Please help stop homework before its too late!!!

[freerangeeggsnookie]

I would like to appeal to all parents who are fed up with homework and encourage you to email, phone, tweet & post your school to stop it.

Having taught for a number of years in various schools I am sick and tired of the absurd homework we are setting. Here are some facts about homework from Visible Learning by John Hattie (summarising research on homework):

1. Homework makes no visible difference to pupils progress until they are in about year 10 and in high ability groups.
2. Homework does not help pupils learn time management skills.
3. For the homework to be effective the teacher must be actively involved.
4. Anyone who asks a pupil in year 7 and above to make a poster is taking the piss (pet hate, not from VL).

Now this is not to say that pupils shouldn't do any studying at all. If a student is independently studying at home doing extra work that they have requested then this will have a benefit. Also as stated above as pupils get older and are studying complex content it can be essential.

Unfortunately most pupils are snowed in with ridiculous tasks which teachers are forced to set by heads who are terrified of parental complaints. It is these complaints that need to be balanced out. If you are not sure if your childs homework is useful ask them after its marked "What improvements could you have made?". If they cannot answer then they have learned nothing. What was the point of that?! So if you are sick of homework like me please, please, please complain. Nothing would make schools a more happier place!!!!

Agree Bratella's system sounds well thought through and productive.

I don't necessarily want teachers time valuable being taken up in marking/setting/reviewing homework (especially in primary) but instead would welcome more open communication about the curriculum. When and what was being taught, how parents could usually build upon skills in the process of being acquired. Optional spelling lists we could test our children on/work through at home. In short much more transparency from school.

Agree that primary project type work often adds little value. Most projects, Roman swords, shields, plastic bottle competitions, 'design an easter egg' seem - in our school anyway - to bring out the worst, competitive streak in the parents. Some of the creations I've seen included leather and studs (shields) and the artwork looked completely professional (7-8 year old projects). They are given instead of literacy homework over a period of several weeks. I've often wondered why seemingly the same effort isn't put into reinforcing grammar rules and spelling etc by the parents? Perhaps because these things are not status driven or visible?

Homework is the single thing in this house that causes most bad feeling and disagreement. DS, despite being relatively clever, has never got to grips with the discipline in primary school (mainly because the homework is not very interesting), and still won't willingly do it.... Needless to say there have been many, many rows about it.... And for what.....Their School doesn't even mark it so it's not really worth doing!

Set "home work" and providing a nurturing environment which promotes independent learning and intrinsic values are not the same. Some people think that prescribed homework is the only way to develop lifelong learners, actually students should want to extend their learning without being forced to or given detentions....
Reading, timetables, time management, extended vocabulary (in any language) can all be done at home without being set.

That should be 'teachers' valuable time, not time valuable' not sure what happened there.

Litten Tree think you are spot on re: parents not wanting to go the extra mile. I'd include myself in that. It's tough to reinforce at home, especially after work etc. You're children might also be exhausted and unwilling and unable by the time you've gathered yourself together to help them. Sometimes I can't even face 5 minutes of listening to my son read.

We don't have an enrichment culture here in the UK or place that much cultural value on education compared to Asia etc too. It all matters and we care, but it doesn't matter that much.

Disagree .

I wish our local school set more homework, as others have said, some structured time spent studying at home can surely only be a good thing? I don't mean making endless ridiculous models or learning times tables for three hours a night but as LittleTree says, its surely not just a coincidence that many privately educated children do end up with the better jobs?

My 11 year old DS has sat on his backside for an hour this morning in front of the TV - even 20 minutes spent reading/doing maths worksheets etc etc would be better than that - and yes, I should get off my backside too and encourage force him to do something constructive !

I could scream at the amount of posters my DD year 8 has to do for homework - honestly, what a waste of time.

And the Sunday homework argument with DS - gah!

I think you have to be very clear on the difference between set homework and supporting your child. The latter is far more effective and will give benfits but it cannot be set by teachers. Parents have to take charge of it and stopping pointless stuff will allow them to do this more effectively.

When I take on any class where I know homework will be a massive problem I make a point to contact all the parents. I then discuss with them how to best support the pupils. I will send home resources, suggest books to buy and guide them through using the online resources. Then I leave it up to them and focus on classroom teaching. As this will have the biggest effect on their learning.

Based on the research homework has a very low effect on progress. There are far more worthwhile things than setting homework to focus on.

Please complain to your school if you want the setting of pointless tasks to end.

I think it depends on the child though.

I'm not sure the dts actually learn that much of the subject matter from their set homework, but they have def learned time management, organisation and research skills. They are 7. I think it is important that homework is set so the child can do it independently though, otherwise they wouldn't have learned those skills.

The older two tho, it has always been a case of scribble whatever down as fast as possible to get it done out of the way. So they have learned NOTHING from it.

I do get irritated when it interferes with MY time though. I have enough that I want to teach them that isn't taught in school, I don't need to be working on the curriculum too.

Sorry, 'your children', that state school education of mine will out :)

I think it's useful for children to learn independent learning skills etc, but that they should really do it in school. I don't understand why they have to do it at home. Kids are entitled to time off to relax and do other things. School isn't everything.

Littentree - The research I am referring to is a meta-analysis of 161 separate studies into homework. It's as good as we have so far.

LittenTree/Cortina - have to say I agree about the private sector 'just getting on with it' whilst the state sector changes with every new Sec of State trying to make a name for him/herself. Here's to Gove moving on in the next reshuffle and, fingers crossed, someone who wants to let us get on with it instead of the next change being brought in before we can settle in with the last one. Been teaching nearly 20 years and not one year has been the same as the last!

Gove is a dangerous idiot, frankly. He terrifies me.

Freerangeeggsnookie.

Ok, I think it depends on what is set. Look at this for example:

Year 5 homework

?Lord Emsworth, you must be so proud that you?ve entered your beautiful porker into his first competition!? said the judge.
Shivering, his Lordship bit his mud-caked nails.
?I?d better win this dashed show!? he thought.

Please write your 'pig competition' story. Write 1 1/2 sides of A4. Include lots of showing feelings, thoughts and speech.

Due: Tuesday.

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Year Five Comic Stories: The Drones Club

Year Five have been learning about how to combine the three comic tricks in a short story.

Task: Please complete your Drones Club story, paying attention to your paragraphing, please!

Due: Monday

This is the homework from an excellent prep. Imagine this sort of quality homework being set from reception up to Y6. Imagine how many children will incrementally grow in ability over the years.

Now take my (excellent) state school and compare it with the above.

Year 5 - make and design your air raid shelter, as planned in class, over the Easter holidays.

I'm excited by the pig story. I want to write it and I'm an adult. Would I be a better writer after all the recommended reading over Easter (prep school) and this sort of challenging homework? Would I have more chance of doing well in an 11 plus exam or common entrance than my son and peers at his school? You betcha!

Look at the prep it's a 'competition' story to boot! My school would have a blue fit and go up in smoke.

As a teacher i hated setting homework, making it relevant on the nights i had to set it but the topic wasn't appropriate. Not being allowed to set it on nights when i could have given something really interesting, fun and relevant.

I came to the conclusion it is a) a government tickbox exercise purely to drive schools crackers and b)only militantly insisted on by parents who would prefer not to have to engage with their own children of an evening

I base this entirely on my own expereince as a teacher when i honestly said to my students, its homwork night and this piece is important so you will do it or it's homework night so here's something you might like to look and i will reward you for doing it but i won't give detention if you don't.

worked a treat for me but then i rarely told my SMT what i was upto and they never checked.

as a mum, DD is only 3 but she has to practise her letters and numbers etc already because i say so. Some homework is useful if it can be supported by parental help (i suspect most respondants here fall into fully enaged in helping their child do their homework well) and there are certain types of homework we would consider to be just good parenting for a well rounded and educated child

My current plan: review all homework she comes home with, the important stuff to be done at the dining room table where i can help. The waste of time homework to be sent back with a note informing the teacher we had better things to do that night and that the piece of homework in question was not in MY opinion relevant to her education. Homework planners are such a useful tool!

Year 2 teacher here and I totally agree.

I am meant to set 10 spellings, a maths sheet and a literacy sheet a week, which for the most part, I do. The children also take home a reading book every day.

I'm also meant to set holiday homework, ie anything extra I want them to do over the holidays, but I don't bother doing this most of the time. My reasoning is that if I'm looking forward to a break and not planning on doing any work, then a 7 year old certainly shouldn't be working!!

However I am very quiet at school about the fact that I often don't set the required homework. If management found out they would certainly have something to say about it. Luckily my class parents are supportive of my stance.

CupofBrown joy IMO you should be setting holiday homework. It could be wonderful and fun, see the pig story above. It could add so much value and mean you had better & more enthusiastic readers and writers! Homework needn't be a slog!

I need to do that PGCE don't I .

Changed my name from freerange....

What is the point in this homework? How will it be assessed? Does it link in to what the pupils are doing in class? Will it be used in the future? How is it developing their writing specifically?

One and a half sides of A4! let's say the teacher spends 10 minutes looking at each one and writing feedback. In a class of 20 that's 3 hours and 20 minutes marking. Far better spent planning engaging lessons with specific outcomes.

It seems like this school is very good at marketing their homework to fit in with your view of what education should be. It is doing it deliberately something we will see a lot more in the new systems appearing.

Of course without knowing more specifics I'm being completely unfair!

TBH they all sound like things which are quick and easy to set but have no lasting impact. Again not a lot of bang for your buck!

I once said to DS when he was in year 3 "I hope you don't get loads of homework over Christmas, it's family time".... he went and told his teacher and she pulled me to one side and told me what DS had said and that I was right, it is family time and she didn't set any homework!!

I don't mind old fashioned homework, say a worksheet/piece of writing that can be done independently. Instead my dd brings home 'family learning' homework exercises (presumerably so that I can provide all the scaffolding and assessment for learining . Which pisses me right off as it is so time consuming and whilst dd doesn't mind a great deal I don't want to do it and ittakes away time from me teaching her about thing I do have a genuine passion about and probably am more interesting to listen to.

The past two holidays have been 'write a daily diary' tasks as well, one about what we are doing and the other around a theme. I realy would rather have two sides of A4 and be done with it!

I know the prep and the teacher - he is practically God as far as I am concerned so admit bias. We are at the state.

Ok, honestly I know it will be looked at. I know it will be noted where children have not understood/need development. I know they have small class sizes to make such things possible.

How is it developing writing? They are practising. The children are putting what they've learnt into practice. They are developing their skills, which will eventually become second nature due to so much practice. I know it's interesting and inspiring, it captures imagination and that is wonderful. It means books might be referred to, it means literary enrichment, it means you might ask to go to the library, it means you might want to go in for other literary competitions and search them out. Long term this means a better future and more interesting life.

Absolutely it links in with what's going on in class. Feelings, thought, speech, paragraphing? I didn't know about paragraphing when I took tests at 11, it was never reinforced properly. I could go on.

And our school will have the parents busily finding card and sloshing green paint around. Hmm. Who's advantaged I wonder?

Am feeling quite glad that DS and DD (year 3 and year 1) don't get much homework, although DD has said she would like more .

As a parent, the thing I loathe most is 'fun' homework. Even more so if it is 'fun holiday homework'. No, it is not 'fun'. Never. And it encroaches on the bloody holiday.

I despair when I see some dreadful 'creative' homework that requires me to get materials and crap like that. I have far better things to be doing. If you want your kids t spend their holidays/evenings/weekends writing 'fun' competition stories about pigs (which sound neither exciting nor fun to me), feel free to set them yourself. I'm quite happy for my kids to mess around and not do school work when they're not in school.

I don't support holiday homework. I'd've sent a note saying that we had better things to be doing than writing a daily diary (and, frankly, the teacher has better things to be doing than marking it).