To think this extra homework is unfair?

[twosoups1972]

Dd is 13, Year 8. On the autistic spectrum if that's relevant.

In the week before half term, she was performing in her dance school's annual show. She loves dance and gets a lot out of these shows which are very professionally done and take place in a local theatre.

During show week she had rehearsals at the theatre every day straight from school till 9pm. Then one performance on Friday and two on Saturday.

On the Tuesday of show week, she came out of school saying she had Science homework due in that Friday which involved using a laptop for research and typing things up. She explained to the Science teacher about the show but no allowances were made and dd was told if she didn't hand in the homework she would get a detention.

So dd's schoolfriend (also in the same dance show) took her laptop to the theatre on one of the rehearsal nights and together they did the homework and handed it in. I thought they managed it well bearing in mind the tiring schedule that week.

Last week was half term then back to school on Monday. I thought that was the end of it but no. In Tuesday's Science lesson, dd and her friend were given additional homework as they had done the previous one together. Just them, not the rest of the class.

AIBU to think this is OTT and petty? And gives a message that the school doesn't value outside activities.

YANBU. I strongly suspect the learning objective of the homework could be achieved just as effectively if it was done jointly or seperately, and indeed that your child and her friend learnt much more by doing it together than many children who simply got their parents to do it.

Given that this was just before half term, it probably wouldn't have killed the teacher to extend the time limits either.

I'm sure you don't mean to, but it sounds like you are dismissing the mental health problems we have. Every teenager I talk to is worried about grades. It's so sad. They are pushed and pushed to achieve at every stage. We have this crazy education system in this country
Please don't patronise me. I'm a secondary teacher and have more than enough experience with teens and the difficulties that students face.

I just happen to have an issue with people taking "teacher makes a decision I don't like" and turning into "no wonder we have mental health issues". It grossly oversimplifies a complex set of issues and isn't some sort of trump card to play.

She should have done the homework alone. Secondary school education is more important than dancing.

Nowayorhighway
To be honest it probably wouldn't have to be done entirely independently. Lots of students complete homework together or discuss it.
One year some of my GCSE class created a group chat because not everyone could make all revision sessions and it morphed into a collaborative revision group with a hint of why Mrs Lola is annoying (I know because they told me )

It's entirely possible to work together on some elements of a task and then produce their own work to hand in.

OP, I'm 24. I was still in GCSEs in 2011. Yes all teenagers are worried about grades, duh it's stressful mostly from parents bloody panicking and going on about getting their grades and how stressed we must be and how it's so much work.

Teachers were encouraging and helpful.

But you push through and are rewarded or not at the end. Pandering to it I found made it worse, it's a necessary stress. If they can't handle high school stress they won't manage A level, Uni, full time work in a difficult career path... they need strategies to cope with it. Not exceptions.

Sorry @LolaSmiles I didn't mean to sound patronising. I know teachers are under a lot of pressure and most of them do a fantastic job.

I'm not the sort of parent to wade in and argue with what teachers have said. I encourage my children to work hard, behave well, do their homework on time and respect their teachers. But I have read all the comments and taken them on board.

I'll make sure dd gets the extra homework done and then forgot about it.

Just to add - my older dds (18 and 17) thought it was OTT and having been through the education system recently said Year 8 was a bit of a waste of time anyway. My personal viewpoint is there isn't much correlation between what happens in Years 7-9 and long term academic success. I could be completely wrong on that score I know. From my own background, I did very little work at all until Year 10 when I knew it mattered. I try and keep that quiet from my dds though

As to the question about dd's autism, yes it is sort of relevant as she gets anxious in some situations especially where there is a lot going on. I was really proud how she managed to do the show with multiple dances, costume changes, work out what she needed each day etc and keep up with most (!) of her homework. For me (and her) that's a massive win.

Just to add - my older dds (18 and 17) thought it was OTT and having been through the education system recently said Year 8 was a bit of a waste of time anyway.

I think most teachers would disagree with you, especially if she’ll be doing triple science where many places start the course in year 9 to get through all the material.

If they can't handle high school stress they won't manage A level, Uni, full time work in a difficult career path

Not sure I agree with that. Many of my dd1's friends are finding university a much easier workload than A Levels. And we have friends with adult children who found school exams stressful but cope much better in a working environment.

I think the OP probably mentioned her dd being autistic because juggling the demands of school, homework and such intensive rehearsals for a week can actually be very stressful and tiring ( albeit enjoyable too) for any child, let alone one with autism.
I've been in this situation with my daughter who also dances. On ocassions such as this, they hardly have time to eat a proper meal (all packed meals) or have a shower at the end of the day. They get home late and therefore go to bed later than usual, so getting up earlier to do homework isn't really a good option. On top of this, they have to get their homework done as well. It really can be exhausting! Most dancing kids fully understand this, and get on with their homework really well (it makes them very disciplined and they learn good time management skills). Very occasionally, a situation arises like this one with the computer homework that isn't easily solved.
I think Op's dd and her friend found a great solution in that they did the work together. I think the teacher is being very petty here. Surely the important thing is that they both learnt from the homework they completed, not that they did it together? As someone else has pointed out, other kids may have completed it with parents etc.
Luckily for my dd, her academically high acheiving school also highly valued the arts and extra curicular activities, and were very understanding about homework and giving an extension on the rare occasions it was needed. They were also happy to give authorised absences for examinations and dance festivals etc.
Some young people, including my dd, go on to study their chosen extra curricular activity at university and make a career out of it as an adult. It's really helpful if a school can be reasonably supportive of kids that have a passion or a talent in a particular activity. This is how West End stars, ballet dancers or top athletes are made!

YANBU!
They probably learnt more together, with discussing the topic together, than if they had done it on their own (ie. googling, copying and pasting then forgetting!).

If they can't handle high school stress they won't manage A level, Uni, full time work in a difficult career path

Simply not true. See my previous post.
Dealing with these pressures actually develops time management skills, priority setting and self discipline in young people. The vast majority of children and young people at my dd's dance school were academically high achievers and are now at uni doing teacher training, physiotherapy, becoming doctors or other science degrees, or degrees in the performing arts.
I think these kids are awesome with the time and commitment they make to their hobby for years! They also end up being very good at their chosen activity.

If they can't handle high school stress they won't manage ...

Not everyone is made the same.
Not everyone is cut out for A levels and uni.
HTH

So should kids just get 3 years of playtime, and restart at Y10 turn, just because that’s when you started to pay attention, OP?

I’ve got a Y6, so perfect age for me to test that by showing her some Y10 maths, right?
Because she’d have no problem just starting to work hard at it then.

What an absolute insult to all the teachers on here teaching Y7-9. You don’t think any of what they do is important? You do know that just because you might not be examined on a point in Y7 (because you dropped the subject, because it is much lower level, because you don’t examine everything) doesn’t mean that the process of education at that level was a very good building block?

Would the school be taking such a dim view if she and her friend had been taking part in a week-long regional sports tournament? No, they wouldn't. I'll tell you what they would do. It would be all over the school newsletter and they would be getting certificates in assembly.

The school should be proud of her achievements outside school, especially as she has ASD. Outside activites make for a well-rounded individual. Yes, education is important, but it is not an end in itself.

@Ellisandra you misunderstand me and are taking a very black and white view. No I am not saying that Years 7-9 are a waste. I was simply citing my own personal experience that I coasted in those years and didn't really apply myself to the best of my ability. I really pulled my socks up in Year 10 and did very well at GCSE. Probably not the best course of action but it worked out ok for me. My point is that in the lower years, it is made out that EVERY piece of homework is critically important, if you don't work hard now, you won't develop a good work ethic or achieve well later. So much scaremongering.

I did my GCSEs in 1989, I didn't even know what they were or think about them in Years 7 and 8. Now it seems as soon as they start secondary school, it's GCSE this, GCSE that. Before they even have a chance to tale a breath and settle into secondary.

And also children develop and learn at different rates. If something is not understood in Year 8 say, they won't be doomed for failure. That topic might make sense in another year or so later perhaps with a different teacher.

@Selmababies thank you for your post, it was exactly how you describe with the packed dinners etc. I'm proud of dd for managing it so well.

Oh and they all do their homework 'together' anyway, what do you think those form WhatsApp groups are for?

I'm a secondary teacher. I would have accepted their joint homework and left it at that. It would have been better if there'd be a note from a parent explaining why it had been done that way.

twosoups1972
I think getting on with the extra is the best way forward.
I find the longer I'm in schools therws some merit in realising that just because a colleague may do something differently to me, doesn't make their approach wrong.

For what it's worth, schools can't win on the y8 problem. If they don't do as much then people claim it's a giant waste of time and it's just repeating y7, doesn't really matter because there's no exams and so on. But when schools do hold y8 to account, do have high expectations then they get complaints about how they're only 12/13, the homework doesn't matter, there's no need to set end of year exams (and no need to properly revise... Usually followed by complaints in y9 if they don't like DC sets).

I disagree with you on there being no link between KS3 attitude/performance and ks4. There absolutely is. There's always some who mess on for years and turn it around and for some it's a case of natural maturity, but usually it's because the school end up throwing intervention at them left, right and centre to get their grades up. If you look at the spreadsheets of 'concerns' in y10/11 they are almost all students who haven't bothered in y7-9 / who have misbehaved / who have been lazy / who haven't bothered to do homework and revise in y7-9.

The teacher was being really petty. The homework was done, hopefully they both learned something from it. There is more to life than homework and, as this was an isolated incident, it’s a ludicrous punishment. Clearly doing work is important but so too is being happy as exploring one’s interests. The teacher would benefit from a lesson on kindness and remembering that education can be achieved in all types of scenarios.

Interesting @LolaSmiles and I can see how difficult it can be for teachers.

I think for me the desire to do well from Year 10 came from me and it was BECAUSE the pressure was off in KS3, I'd had some fun and enjoyed school before knuckling down. I knew myself well and knew when to start working. But maybe I was unusual! I look back to those carefree KS3 days fondly and I'm pleased I did it that way as I have some lovely memories of school.

Things have changed a bit since 1989! I’m a science teacher 1) year 7 and 8 curriculum are quite different from each other and 2) they are both absolutely essential foundations for the extremely content heavy GCSEs.

I think you highlight a school of thought that was the case when we were younger and lasted up to around 8-10 years ago.

KS3 shouldn't be a case of fun and doss around followed by ks4 where there's real work and pressure to achieve. A good KS3 is challenging and has high expectations and doesn't accept dossing around, but that doesn't prevent it being engaging and it doesn't cause bad experiences.

Sometimes I think (understandably) parents view school today through their experience decades ago so KS3 not mattering comes up often.