Isn't it about time we got rid of homework, at least for the under 14s?

[Solopower1]

Just heard on the radio (PM Programme, Radio 4) that there are moves afoot to stop setting HW in France. They did this years ago in Spain. Didn't catch any more details (eg what age children) but they are considering lengthening the school day by half an hour so that the kids can do their HW before they go home.

Apparently there is no research that proves that doing HW benefits a child! (Which isn't to say that it doesn't, of course, but still).

I think it would be a great idea to abolish homework, at least for those under 14. It has always been a huge burden in our household, and caused so much tension. Plus the school day is really short. In Scotland there are no classes on a Friday afternoon - not even for sixth formers.

It wouldn't stop parents from going over their kids' HW if they wanted to, nor would it prevent anyone from doing any amount of extra research. What it would do, however, is make things just that little bit more equal. It's not fair, imo, that children from disadvantaged backgrounds who get no help (or might not even have anywhere to do their HW), are still expected to produce the same quality of work as a child whose parent does it for him/her.

What do other people think?

I seem to have produced two procrastinators. They need homework that has to be handed in the next day, otherwise it gets put off.

Give either of them a worksheet with normal questions to be handed in the next day and they aren't too bad. DS2 has just done a Maths Sats paper, no whining at all.

I could cope with worksheets.

DD's school give out 'family home learning' in reception and yr 1. Things to 'discuss,' like staying up at night to listen to night time noises fun 'outings' to plan, craft activities involving expensive hard to find materials

Then yr 2 is 3 activities the teacher plan to take 2 hours

threepiecesuite as a teacher could you not tell your class that if they attend well in class, there will be no homework, but that if they muck about and don't listen then homework will be set & absolutely expected back in, no excuses?

My DC are still at primary school - I agree with reading & times tabes, and actually enjoy doing the projects. But, I make sure we do what they want, no matter how left field they wander...

Saying that, my DS (yr4) does get work sheets that literally take 5-10mins, just to reinforce the learning in school. I think this is fine.

I'm sure some of these teachers just dole out the homework without thinking at all about the poor families who have to do it! Plus at high school there often isn't any co-ordination betweent the different subjects, although at my son's school they are supposed to liaise over when and how much HW they give.

But it's true that there just isn't enough time in class to do everything, and it's good that at least some kids get a chance to do the arts and crafts things at home.

Homework is vital in my subject as I need them to read and write loads and class time is taken up with discussion/teaching etc. However, I hate homework that is set for the sake of setting it and which has not been thought through. Word searched, colouring in (not Art, just colouring in) or endless, repetitive worksheets. It must link with the curriculum and with class, be marked and have clear success criteria and...well..a point to it.

I don't like homework. DD1 hated homework and course work for gcse and was constantly chased for it.

DD2 on the other hand doesn't like homework but does home work on a Friday night ,strange child and has been known to work over and above on a geography project through peer pressure and get up at 5am to complete

I don't contriubute to homework, library visits and internet are provided but I don't assist, I don't see the point as the home work surely will show if it shows anything what dd2 can do and not her mother

Oh and ps

I like the end of the half term - as homework setting drifts off from the start of term.. which means we can get on with home life

At primary school we had spellings, reading and times tables with more complicated stuff in the later primary years to reinforce learning. It rarely took more than an hour to finish everything.

Secondary school involved 2 hours of homework a night and we had prep time. It was boarding school but day girls were encouraged to stay for prep time too. Teachers would supervise us during years 1-3 and sixth form would supervise GCSE students. The teachers were very happy to explain things we didn't understand, which normally only took them 5 or so minutes, and they would be marking or doing lesson plans while we did our homework. I don't see why this can't happen at all schools.

Oh and my parents never contributed to homework. If we asked for help they told us to ask our teacher because it was important to the teacher to know that we didn't understand the material taught.

I have to contribute. Mainly in money. In bloody Hobbycraft.

I have a daughter in P4 (7) and a daughter in P1 (almost 5), they like homework. Older daughter gets spellings, number bonds, fitting adjectives into sentences etc, a journal to write about news stories and things that have happened to her, reading spread over a week. The younger one had copying shapes onto a Humpty Dumpty picture and a book to share.

The P1 teacher told us that if it can't be done in 10 mins, just write a wee note explaining if there were any problems with the work being set or if we were all just too busy, the P4 teacher told us 20 mins tops and that he never wanted to hear of a pupil of his crying over homework.

I had homework in primary school but with scarier teachers and with the best will in the world whilst I'd like to think I would go over schoolwork, encourage my children to think about new things, without the guidance of the teachers I'm not sure I would.

I can't be doing with crafty stuff/projects etc - I remember when my eldest daughter started P1 - I didn't think they made pipe cleaners in this day and age.

Sparkling can I ask? Was this puppet for English homework or DT/Art?

Just wondered as, not sure if puppet making is on the National curriculum for English................which is what drives me mad about homework.

Good homework extends the learning, but often kids are given tasks which just tick the homework boxes. Eg a poster for RE. Why? Is poster designing part of the RE curriculum? I very much doubt it, so what is the teacher marking? Artistic skills?.....But it's meant to be RE!

Are you the same one who had to deal with a gelatine cell and the centralisation of a skittle in said cell for the nucleus? Does your Ds go to some Summerhill type school with all these weird homeworks

Well i am a teacher and have my dd who brings homework back. It is annoying having to find time to do it but i think what is important that it is training for later on in life when children have to study at secondary, college or university..even certain jobs may have the kind of pressure where they need to bring work home and be able to manage it. Reading is important as is sounds and words in the early stages. Homework should mostly be about revision/consolidation and shouldnt ever tackle anything children have no experience of at school. I teach in a more disadvantaged area and the homework caters for the needs of those that dont have parental support. We even have support in school..time set aside for children who may not have done it as a result of home circumstances. Children are never given into trouble for not doing it in those occasions. The homework is vastly different than that of my own dd whos school has more 'advantaged' children and parents!

I luuuurve Hobbycraft. Could spend hours in there just poking about...

Yes orange the skittle in the gelatine was DS1. But that was at his previous school. The puppet is for English. They are going to do The Tempest as a puppet show. I hope not everyone has made a Russell Brand Prospero.

He made a plant cell out of plasticine the other week. It's a laugh a minute here.

Yes, please!

As the mother of a 11 who still wants to keep up her extracurricular activities from primary and why the hell shouldn't she.

It's just a sodding nuisance!
(looks forward to building another two history models in the next couple of years and googling various weird and wonderful topics, very educational for me, but not really the point).
Apart from revision for end of unit test and the odd bit of French vocab learning, most of it is just there for the sake of making parents feel teachers are earning their money.

I speak as a very bad pupil, who forgot to do much of her HW and still got straight A O Levels.

Solo, 2 hour lunch break: school dinnners and then play overseen by lunchtime staff.
At DCs current school (city) there are several lunchtime staff who are specially trained and they organise activities, have access to the school craft room etc.
At the previous school (tiny village) they spend a fair bit of time being ferried about in a coach because there was no room on site for canteen and then just played overseen by the canteen staff. There were only about 30 kids who couldn't go home for lunch.

ds1 year 3. he has maths, normally what they have done in class, sometimes a revisit to times table( he had 4 times table last night) , spelling and reading. He had a project to do last term. Teacher wanted it done by power point but I have no idea if our computer does this and so was my son. We spoke to the teacher and it was then changed to power point or poster. It was relevent to what they were leaning in class.
ds2 year 3 reading and sometimes words they are learning. they have a week to do the little booklet. wordseaches, unjumble the words('the' would look like 'het' and they had to correct it), writting the word 3 times( read,cover,spell,check). so between both of them I spend around an hour everynight doing homework. I also work, my dh is away at the moment and I have no family support. Its hard work. Cant wait till they are older so they can do it themselves!!

Ben5, How much older? Alas you are sadly deluded about them doing it themselves

They NEVER do it themseves. Teenagers are the worst of all. You have to spend hours bullying them, and to do it.Then they turn round and say "Well what do YOU want me to do to it then?" Oh the battles to unweld ds from Facebook/Halo to get hom to actually pick up a pen.

I need to go and lie down...........the memories...........

I think that it is impossible to compare the situation in France with the situation in England. In France, teachers are not held to account for the failure of pupils to achieve. The current proposals are aiming to make teachers more accountable for their pupils' achievements but not allowing children to repeat school years and by ensuring all ground is properly covered during the school day.

I don't think the Russell Brand Prospero would have been created without my input TBH. It's gone into school today. I actually quite enjoyed helping him.

I would honestly say that Homework totally ruins weekends in this house. It hangs over the house like a huge black cloud.

DS is in year 8 at a highly academic indie where he spends about 2 hours a night on homework. This normally involves going onto the Internet to do additional research on a topic introduced by the teacher during the classroom session.

I agree that some homework can be pointless but on the whole the assignments do add value to the learning process.

I would love to see the abolition of homework. DS2 is in Yr7 scholorship set at a prep and gets way too much really difficult homework (2hrs a night). Some of it GCSE level that even I struggle to help with

DS1 is at public school and comes home late (9pm), but never ever brings a book home. Prep is done and left in school. As a result our relationship is so much better as home is for chilling out and interacting with your family - he even helps DS2 do his homework!