Appropriateness of keeping kids in at lunchtime to finish homework

[matildarosepink]

Hello All, sorry if this has been dealt with somewhere else. If it has, couldn't find it.. Here's the thing: my DD is in Year 4 at a mainstream primary school. Her teacher has announced that the children who don't finish their homework at home will be kept in at lunchtime to finish it. I feel quite angry about this. The teacher has sent home quite a lot of work this week (some of it a waste of time e.g. 'copy out this story') and I think it will be too much for a week's homework. I'm fairly anti homework anyway (think it causes later disaffection. In countries where they don't give it to under 11s, bunking off is virtually unheard of). Is it legal for the teacher to be doing this? I'm going to check the school prospectus to see if it's a whole school policy. We do help DD learn spellings each week anyway, and she reads almost obsessively every night through choice, she loves it! Her maths is good, too, so it's not as if she needs to catch up with things. Am feeling frustrated and don't want to cause friction unnecessarily. Any advice on this? Is it legal? (Am ex-primary teacher BTW, so do have some informed idea that DD doesn't need this..)

Just seems pointless to me. No ideas of the legalities. Point out to the teacher that she's not penalising anybody whose parent/older sibling has done their homework for them.

DS1 is in Y3 and has handed in what I think was incomplete homework this week. The class were told that anyone who didn't hand theirs in by Wednesday would miss a playtime. So DS1's friend who had done his homework but forgotten it nearly got kept in (was let off, 'just this once'), while DS1, who didn't really bother with his, but gave the book in, would have gone unpenalised. Stupid system, IMO.

So, anyway, sorry for the rant. I suppose it was to say that yours is not the school withdrawing playtime for not doing homework.

Seems very arbitory to me. Some children will through no fault of their own, not have time, some might need help and parents that won't help for various reasons. Some children might have very pushy parents, some may even be lucky enough to have parents who have perfected a spidery scrawl and done the work for them!

It's the children who have no help at home, that suffer because of this. I would talk to the teacher and give her back the homework. At primary school, homework is usually consolidating skills and knowledge, later on it is more helpful in preparing children for their next lesson. By which time children can choose to do their homework irrespective of parental influences or attitude.

Homework at primary school simple divides children between supportive familly and non-facilitating backgrounds. No equality in that.

I was very happy that ds (yr 2) was kept in at break time this week to finish the homework he had refused to do at home. I trust the teacher to set homework for a reason and consider it my job as parent to ensure the work is done. Ds was warned for three nights in a row to do it - writing out spellings. He refused.

He missed one break time and did his work perfectly. It has meant now he is willing to do his homework at home when asked (we are talking about 5-10 minutes work)and that makes my evenings easier.

Fwiw ds has the longest school day in his class but he is not tired at the end of it so not doing 5-10 mins homework is not an option.

A child in year 4 is old enough to complete a decent amount of homework...it's hard work for parents as we have to police them but it is also important.

Copying a story out is not pointless, it's a technique for allowing the child to fully grasp the content....ut you could always ask the teacher why she has had to do that.

My own DD is in year 2 and has homework every night...sums or writing plus her reading book and we have made it part of our time together...she enjoys it now.

By year 4 a child needs to be learning to be responsible for it's own homework.