not to want to continue to sign a homework diary in year 8

[glitterfairy]

I wrote a message in my sons homework diary this week which was a little tongue in cheek but I am sick of signing it in the shower every week.

I think when he is 13 her really ought to take responsibility for his homework and I should not have to sign a boring book every week which I dont look at and often there is nothing in it anyway.

I can understand in primary school but really in year 8 it shoudlnt be needed surely?

yawn at LEM

i sign it when i remember. once or twice seen notes from teachers, he was in trouble with throwing the equipment in art, or something. it was a pencil!
that's it.

Having been a form tutor, I used the planner as a way of communicating with parents whom I couldn't otherwise get hold of. We also used it to advise of detentions, and levels received for assertive discipline.

As a class teacher I used it for much the same reasons.

I will be monitoring ds's planner like a hawk next term as I do not want him to get year 8 dip and go backwards, and I will continue to check his homework is done as well. It saves problems later like the 'I need to do 6 loads of coursework and it's due for the final deadline tomorrow' scenarios in year 10 and 11. But, hey ho up to you. A little input now will save me hassle later.

You're very lucky if you get a letter/e-mail/phone call etc. Many schools rely on the planner for home/school communication.

I see the planner as a sign of a good school and would back them up by signing it every week.

Message withdrawn

I guess I have jsut never had anything int he planner so have never needed it - i thought it was just a diary for ds's to write their homework in.

The book one in junior school bugs me as well
sign if every day saying dc has doen their reading. child writes adn parents signs. Poor kids just want to read.

lazy? - lazy is one thing I (and Glitter) are not

This was the first year ds1 had a planner. It started off well but now the rare entry says 'need football kit'. The teacher stopped signing it back in November.

I would complain to the school if they are having one and it is not being used.

Like scaryteacher, we also used homework diaries to inform parents of discipline issues that would not, of themselves need a letter home, but can use monitoring.

So if a child had a short break time DT for acting the clown in a lesson, we wouldn't send a letter home, but would write it in the diary. This way staff/ parents can monitor and spot any trends, and hopefully nip them in the bud

Oh, come on . Homework is bound to be boring all most of the time!
I only stopped doing it three years ago, and its BORING! Our little books were to write our homework in, and that was all. Our arents had to sign once a week. They never got checked for months on end. My mum used to sign about 15 weeks worth at a time. There wasnt anywhere to right comments from anyone , and even if there was, I very much doubt they would have been read.
HOWEVER
Homework is set usually to finish off work, or an exercise at home, that wasnt finished in class,
or
its coursework.
It IS neccessary. And I KNOW that when my ds's get to high school age, I will be checking its done, and sign accordingly. MAINLY because, if/when they go to 6th form, theyre MUCH stricter and will need to prepare for that. At the 6th form I went to, you got two chances at not doing/finishing homework, then you got a warning.
Three of those, and you're OUT!

I've had fleeting glances of secondary school diaries. I, too, thought they were mainly for the students to organise their work and as reminders for themselves.

Primary school diaries, I sign in blocks when my child prompts me. I'll do a quick flick through to catch up (not that there's ever very much to catch up on).

The system my dd has (y7) is that the form tutor checks the diaries every Monday morning and countersigns them. If the parent has not signed, then pupil gets a punishment/order mark. Failure to bring in diary results in detention and a phone call to parents.

I don't think she or I could manage without it tbh. It's a brilliant communication tool for issues (well I cant get hold of teachers during the day as I work and don't want to pester them anyway) and for homework management. DD is v. virtuous in actually doing homework but still hopeless at managing it over a week - I still need to say "but if you dont do maths on thursday night you wont have time at weekend because of x's party and tehn we're going to see y on Sunday". And god knows, plenty of adults still can't prioritise and organise in a work environment!

So YABU

we also have a system in place where parent, pupil & form tutor sign every week. The thinking behind it is as well as the pupil writing down their homework, teachers/staff write comments in it about the pupil - good and bad - & it is felt important that parents are aware of these comments.

Well, depends whether itsjust a homework diary or not. I put all detentions in planners. Notes to parents, good and bad. Parents put in absence notes.

I didn't expect them to check of each piece of homework. But I did expect to be able to communicate with parents using the available system.

I have never had a note in the homework diary but object to them on principle as frankly my ds should be able to organise himself and will have to later in life so may as well start now when it is not so improtant.

My dd at the grammar school does not need me to sign anything and is treated like an adult as far as her learning goes.

It is important to sighn homework diaries for older children. Our girls high school expected parents to sighn homework books until year 10.

I disagree with OP. It is just as important now to take an active interest in your child's education as it was a primary. Yes, it is his responsibility to write the homework in and to get it done on time, but as a parent it is also, IMO, your responsibility to support him with this. 13 is still a child in many ways, and they do sometimes need a nudge to remember to get this stuff done.

Also, the diary can be a useful communication tool between teacher and parents - so reading it and checking it is a good idea, so as not to miss stuff.
If there is nothing in it (from OP) then tyou should be including a note in the diary, to the teacher, asking why nothing is written in it - where is the homework, why is it not here, etc.

active interest is very very different to signing a homework diary

I agree, Beetroot.

Did you not get a home/school contract when your ds started secondary school? Part of that should be signing the planner so that you know what is going on with homework and so on. It takes me 30 seconds to go through it, check off and tick that the homework is done, look at merits and any discipline problems, and scan for comments. It's a minute if I write a comment.

If one of my tutor group came in with their diary persistently unsigned by their parent, then I'd red pen it for the parent to sign and follow up with a phone call. Signing the planner is to me a mark of a parent's interest in what their dc are doing at school; otherwise I thought they were lazy shites who didn't give a toss.

"Signing the planner is to me a mark of a parent's interest in what their dc are doing at school; otherwise I thought they were lazy shites who didn't give a toss."

Really? Can't say I think much of that attitude either. You would judge a parent purely on whether they sign a planner or not?

yabu. DD's planner is not just to check homework is done, but also has pre-printed notes about what's going on at school for parents and children, for the whole school year. If I've signed it every week, it is not only an acknowledgement that I've checked homework, but also taken note of any meetings that I need to be at.

It also has a daily school uniform check in it, so if she is marked down for anything during the day, I need to know, because she's leaves the house properly dressed!

I'm all for independance in secondary school kids, but I don't know one that doesn't need a shove now and again.