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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

317 replies

caroline161 · 17/10/2019 21:52

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"

OP posts:
Original poster
caroline161 · 17/10/2019 22:38

My original post was tongue in cheek trying to make a joke out of it. I apologise if this has caused offence.

OP posts:
Ariela · 17/10/2019 22:39

As @katseyes7 says, in the 1970s we would have had to go to the library and look it up.
Homework is always for the kids to do NOT the parents. I might direct a little (in saying, for example that I think the teacher might want a more depth explanation than 1 line) but I'd never do the work.

MadeinBelfast · 17/10/2019 22:42

@LolaSmiles, yes, research prior to lessons is fine. There are ways of making this more structured and/or useful. Chucking an 11 year old at the internet may not be the best use of their limited homework time. Obviously the teacher should have some appropriate follow-up activities to ensure learning has occured. However, I am aware of teachers who have to follow the school homework policy and sometimes set tasks so they can tick a box rather than ensuring the task is completely meaningful. It's very easy to think, 'What homework can I give tonight? I know, a bit of research, call it flipped learning and we're good to go.'

Knittedfairies · 17/10/2019 22:43

Maybe the teacher has asked that students research the Archimedes Principle so that they have some understanding before it's taught in a lesson.

Mumofboys124 · 17/10/2019 22:46

I can't believe some of the responses here suggesting this child doesn't deserve his place as he's struggling with some homework. Maybe a bit of jealousy as some of your children haven't quite made it into grammar school?? Or maybe you're just mean. Who knows.

Ignore them either way. Both you and your child will figure this out and if you are concerned I'm sure the teachers would rather know so they can help instead of causing unnecessary stress. It's all a learning curve!
Good luck!

Smileyaxolotl1 · 17/10/2019 22:46

While some people think I have been horrible, I stand by what I said.
A child who cannot complete a simple research task has no place at a grammar when the top 10% of the local secondary modern (or equivalent) would be able to accomplish this task with ease.
While the OP now says she was making a joke her initial post was also incredibly rude about her child’s teachers.

saraclara · 17/10/2019 22:47

At this point, he doesn't need to completely understand it. He needs to read about it, and make some notes. Even if some of the language is confusing to him.

When he goes to the lesson, the teacher will ask what the pupils have found out, and THEN s/he will explain what it all means.

Cynderella · 17/10/2019 22:47

I teach in a state comprehensive. I don't set research because too many kids just copy and paste without understanding. And I don't want to see their parents' work.

I go through the homework in the lesson. The kids do it. When it comes in, I check it's done properly and then I go through it in class. If they've misunderstood, they correct it.

I don't have time to mark homework, so I set stuff that I can do in class. If they get home and find they can't do it, it's their responsibility to come and see me for help.

So, I would send your son back to his teacher - s/he needs to know that he needs help. Even in a grammar school, there will be some range of ability - teachers will expect some Y7s to need help at the beginning.

If it's not just one piece of h/w, but most of it, contact the school. I have to lower my expectations for some lower attaining students. It's not that they're 'thick', but they take longer to understand something. Homework should be useful reinforcement, not torturous.

Don't blame the teachers before you speak to them,. Most will want to help.

chrisski33 · 17/10/2019 22:49

He won't learn anything if you help him. He's at an age where he should be able to research it himself. Grammar schools are tough and have high standards and it will only get tougher.

Mumofboys124 · 17/10/2019 22:50

@smiley you have been horrible.
You don't get to judge another child's abilities off one Mumsnet post.
People come for advice and leave feeling awful and it's because of people like you.

eddiemairswife · 17/10/2019 22:51

mixing up Archimedes and Pythagoras! Too much Friday evening wine. Mea culpa.

Lulualla · 17/10/2019 22:52

@MitziK

That's his volume discovery, used to work out mass not weight.

His principle expands on that and he d8scibeted the laws of buoyancy. Upward force of water etc.

LemonPrism · 17/10/2019 22:52

Although I don't think Archimedes principle is as simple for an 11 year old to figure out as others are saying.

PickAChew · 17/10/2019 22:52

That is 20 seconds on google. You don't need to get involved unless he doesn't have even basic google fu.

BertrandRussell · 17/10/2019 22:54

All you need is the bath story. It’s an exercise in “run and find out” not in physics.

Original poster
caroline161 · 17/10/2019 22:56

Ok can we just leave it now. We did use Google as I've said but we struggled to get the concept of it all especially all the buoyancy stuff. You are all so clever x

OP posts:
Smileyaxolotl1 · 17/10/2019 22:56

mumofboys
The OP asked ‘what the f were the teachers doing all day’ and implied they couldn’t even be bothered to teach her son.
There was no asking for help until later posts when she wasn’t getting the support for her rant that she had anticipated.

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 17/10/2019 22:57

Did your son not come across any research tasks at primary school?

It's a bit off if not, but something that is really easily fixed. Research is fun. Google will help him. You don't need to sit with him or teach him anything- that would defeat the point but he obviously does need lots of reassurance when he has found the answer.

He will not get this "wrong". Knowing how much to write is tricky. Has he been given any indication of whether it should be a paragraph? Or a page? They will expect a good amount of the time to be spent on looking things up. How long should his homework usually take?

Smileyaxolotl1 · 17/10/2019 22:57

Apologies OP, cross posted at the end.

wasgoingmadinthecountry · 17/10/2019 22:58

It depends also on how much resilience and independence have been develop at primary school. So many schools spoonfeed and teach to the test.

I would expect my Year 5/6 class - more able ones anyway - to do this independently as it's a skill they often use at home or in lessons. The trick is always put ks3 after your search or start off with bbcbitesize.

I think some people have been very harsh, but as a mum of 4 who have been/are going through grammar school, I'd advise you to encourage as much independence as possible.

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 17/10/2019 22:58

Sorry OP cross posted. Your son will crack this. I promise!

Walkingdeadfangirl · 17/10/2019 22:59

The Archimedes' Principle

"Archimedes was a mathematician and an inventor from ancient Greece. One night as he was getting into the tub, he noticed that the further down he sank, the higher the water would rise and the more bathwater spilled out. This led him to develop a scientific law called Archimedes' principle, which states that the buoyant force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the fluid that is displaced by the object."

"Submerged means underwater, and displaced means pushed aside. When an object is dropped into water, some of that water is displaced. At the same time, buoyancy is pushing up on the object, which changes its weight. If the weight of the object is heavier than the amount of water it displaces, the object will sink. If the amount of water displaced is equal to the weight of the object, it will float."

First result on google: homework done.

TreePeepingWatcher · 17/10/2019 23:00

The state secondary school I sent my two children to ran an evening where parents and their child are invited to weigh up different sources from the internet for homework purposes.

They taught us and the children to work out which ones you can trust like BBC bitesize and X on YouTube re science and also how to cross reference the facts, and how many sources you should look at (rather than Google's top answer).

What plagiarism is, do not copy paste, and don't worry if you don't understand it, they will go over it in the lesson.

Basically don't trust wikipedia completely as it can be edited, look for encyclopedia websites, cross reference facts and figures. Start the homework the day you get it, if you get stuck see your teacher the next day.

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