To be fine with the children ignoring all set work for art and drama?

[Sethy38]

School has developed a truly superb home schooling platform. Lots of live lessons and interesting work. In fact, I’m in awe!

It’s full on though. 3 hours of live lessons my youngest has today (8) and then couple of hours set work on top of that.

Now, art and drama. My children are not that way inclined at all! Never have been. They’re academic and sporty. Art and drama is of no interest. So I’ve been very relaxed about them doing squat all and instead carrying on with set work for English, maths etc or outside in garden playing football/ basketball etc

Anyone else doing the same?!

I'm astounded at people saying drama is important. It wasn't even taught when I was at school, I never did drama in my life and have managed to communicate well and develop empathy without it. I never did drama in my life (unless you count five minutes as a narrator in a nativity play at the age of 7).

I have no interest in drama and no ability at art. It doesn't mean I have no interest in the arts. Just not those ones.

It's great if you are interested in it, but I'd gouge my own eyes out before I'd voluntarily do drama. My teenage daughter ends up being unable to sleep for a fortnight and having panic attacks every time she has to do a drama performance at school. I keep telling her it will get easier every time and pretending that I really enjoyed it at school (which is crap because I never did it, I just didn't want to give her a negative impression of it). The sooner she can give it up the better. She hasn't learnt anything except that it is torture.

It wasn't even taught when I was at school, I never did drama in my life and have managed to communicate well and develop empathy without it.

The performance/analysis side of drama was covered as part of English Lit when I was in school - perhaps the same for you? Also English Lang used to have a much larger speaking element than it does now. So you probably studied Drama by stealth.

@RedskyAtnight

It wasn't even taught when I was at school, I never did drama in my life and have managed to communicate well and develop empathy without it.

The performance/analysis side of drama was covered as part of English Lit when I was in school - perhaps the same for you? Also English Lang used to have a much larger speaking element than it does now. So you probably studied Drama by stealth.

No, my English literature didn't cover anything relating to performance. We studied a play but we never saw it performed or discussed how it would be performed. We just read the words and discussed the speech used.

And my husband didn't even do English literature at school, just English language.

We didn't do a stroke of drama or music last lockdown. It was just too much. Dd worked hard at the other subjects but I just couldn't find it in myself to make her do even more of what at the time felt like masses and masses of work. We did art because her art teacher made it impossible not to

I still think that encouraging some creativity within the very broad definition of art and drama has to be a good thing. If we consider what it means to be well educated it generally includes some knowledge of the arts and theatre. That covers an enormous spectrum.

You don’t say what they have been asked to do but if it’s not something they’d enjoy then maybe look at other areas. Would they enjoy making a film, taking photos, writing a play and making the (easy) scenery? Enacting a family favourite story using toys and props from around the house?

There are so many ways to be creative. You’ve got the academic ps and exercise sorted, I wouldn’t disregard opening their minds to some other ways of learning.

Sorry, I should clarify when I say he didn't do it, I mean it wasn't compulsory at his school beyond the first couple of years. He only read one book in first year and one in second year. Whereas at my school it was compulsorily as a GCSE subject.

I agree that schools should focus on the most essential subjects, especially for older children. It doesn't mean other subjects aren't important at all, it just recognises that certain subjects are more essential than others.

Is drama just as essential as English and maths? I'm sorry but no. I get that it's incredibly important to a lot of people but you're not really going to suffer in life if you never take a drama class. So let kids who enjoy it carry on, but I don't think anyone should feel guilty for not having time to do it.

I don't think teachers should take it personally. I teach politics/history myself, I don't expect everyone to care about it (even if I wish they did!)

I'll be doing English, Irish and maths with my 8 year old.

We talk about science, history and geography all the time anyway.

Art can get to fuck!

To be honest, we’re all just doing what we need to get through the day at the moment, aren’t we? I’m doing the same as OP and i’m a humanities academic, so pretty big on the importance of the old art and drama type stuff
BUT the only reason i’m ignoring it is because my kid gets immersed in all that from me anyway. I’m completely confident in my ability to instill a love for these things, because it’s just what we do for fun as a family. It’s hard enough to get DS to focus on english and maths - he’s only five! I’m less confident about my ability to teach phonics or multiplication, so we’re focusing on those lessons for now.
Instead of either doing the set work or ignoring these subjects altogether, why not try other ways of making incorporating them? watch relevant programmes or modern adaptations of plays, get them to look up some nice gruesome art made during the bubonic plague and think about how people expressed themselves through it, that sort of thing.

I hated drama, and I most certainly wouldn't have bothered doing it at home! or in school

Pick your battles, OP. It's your choice, and whatever makes your kids happy.

I think, ultimately, teaching your children not to make effort with things they don't enjoy does them a disservice.

I get that they're tired today. Rest now, and make up the work over the rest of the week.

I think some subjects are far easier to for parents to manage than others. I'm a teacher myself and find the really quite tricky music, tech and art lessons difficult to guide my kids through. The clashes that provokes are not worth it and I have to prioritise a sense of calm in the house. More straightforward tasks that require literacy, numeracy, an ability to follow a pp on history or whatever are easier for parents on the whole to help with. I would push my kids to complete those because I know success is possible. Resilience, learning to fail or struggle at least are very important, but maybe not right now.

The subjects that take priority for many working parents are those that their child is able to do most independently.

Dd (8) can get on with the maths, English and science without much help.
The art has required help find various resources, construct things etc. This takes a back seat if you're trying to hold down a job at the same time.

Seriously, people are drowning at the moment and at the end of the day, its maths and literacy that primary school children will be tested (judged?) on.

DC have a full day of live, online lessons, 8.20am - 3pm, we have all the usual subjects timetabled in. They are also much more sports orientated and as a family, we place a lot of emphasis on PE/Games. They take after me when it comes to art/music/drama - at the age of 45, I still draw like a toddler. However, they don't get the option to miss lessons at school, so I'm taking the same stance at home. If they want to go out for a run in the park, they can do that at lunchtime or after school. I think the mental shift from academic/sport subjects towards creative subjects is good for them as well, even if they are never going to excel at them.

Obviously the school is trying to cater for lots of different children with different interests, so they are making sure they cover all subjects. But you can only do what you can do/are willing to do. By all means don’t do all subjects, but please communicate with the school so that they know this. I’m on maternity leave at the moment, but in the last lockdown as a form tutor I really really appreciated parents that let me know their situation - I’d get reports from subject teachers but not know whether the child was skipping work with their parents blessing (fine by me as long as they understand they may fall behind, but not an issue in the subjects you’ve mentioned) or if the parents think the child is working but they are actually online doing things they shouldn’t be (in which case I’d need to speak to the parents).

I think it's fine to focus on Maths and English as the two most important subjects at primary level and ditch everything else in a crisis, which this is.

Don't make it about art and drama being pointless though; they're not. The point of art/drama (unlike sport) is that you don't have to be good at it to be allowed to do it - it develops creativity, empathy, and different ways of looking at things just by doing it and it needn't be competitive.

RE being ignored here, fully support that decision

Schools really can't complain if busy parents are unable to recreate the curriculum fully at home. That's why we have schools.

It's great that your school has come up with such a fantastic online programme, but I don't think they can expect you to run yourself in the ground to implement every last bit of it.

Art and drama (as taught at school, not in RL) are just not that important unless your children are really good at them or enjoy them. Keeping children physically active and making sure they get a minimum of one hour's exercise a day is much more important.

We have temporarily 'dropped' music, drama, Spanish and art unless 9 year old DS wants to do it - he doesn't generally.

I'd rather focus on the core subjects right now given I'm also wfh and have two children to homeschool.

English done
Maths done
Science (experiment, almost broke me!) done
History done
French done

Art - not started and no intention.

Now? They’re flaked in front of High School Musical. At least that ticks off “drama”!

It's great that your school has come up with such a fantastic online programme, but I don't think they can expect you to run yourself in the ground to implement every last bit of it.

The school is really superb.
They’ve said - we have built a platform and experience that we hope is as stimulating as possible without requiring extensive parental involvement in any way.

Focus on the core subjects and your child won’t be “chased” for non core subjects (music drama art)

Happily the school includes PE as “core”

I’m a fan of both in general. But in these circumstances whatever you/they can do is good enough. I’d probably have more playtime rather than academic work at aged 8.

This is why we have people in government saying that artists can just "retrain". Because the arts sectors are not respected. It's not about being "inclined", it's about practice, trying again, and it being OK not to be great at something. Sounds like you're letting your own anti-arts position influence your children's learning.

So I’ve been very relaxed about them doing squat all and instead carrying on with set work for English, maths etc or outside in garden playing football/ basketball etc

But you're doing extra PE. Probably balanced by other families doing no PE but lots of extra Art and Drama. Though how you do drama on your own, I'm not sure.