To think two hours homework a night is not excessive for a year 10 pupil

[Challenger5]

DD 1 is adamant that two hours a night homework, is against her human rights. She has been stomping around, refusing to start her homework. DD 1 is being exceptionally rude to me swearing at me for sending her to a prison camp and claiming to be-having a nervous breakdown due to the schools expectations.

I am trying to calm her down and reason with her, that two hours a night is quite proportionate for a year 10 girl at a Grammar School. This especially as the school as stated her target grades are 7-9 in all ten GCSE subjects.

She has also informed me that her head of year as given her a after school detention, today for calling her English teacher a 'mean cow' for a poor homework mark. DD denies calling the teacher that, saying she was misheard when she pulled her face at the teacher.

DD is saying the detention is unfair and against her human rights because it is grossly an excessive punishment even if she had accidentally muttered 'mean cow' when the teacher spoke to her. DD argues that her face pulling was justified because someone has to stand up against the schools unrealistic and unreasonable levels of homework demanded.

Two hours in a grammar school is ridiculous.

The whole point of a grammar is they are selective and take only the brightest.

If the children need to be doing an extra 2 hours every night to get good grades there is clearly something very wrong with the teaching.

I agree with your DD!

Grades aren't everything, she’ll never be 14 again.

2 hours homework is ridiculous!

You need to explain 'spokesperson' =/= gobshite! Tell her to use her words either make an appointment with HOY or write her a letter/email.

The homework scheduling seems reasonable & organised. The teachers will vary in how much they give them through the year & she just needs to crack on with it. If she puts the effort in, in Y10, then Y11 will be much easier. She won't get good grades worrying more about being popular than just getting on with the work required.

All weekend.

I admit she is under huge stress, however she could have gone to my school where I was punched in the face in year 10 for handing in a piece of English Homework !

Really it’s 2 hours per weekend day, and an hour a night. Which is entirely reasonable during her GCSE years.

I would be questioning how good the school is if they have to do 2 hrs a night homework. My DS had hardly any homework at senior school (private school) and still got really good grades. To me that is a ridiculous amount.

Two hours is a lot but I would question whether it all had to be done on one night. Maybe she is saying it does for added drama. Regardless she is attending an academic school and that's it. I would also be clear with her that she deserves her consequence for being rude.

I did O levels and I was at a grammar school. I would say we had 1.5 hours a night. 3 subjects x 0.5 hour. Some would have taken less time and some more to complete.

Sorry posted too soon, her behaviour sounds a bit shit though, if they feel like there is an issue then there is no point in being rude about it but I guess they feel like they have no voice if their parents think its ok for them to be in school all day then do a further 2 hrs at home also.

Is it genuinely 2 whole hours every night though or is your dd exaggerating? Is she procrastinating, messing around on her phone, TV on etc while doing her homework. If that’s the case I’m sure she could do it in half the time if she cracked on without distraction.

You're also and adult getting paid so it's a bit of a bizarre comparison.

2 hours seems like a lot, but it doesn't really matter because she's still got to do it. ... The longer she moans about it the longer it will take....

2 hours a night homework is about what I'd expect, 3 subjects, 30-45 mins per subject.

However bright you are, it still takes time and dedication to learn vocabulary in foreign languages and most people have to practice maths questions over and over again to develop the 'muscle memory'. And then there are Eng Lit quotes.

I had similar alongside a part time job and hobbies. I certainly wasn’t gearing up to be an activist over it.

In your position I wouldn’t enforce it. Let her take the consequences at school and if they come to you wanting to know why you haven’t encouraged her you can say she has everything she needs to complete the tasks accept a willingness to do so. I would also tell her I’m happy to move her out if the school and into the nearest one that has places.

I think 2hrs a night is about right if you also include reading time (they should be set more reading at that age, especially in humanities subjects). I don’t see it as excessive tbh — as a pp pointed out, that’s just a standard working day. One of the reasons we don’t come out that well in international education system comparisons is the smaller amount of time spent on home learning. She’s hardly being forced to cram for five or six hours a night as they do in many Far East Asian countries! And most private schools demand more prep time than that.

I speak as someone who went to a comp and arsed about watching TV most evenings. I wish I’d put more time into my schoolwork and less into Friends, vacuous episodes of Changing Rooms, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century reruns and whatever crap was airing on Channel 4 in the early evening. Waste of time when I could have been actually learning French or Maths instead of lazing about and bullshitting my way through it instead. (Am serious here.)

Oh and tell her to stop making a fool of herself calling the teachers names. It’s babyish at that age.

It's too much. The school needs to rethink who they employ, and the parents need to complain, it's not ok that kids are doing hours of homework everyday because the teachers can't get them to do it in school hours.

My DD is in year 10, she definitely doesn't have 2 hours a night. It sounds like too much to me, especially if you do sport / music as well.

Weekends, I would do nothing on a Saturday, then 3 hours homework Sunday morning, then a lovely roast dinner, watch ITV "The Big Match". Watch my Dad fall asleep under a big pile of Sunday newspapers, squabble for a couple of hours. Clear up lunch, lay the table for tea. Mum make tea, nearly always Sardines on toast with tomatoes. Wake up Dad. Eat Tea. Clear table. Play some board game or cards for a few hours. Cheese and biscuits and fruit cake. Go to bed.

What the actual fuck is this?

Is it the kind of homework that needs 2 hours spent on it?
We used to be set homework at GCSE that was previous exam questions relating to what we'd studied in class. Working through them could take ages or be quick, depending on the subject/ability. (eg I'd take ages for German but whizz through maths because I was good at it then!)

Your poor DD. Ok she’s clearly struggling to fully express herself but 2 hours a night is fucking ridiculous

Great job?? Really??? Her daughter is cursing at her at home and we pay her on the back and say good job. Yes I agree 2 hours homework everyday is too much but that does not justify her daughters cursing at their mother at home at all, shows serious lack of respect but hey good job.

I went to a grammar school and certainly did that much. However, I would do less on weeknights and then a morning or afternoon at the weekend.
Homework is vital to consolidate learning and to practise skills. I am surprised how many on here feel it is too much.