come across online. I was accused of ranting , I don't think I've ever had a rant in my life !

Now you know that's not the case and since some people are still preening over how much smarter than your kid they are and how they're a better parent, I suggest you forget about this thread and both you and your son rest easy about the homework and Archimedes.

I got how you meant it OP,
and can’t believe that anyone genuinely thought you would email the school using the exact words in your OP.

I would be really interested to see how it all pans out regarding the school and the Archimedes Principle.

It's research that's relevant to what he's studying at school. I'm a primary school teacher and even though homework doesn't happen every night, everything done at home is very relevant. There's only so much we can fit in a school day and we appreciate parents getting actively involved in their child's education, even if it's just listening to them read every night.

I agree with most of the other views, most kids above the age of 7 ish are more teccy savvy and fully understand Google and how to use it etc leave him to get on with it and problem solved

You are definitely not thick hun, I think that there is enormous presssure being put on kids these days and flipped learning (cop out for teachers cough cough) really doesn't suit all learners. I would see if you can arrange a meeting with his teacher to see what can be put in place to support your son through his learning journey.

Shame on the judgemental fuckers on here.

Ha Ha Ha!

CecilyP
Sadly, the tone in the OP, the what the f, the complaining about homework, the what do teachers do if this is the homework, why am I having to teach my child are all too common from a minority of parents who like to weigh in on how things should be done, how homework should be done, what they consider appropriate teaching and homework is. There's a reason most people picked up on the attitude.

The OP only changed their tune after almost everyone unanimously pointed out they were out of order. Earlier in the thread they said they didn't realise the homework would be covered in class (which absolutely fits the whole complaining and arsey attitude a lot of more than their later claims of humour)