AIBU to expect a bit more from school

[MuminMama]

The work the school is setting my year six child is dire. It's not nearly enough to fill the four school hours we are aiming for. It takes me half an hour to work out what they want us to do. Half the downloads are empty files. So little care has gone into it, and there's so little appreciation that working parents may need something that's fairly easy for them to administer. I feel that I'm supposed to be immensely grateful to these teachers but really they are hardly breaking their butts. This is ten minutes of work for someone to throw together. To an extent I'm just venting, but I'd love to know how much help others are getting.

Yes, he could go back every other week. We decided to keep him home as we were not satisfied with the safety arrangements.

I think you are aiming for too much - go for a good quality 2 hours, then some reading/online maths or life skills.

my year seven gets sent one or two pieces of work a week that takes less than an hour to do, so why shouldn’t i criticise his teachers who are clearly doing very little?

That's the thing. It clearly varies, so I'm not sure why it makes people so angry. My daughter's school has been amazing. But they are not all the same.

Oh it just gets better. You’re whinging about the school not doing enough while refusing to send him back?

I think you are aiming for too much - go for a good quality 2 hours, then some reading/online maths or life skills.

I will do this.

@MuminMama

Yes, he could go back every other week. We decided to keep him home as we were not satisfied with the safety arrangements.

Schools can’t win really there then.

Yes, definitely scale it back to the work set by the school and when your child finishes the work, it’s a good thing, no matter how long it took!

Year 6. If they've been offered a school place and you've chosen kot to return them you are being g entirely unreasonable. If not then it does sound like there are some problems with the teaching being provided by your sons school.

In tired of seeing every parent here who raises concerns about their childs education being accused of " teacher bashing".

If youd said: "Teachers are all just sitt9ng at home doing the bare minimum and really loving lockdown" that would be different.

Instead you've said you're unhappy with the education being received by your child from his school.

The blank files sound like an error. Email the school about that.
The fact that it doesn't fill 4 hours:
A recent study found that the average is 2.5 hours. Your school will have parents like you who can do 4 hours, some who can do 2, some who don't have time to do anything. They are trying to strike a balance and avoid pressurising people.

To be fair; I'm also finding the stuff the school sends isn't working for us.
It isn't differentiated and DS is about a year behind so it's just demoralising.

If it helps I can recommend some resources I've found useful:

If you have money to spend I can recommend Reading Eggs and (it's spin off) Maths Seeds.
If not: Teach your Monster to Read is a good free alternative.
Oxford Owls is good for reading books.
I bought their 3 and 4 x table workbook and found it very nicely structured.
Oak Academy is providing a full curriculum of lessons every day for free.
It looks like it would fill 4 hours and it's very accessible.
Also (and this is a bit more of an expense but I find it worth the money) there's a US company called Outschool where you can buy individual Zoom lessons with a teacher and a small group of kids. DS is very fond of the My First History series with Mr. Powell.

I do sympathise with you OP. We're not teachers and we never prepared to do this. I find it overwhelming at times too.

Year 6 children should have sat their SAT'S in May, and after that they dont really learn anything new.
4 hours a day is alot of work- think about how much work they do at school that isn't listening to the teacher or chatting to their mates. I bet its only 2 hours really.
I would scale back the time your doing work, it sounds like its stressing you out slightly.

@sunshineandshowers21

my year seven gets sent one or two pieces of work a week that takes less than an hour to do, so why shouldn’t i criticise his teachers who are clearly doing very little? not saying all teachers are the same, but in this case it’s true. and yes i do set him work, but at the same time i have my own work to do plus two school aged children, a toddler, and a newborn so there’s only so much i can do.

You are Secondary stage, with no option to be in school and the OP is in the last few weeks of Year 6, where they would have finished the curriculum anyway and be doing just trips and transition etc. and the OP is not wanting them to be in school either.

Very different situations to be fair.

Teachers are really a scourge in society in here aren't they? Any excuse for a bash.

@sunshineandshowers21

my year seven gets sent one or two pieces of work a week that takes less than an hour to do, so why shouldn’t i criticise his teachers who are clearly doing very little? not saying all teachers are the same, but in this case it’s true. and yes i do set him work, but at the same time i have my own work to do plus two school aged children, a toddler, and a newborn so there’s only so much i can do.

All you can say is that they are doing very little in terms of setting work for your child. The teacher concerned may be in doing key worker children cover, teaching a bubble, planning for next year, dealing with safeguarding issues...any number of things. It’s ok to ask for more work (but ask the school, don’t moan here) but you absolutely can not state that the teacher is doing very little. You have no idea whether that is true.

@sunshineandshowers21 I’ve just noticed your child is Y7 - in which case this seems very unlikely. A Y7 class will have upwards of 10 teachers. Are you suggesting they are all idle and lazy? Or are you missing something somewhere along the line?

@sunshineandshowers21

my year seven gets sent one or two pieces of work a week that takes less than an hour to do, so why shouldn’t i criticise his teachers who are clearly doing very little? not saying all teachers are the same, but in this case it’s true. and yes i do set him work, but at the same time i have my own work to do plus two school aged children, a toddler, and a newborn so there’s only so much i can do.

Maybe his teachers have their own work to do plus two school aged children, a toddler and a newborn and their is only so much they can do?

I was speaking to one of my sons teachers last week on the phone and she was run ragged with his kids whilst trying to speak to me.

Teachers are human with families too!

Yet another teacher bashing thread.
Talk to the school instead of moaning online fgs

Thanks for all the perspectives. Clearly I'm trying to get him to do too much work. It's also very helpful to imagine the teacher trying to set the work with kids at home. I know the work I'm doing right now is shit, so why shouldn't I expect hers to be?

We're not teachers and we never prepared to do this. I find it overwhelming at times too

I always find this attitude between parents to be fascinating. It’s true, of course, it is unpredicted and overwhelming.

However, I would also cheerfully remind you that no PGCE ever has included a unit entitled, “The World Has Gone To Shit, Here’s How You Effectively Teach Remotely For The First Time Ever, Oh, And Also The Government Are Crap At Providing Guidelines And Half Your Cohort Are Starving And Have No Technology At Home”.

Shockingly, this has been rather overwhelming for school staff as well.

Year 6 is geared towards SATs. Which didn’t happen in May. From half term onwards, there would normally be a residential trip or similar, preparations for the end of term concert/play/celebration and a lot of transition to secondary school planning, with visits, expectations and liaison work.

None of that can happen this year.

my year seven gets sent one or two pieces of work a week that takes less than an hour to do

I just re-read this and initially I assumed this was one or two pieces of work per subject, being Secondary but upon re-reading, realise you might not mean this.

Just wanted to check that your Year 7 knows where all the work would be at their school and isn’t just relying on the odd email reminder assuming that is all there is (because you wrote ‘sent’ I have assumed this). It is just that we are still getting parents complaining about getting little work (after leaving it a few months to get in touch) when it turns out their Secondary aged child has not been following instructions (that are usually prominent) and actually going to where the work is (by logging in somewhere usually) rather than not just relying on emails.

I know the work I'm doing right now is shit, so why shouldn't I expect hers to be?

Oh do one with this comment.
I thought you were genuine until this.

What's that meant to mean, ChloeDecker?

@ChloeDecker

I know the work I'm doing right now is shit, so why shouldn't I expect hers to be?

Oh do one with this comment.
I thought you were genuine until this.

Tbf to the op, I think your have read that wrong.

However, I would also cheerfully remind you that no PGCE ever has included a unit entitled, “The World Has Gone To Shit, Here’s How You Effectively Teach Remotely For The First Time Ever, Oh, And Also The Government Are Crap At Providing Guidelines And Half Your Cohort Are Starving And Have No Technology At Home”

Absolutely! If you had started that thread I would have sympathised with you.

But I was replying to the OP!

it’s ridiculous that teachers are somehow immune to criticism. the fact is - whether they have their own kids or not - the teachers at my son’s school should be doing more. the school is one of the most deprived in the area and many of the children will not have parents that are setting their own work. the teachers are letting the children down, end of story. i’m not saying all teachers are like this! my year 1 son’s teacher has two kids but she sends daily worksheets, calls every weeks, and sends videos to the kids every week. i just think it’s beyond ridiculous that we can’t say when teachers are lacking without millions of posters crying about it.

Op I had some sympathy with you till you said you have CHOSEN to not send him back. So, they're offering school with a teacher as normal. You don't want to do that, but want the teacher to provide him with his only little set of special work to do? Just stop it. Just fucking stop it.