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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think he doesn't deserve detention...

26 replies

Hungryhippo321 · 18/01/2024 12:42

Now this is not a teacher bashing thread....

Ds got a behaviour comment on Tuesday night for not completing his homework. He said he did most of it but had a few questions left (online maths)...but yes he hadnt completed it so BC justified.
Behaviour comment was sent at 11;30pm Tuesday night.
We spoke to him in the morning when he got up and told him no gaming wed evening as punishment and he must do the homework.
He got yet another behaviour comment during the school day (2:30pm wed) for not completing the homework.

He got home, he completed the homework and submitted it. I checked he had done it.

Today (Thursday) he has been issued another behaviour comment for "homework still not completed" and been given a detention for it.

Dh thinks it serves him right and he should have done it in the first place.

I think he had the first 2 behaviour comments and has completed the homework at his first opportunity upon coming home from school, so does not deserve today's 3rd behaviour comment and subsequent detention. AIBU???

All behaviour comments and detention state "homework still not completed" so it's not like the detention has been given for late homework, they're saying it has still not been completed.

OP posts:

poetryandwine · 18/01/2024 12:53

Are you absolutely positive the detention is with reference to the same old HW, OP? And are you absolutely positive that said HW was submitted complete and largely correct?

Just checking so I don’t encourage anyone to make a fool of themselves.

If the answers above are both ‘yes’ then this does sound unfair to me. Could something have gone wrong when DS uploaded his HW or did you see confirmation? If the former, he may be out of luck and the sad lesson is to confirm his uploads in the future. If the latter, the teacher has made a mistake and the detention should be rescinded. It is great if DS can negotiate this himself but that may be asking a lot of a child - he may need help.

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 18/01/2024 12:57

I don't understand why there would be two behaviour comments for not completing the homework with such a short gap. 11:30 Tuesday night, and then during the school day Wednesday? Was it definitely the same homework?

If he then got another comment on Thursday after he had done the homework, then no, he shouldn't get detention if the policy is three behaviour comments result in detention, because surely the third comment isn't correct?

Wolfiefan · 18/01/2024 13:07

The first comment may have been sent that late but he knew he hadn’t completed the homework before that.
So fair enough he got another BC the next day.
But he’s done it so no need for a third comment. Unless a tech failure?

BarbieGirl999 · 18/01/2024 13:09

Same piece of homework or different?
Same teacher or different subject?
Find that out first and then we can judge. I'm an ex teacher and kids tell porkies to their parents. Teachers version of finished might not be the same as your son's.

Original poster

Hungryhippo321 · 18/01/2024 13:17

All behaviour comments and detention comment refer to "Sparx homework due 8am 16/1/24"

Yes the behaviour comment arrived at 11 pm 16/1/24 , he was in bed then, he then got up, ready and went to school, and got another behaviour comment at 2:30pm 17/1/24 for hw still not completed. I thought it was strange but maybe a mistake, maybe they expected him to do it before school or at lunch time??

Yesterday (17/1/24)He came home, did homework. I checked about 5pm and all Sparx homework said completed and big green ticks.

Today everything refers to homework STILL not completed.

It's not even been given by his actual maths teacher. I phoned school to query it and they suggested emailing teacher. I explained that they weren't on ds's list of teachers to email as he doesn't teach ds. So they gave me his email.

If detention was for "late/missed homework deadlines" then that would be fine, it's the constant referral to "homework STILL not completed"

P.s.... I am not one to email,/phone or question every decision school makes, I usually agree with school and DC get punishments at home for any misbehaving at school. but this just feels unfair to him.

OP posts:

poetryandwine · 18/01/2024 13:21

Yes, this sounds like a mistake OP.

Original poster

Hungryhippo321 · 18/01/2024 13:22

BarbieGirl999 · 18/01/2024 13:09

Behaviour comments are all digital and get sent straight to parents.

All same subject

All same teacher

All reference same homework and deadline

It's online maths (Sparx) which cannot be marked as complete until all completed and correct. I have rechecked after receiving the notifications today and it says it is all completed.

He has been set some more that is due next week, so I am wondering if teacher has checked and seen that next week's is outstanding and assumed last week's had not been completed.

The homework due 16/1/24 is fully completed and was completed 17/1/24 (which is late and I agree with the first 1-2 BC given for late homework) it's the 3rd BC and detention AFTER he has completed it that I feel unfair.

OP posts:

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 18/01/2024 13:24

Just email the teacher and tell them they're mistaken.

LarkspurLane · 18/01/2024 13:26

As soon as I opened your post I know it would be about sparx.
Sparx is the work of the devil and the sooner schools replace it the better.
I normally think kids should do detention even if it seems a bit unfair but I would query this. Sparx should not be in charge - yet!

Wolfiefan · 18/01/2024 13:28

It is unfair. And wrong because the HW was completed and submitted. So he shouldn’t have a detention.

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 18/01/2024 13:30

Oh I take back my comment about the two behaviour comments being close together if the homework was actually due 8am Tuesday. The first comment was for not having it done by the deadline, and the second was for not having it done 24 hours later I guess.

Not that that's relevant if the third comment and detention came after he had actually done it

GasPanic · 18/01/2024 13:32

I think your DH is right.

Maybe it will teach him a valuable life lesson. That once you get a reputation for something that reputation can stick. Either fairly or unfairly.

noblegiraffe · 18/01/2024 13:33

I thought it was strange but maybe a mistake, maybe they expected him to do it before school or at lunch time??

No, he should have done it the night before. Presumably he had a maths lesson that day where the homework absence was noted and he was told to do it by the next lesson. It wasn’t done by the next lesson so another behaviour comment. The third sounds like a mistake but not the other two. Just get him to check with the teacher as mistakes can be made.

Original poster

Hungryhippo321 · 18/01/2024 13:39

Thanks for everyone's input and opinions.

General consensus seems to be that the third behaviour comment and detention are unfair.

I agree it will hopefully give ds a kick up the bum to get on top of his homework from now on.

He WILL be completing the Sparx homework set for next week tonight so we don't have all this again next week 😆

OP posts:

LarkspurLane · 18/01/2024 13:42

Hungryhippo321 · 18/01/2024 13:39

Thanks for everyone's input and opinions.

General consensus seems to be that the third behaviour comment and detention are unfair.

I agree it will hopefully give ds a kick up the bum to get on top of his homework from now on.

He WILL be completing the Sparx homework set for next week tonight so we don't have all this again next week 😆

I'd be curious if the alert comes from sparx rather than the teacher. So if next week's homework is not yet complete (which is fine as it's not due yet), could this have triggered the third behaviour point?
We are 6 weeks into sparx now and I am not feeling the love.

Macaroni46 · 18/01/2024 13:43

Ok so the first BC was for the homework not having been submitted on Tuesday. Regardless of the time that was sent, his homework was due that morning.
The second comment is because he didn't submit it on Wednesday so it's now a second day overdue.
Not sure about the detention though.
However, if I was you, I'd make him do the detention and chalk it up to experience rather than rushing in to sort things out on his behalf. Use it as a lesson on consequences - miss a deadline, shit happens.

Baconking · 18/01/2024 13:44

I like Sparx because I get updates but what I don't like is that if they really don't understand after watching the videos etc it's just marked as not completed.
At DD school this doesn't seem to be followed up by the teacher

Original poster

Hungryhippo321 · 18/01/2024 13:44

I don't know if Sparx alerts when HW isn't done, but the behaviour comments come from the teachers at the school.

OP posts:

LarkspurLane · 18/01/2024 13:48

My DS got a behaviour point at 8:02 on a Monday morning for not completing his sparx homework due at 8 am. I was quite surprised his teacher was that on it - the behviour mark came from her. He didn't even have a maths lesson that day.
He's managing the deadlines now (that was his first week), but still struggling with how long it takes to get to 100%, surely some element of homework is for the teacher to see where the kids are struggling?

I think there is sparx reading as well now. In a couple of years there will be sparx schools.

DragonFly98 · 18/01/2024 13:53

Sparx is awful because if a child can't get the right answer you can't complete it.

Newbutoldfather · 18/01/2024 13:54

i don’t think parents should get involved in detentions, fair or unfair, unless they occur repeatedly or a pupil is getting picked on.

The message to your son is pretty simple: life is unfair and a detention isn’t the end of the World.

And, if you really hate detention, make sure you complete every homework by the deadline.

(

BarbieGirl999 · 18/01/2024 14:37

Oh Sparx.......all makes sense now.

Nannyogg134 · 18/01/2024 14:40

Sparx is a flipping nightmare, I'm a teacher (not Maths) and my son is in Year 10 at my school. The Sparx system seems to generate the behaviour comments automatically. Tbh, I'd speak to the Maths teacher and let them know the timescales of the comments, and that they didn't actually allow for him to do the work- hopefully they'll scratch off the detention.

TeabySea · 18/01/2024 14:43

I don't know sparx but it sounds as though the follow up is incorrect.
I'd be refusing to accept a detention on that basis.
The teacher may not be aware of what the system does, and, as has been pointed out, if you get stuck you can't do anything to complete it. That's unreasonable. If you've done what you can, advised you're stuck and the system won't accept that, the system is crap.

OhmygodDont · 18/01/2024 14:48

Knew it would be sparx. What’s the point in a homework system where not knowing an answer means you can’t complete the work.

it encourages cheating to get the answer let’s face it. What’s wrong with having the wrong answer and then your teacher explains how to work it out.

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