Teacher rang regarding home learning

[OntheWaves40]

DS (14) teacher rang, didn’t speak to me just to DS. I could hear conversation and it was along lines of, you should be sticking to school schedule, you need to finish my subject for last week even if it takes you to 5pm.
DS was working yesterday until 8pm as he was every day last week. We don’t get enough down time. He watched one film last week for 2 hours.
DS was apologetic and said he’d get straight to it. I wish DS would have explained to teacher he was working flat out but DS isn’t confident enough to.
AIBU to think this teacher is wrong to call at home to push pressure on DS?

Is this the same 14 year old who you smashed up his tablet and threw his other electronics out the window for being disrespectful? (Thought it was you so searched)
I would hazard a guess that he probably isn't "working until 8pm".

Teachers really can't win, there's threads on here talking about how they should be fuloughed as they aren't doing anything during school closure yet when they set work and expect people to do it they are expecting too much! If your son is struggling have you looked at why, is it that he's not doing work but getting distracted? Can he understand what he needs to do? Is he feeling overwhelmed? If it's too much or he's not understanding he needs to get in touch with his head of year and explain.

grownandflown.com/les-miserables-parody-song-english-family/

Poor old teachers. Lots of moans because they are apparently getting paid for doing nothing, then more moaning when they are doing their best to help their pupils.
The world of MN.

Bubblebu. That is such a fabulous video. They certainly give the Von Trapp family a run for their money.

Glad you DS had the sense to apologise and get it done. These kids are going to have lots to catch up on and working effectively from home is going to be a key skill. Starting at 10:30 is late - DD school has them all logging on at the normal time doing the normal timetable of work but with minimal homework. The teacher cares enough to chase up the work - you ought to be pleased. They really can’t win.

With all the teaching experts coming out of the woodwork the universities better prepare now for record numbers of PGCE applicants come the autumn. Competition is going to be fierce.

Its really important that kids of this yr keep up with things - I agree there is alot of work but this yr of kids is the one really missing out in the long term if they don't do work now - potentially missing over 1/6th of their course work if they don't focus and get it done. Current Exams years missed max 2 weeks and actual exams. tough for them but not as tough as having to hit the ground running to not fall behind.

Time management should be your focus - keep up with what they are doing and what needs doing but also get them to rationalise the time spent on things. We are getting lessons AND homework so really pushing it but for now she is keeping up - prob doing 9 to 5 but that includes homework time and a revision slot.

No she is not an 9 student and she has to work for her 6 to 8s

I find it very hard to believe that a Year 10 boy is not wasting any time on social media, during his 10:30 to 8pm school day! Of course he is! And that’s normal, especially at the moment. However, to then say he definitely has too much work, without fully checking, is a big leap.
I’m just very skeptical at the moment, having ‘caught out’ more than one Year 10 boy that I teach, lying to their parents about not having any work to do (after their parents were very quick to slag the school off on local Facebook community groups) that I do feel that unless the OP’s DS actually messages his teachers questions for help (if he was genuinely too afraid to say anything over the phone), on the platforms he is using, then chances, are there may well be more to this story.

I am a teacher and the trickiest thing since we’ve closed has been keeping track of students work. I’ve spent a lot of time emailing students, tutors and parents. It sounds like he’s struggling and I think it’s important that his teachers know this. He may well not be alone - it’s hard to gauge how long tasks will take and I’d like to know if students feel they are overloaded. If he’s not confident communicating with the teacher I’d do it yourself but don’t be confrontational.

My dd is in yr7. The work she is being given in general takes longer than in class. I am around to help her with it, which is necessary for some subjects. She starts 8.30-9 and doesn’t really stop until finished. She flatly refuses to take breaks and won’t exercise until done. Last week that was gone 4 some days. This week she is getting more in the swing of things and amazingly today she has finished...

I think a lot of this home learning is about pacing yourself and getting used to the massive changes. Now that your ds has completed a week, he will start to see patterns in the way tasks and work are set out from different by each individual teacher. Imo what he needs to do will therefore get easier.

It would be useful if you could take a look at the work set. Some of what my dd is receiving is very well explained and she can work alone. Others are completely random and look more like a jumbled up text book. If this is the case for your ds (or maybe even if not), perhaps he is wasting time cogitating instead of learning. Individual learning is a real skill and I certainly struggled with it.

As for the teacher, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for them to call. If your ds is getting frustrated, there may come a time when you will need to step in and email the teacher. Will your ds talk to you about this?

Interesting JemimaPuddleCat!

OP like others have said, I think the late start is the problem.

DD is following her usual timetable so is at her desk before 9 each day. She is in contact with a couple of her class mates for each of her lessons and they talk things thru if they are struggling. They then have lunch breaks together.

Without following the usual structure she wouldn't know what to do when and everything would be overwhelming.

By using the usual timetable it's broken down into more manageable chunks. Plus there is the variety in the subjects rather than getting bogged down.

@formerbabe
Six hours school work at school really doesn't equal six hours school work at home.

It takes far longer at home.

God, it really shouldn't take longer. I mean, I suppose it depends on the school, but some classes so much time is taken up with class management... My son (who is 15) reckons he can do as much as they do in a school day in about 2 hours at home. Mostly I think he is right.

If your child can't attend school and needs a council funded tutor I think (but am happy to be corrected) that they consider 5 hours with a tutor to be equivalent to a full week at school.

Our primary school have told us they will be calling home this week, not to be intrusive but to just touch base with the kids and because they have a duty of care. So far we've not had a call. Our school have dealt with this all fantastically, they told us they don't expect the children to complete all the work set but it is there should they want to. They've mentioned a lot about well being in letters they've sent to parents etc.
My older child is in year 8 and is getting a lot of work set, it comes in drips and drabs and set according to his school timetable. We've had no real issues apart from the fact my son will also be up in the evening completing work because it just depends on when the teacher sets it and sometimes it will have a "tomorrow' deadline even if it is set late. My year 8 has now been off school for almost 3 weeks and it is all taking it's toll a bit now as he is bored. Looking forward to no school work next week.

its also really important that we dont start comparing the expectations of home working between primary school children, those in year 7 and those in GCSE 9,10 and alevel 12.

There will be much higher expectation of working from those who are in GCSE years, and unfortunately that amounts to a lot of work, but ultimately unless the work is done to the best of its ability then I think we will find those taking GCSE exams are going to fall behind as its not possible to fit in months of GCSE work into the next year.

GCSE's are always a hard time anyway as its the first time many children will be expected to start gaining skills in independent study and the work load ramps up, but this is standard.

I would really consider how many actual hours of school work is being done, as its quite easy to have half an hour here and a hour there, or even spend 15/30 minutes mindlessly wandering the vast expanse of internet and it all adds up.

Even with Easter approaching I think its important to remember those in GCSE years would still be expected to be completing work and revision in their own time to really stay on top of it, and its the time where things that were not particularly understood can be gone over and revised outside of the pressure of fast moving lessons.

Ultimately setting a good foundation of being able to learn and self direct self learning during GCSE years sets a really good foundation for A levels and even more so for University where you are expected to learn a lot of content outside of contact time.
Even if there are not plans to follow through to further education the transferable skills set a really strong foundation for work.

It is a difficult time for every body at the moment adults alike, but its also a time where children will learn and build resilience which will serve them well in the future, as many adults and 18+ year olds at university and college students on some vocational courses and apprenticeships (from 16) have found that expectations dont stop, things have to continue and creative solutions have to be found.

And during times like these routine is very important. The worse thing for mental health is sitting around achieving nothing for weeks on end when previously you have been geared up to work and meet expectations. Yes I imagine most students would rather be doing nothing right now, but within a month many of them will have considerably worse mental health for doing nothing, as the reality of the fact their actions now could have a huge detrimental impact on their GCSE's will be lingering in the back of their minds. Also by not having routine and doing nothing you are not exerting mental energy and will end up with very fed up children who have nothing to do BUT WORRY about the current circumstances. At least while keeping to routine, they are able to feel on top and in control of their education and wont feel like its spiraling and as they gain resiliance it will give their minds a break and something to focus on other then the state of the world right now.

And im not saying its not shit and incredibly difficult. It is, but we will all learn from it and come out stronger.

YABU. The teacher has every right to phone and check in with your son; if he can’t tell her how he’s really doing that is not her fault.

It is a skill he needs to learn because he will need it throughout his life. You shouldn’t be enabling him and trying to jump in for him, you should be helping him gain confidence and assertiveness.

The teacher does not need to speak to you; you are not her student.

I would also suggest he sticks to a regular school routine and doesn’t start so late as 10.30am in the morning.

Sounds like a great teacher. She isn't a mind reader, it's up to your son to communicate any problems with any aspect of his studies. This may be a good learning opportunity for you to sit down with your son and discuss confidence and the importance of speaking up.

I teach Primary and we have been told to ring all parents of children in our class and ask to speak to the child, just to give a bit of reassurance.

@oncemorewithfeeling99 the schools aren’t closed. They are physically open for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers, and they have been asked to provide education for pupils at home. I haven’t looked at your link about the law, but I’d lay odds it’s irrelevant. These children aren’t being homeschooled, they are carrying out remote learning with (you’d hope) the support of their families. If you want to withdraw your child from school, then homeschooling legislation will apply and you needn’t get them to do any of the remote learning work. You will be expected to provide an appropriate education yourself.

Consider a regular school day, plus a couple of hours of homework. It is a similar time commitment.

However, he really should be able to get through it faster since there are not time wastes like passing between classes and such. I would sit down with him and figure out which subjects or tasks are slowing him down. Figure out why he is having trouble with those and then you, he, and the teacher should talk to figure out a plan to improve the situation.

My friend is a teacher and she was told to ring around all her students yesterday to check they were ok with the work they had been set, but also to check of there were any safeguarding issues or any other problems at home. It comes from higher up, teachers are just doing what they've been asked to do

Dh's teacher just emailed him to highlight the drop in his standard of work - gave him a reality check, nicely and I am very happy she cares enough to follow up on this.

I think the teacher should have spoke to you also so you could have asked your questions and asked in what way you could help . Your son is a teenager , not a grown man and it’s a tough time . I know they usually have to accept more responsibility but these time are unprecedented. I would ring the school tomorrow .

@cardibach legally they are shut. They are running as childcare for key worker children and are NOT allowed in fact to use their normal registers. They have to fill in a different form because the school is shut.