School gave detention unfairly

[mamatiger83]

Just a bit of a rant!
My son is in senior school (year 7) and has an app on his phone in place of a homework diary. I have the same app and as such can see when he is set homework assignments and check in to make sure he has completed everything that needs doing.
He has homework due in tomorrow, this is stated clearly on the app. It is not a massive piece of work and doing it tonight would have been no issue for him.
His teacher today has issued and enforced a lunchtime detention for said homework not being completed! I am furious and waiting for a member of guidance to call me back. I imagine I will not be the only parent complaining as 90% of the class (I am told) have also not completed the homework as it is not due in until tomorrow!!!!

userIamNOTaNUMBER seriously??? And you don't think that would make you look like a psycho nutter?? Fair enough!

It was a mistake, the teacher apologised and the children lost 30 mins of lunch tops (doubt it was any longer as they were making phone calls).

I genuinely think this should have been left for the child to resolve- if the teacher didn't listen they had a million other people they could speak to - or go and see the teacher again.

OP you don't think having your child's homework in your calendar a tad controlling?? As someone who works with secondary school children on building their independence I disagree but if you're happy then carry on

@Ollycat no I don't think it's at all controlling, I think it's a good idea to have an awareness of the expectations. I imagine if it was reversed and I paid no attention to his homework I would be criticised for not caring. That's the thing about an online forum, everyone has their own opinion and if you are comfortable doing what you're doing that's great :)

There is a huge expanse of middle ground between having his homework synched to your calendar and not caring surely . He needs to take responsibility for it and the whole time you have it on your phone he is absolved of that responsibility- either because he chose to or you removed it from him. He needs to take ownership of it and if that means that he misses a deadline then that's fine. First of all he will discover that the sky will not fall down because of it and secondly he will make jolly sure it doesn't happen again. BUT this can only happen if he takes charge of things - we learn through mistakes.

At no point have I said don't show any interest- I said first of all ask him what he needs to do and agree a plan and then leave him to it - this way he is an active learner. You saying "oh I see you have to do x y z homework for tomorrow " is making him a passive learner- he is simply carrying out the commands you give him.

It's fantastic that you care about his education but it is HIS education and ultimately his choices - your role is primarily to enable him to become an independent learner.

At any point did I say I absolve him of the responsibility of his homework?
I think you've read far too much into my original post and deemed it a worthy soapbox to stand on.

I've no interests in soapboxes! I'm just shocked at you screenshotting honework and phoning school / having HIS homework on YOUR calendar rather then letting him take ownership. Anyway pleased your happy so carry on as you are

Out of interest why have you got his homework on your calendar?

As a teacher I have made, and will continue to make, mistakes. I'm also a human being and not a paragon of perfection even though many people seem to think I ought to be because I'm a teacher.

When I make mistakes I ALWAYS apologise to the individual or class and, contrary to a couple of posts on this thread, I have great rapport with my kids - they LIKE that I make mistakes, it actually demonstrates that it is ok to make them and because I apologise they know that I respect them and, in return, they respect me.

Everyone makes mistakes, teachers are not some higher beings, and should not be held to a higher standard. It's not making the mistake that matters - it's how you deal with it once you realise/are told that you made one.

If this is Show My Homework, it automatically sends emails to a parental email informing of homework tasks : I guess one could switch it off. But the app is encouraging home school partnerships.

Sorry, missed out second page and can now see it is SMHW.

My school has SMHW and planners but they are dwindling. I miss planners. I liked the idea that kids physically wrote their homework down.

I like the app, I like that I can see what work my son is being set and I like being able to encourage him (or nag when required).
I get that not everyone is the same and it may seem bonkers to not let my child fend for himself in this regard but he's 12, most kids need a kick up the butt sometimes to tackle maths or geography.

@coolaschmoola I completely agree with what you've said and thankfully this was sorted straight away, the teacher did apologise to the class for the mix up.

I've made mistakes before with SMHW, the main one being if I have two classes & I set the same homework! I set it for both & forget that I don't have them for the 2nd lesson of the week on the same day! My classes would tell me though. Although once I had a parent complain that I hadn't done the test I'd set. Her child went home & complained! Frustratingly, we had done it...she was just late so missed it. I kindly invited her back to do it as she was so keen! Commitment at its best!

Glad it's resolved. We have the SMHW app and a hardback planner. All the homework is online but we have had an exception when a supply teacher gave homework. The planner is used to note merits, detentions, notes between teachers and parents and as a backup for homework.