Homework Rant

[AICM]

As a teacher I'm taking a risk ranting about parents on this site but I thought you might like to see the other side! Here goes. Some comments about my homework ALL from parents evening last week:
Homework is too hard.
Homework is too easy.
There is too much homework.
There is not enough homework.
I'm too strict about deadlines.
I'm not strict enough about deadlines.
Homework should only be academically focused.
Homework should be more fun.

I appear to have upset everyone!

On a serious point what do you want from homework?

Popadop, I'm not stitchingmoss BUT

I do teach. And I do set homework. The homework is ALWAYS rehearsal of something that I have taught in class - whether it be spellings that rehearse a new spelling rule (or revise one that has been forgotten), times table learning that provides additional rehearsal of those key number facts, writing tasks that rehearse e.g. punctuation or a type of writing we have just done in class, maths tasks that rehearse calculations we have done in class ... and always reading, rehearsing not only the basics of reading but also working towards a particular reading target for each child (e.g. using voices for different characters, or using punctuation to guide expression).

The homework I set is designed for the children to be able to do independently (it has to be, several children have no literate adults in their family to read the homework tasks - for reading tasks, these adults have a sheet of 'sticky spots' to stick into their child's book to say that the child has read out loud to them). If the children do not remember how to do what I am asking them to rehearse (and this is rare, as I obviously assess them continuously when we do the initial learning in class) then they come to me for help.

The school curriculum is very full, and the value of homework seems to me to be that it provides time for additional independent rehearsal of key skills. It also gives children the skill of working independently at home, which will stand them in good stead in secondary school.

I agree that teachers should ALWAYS do the initial teaching of something in class - I am not expecting parents to teach their children how to use commas in lists, or what a times table is. However it does seem reasonable to ask a child to work independently at home for a short time to rehearse that skill to some degree after it has been taught.

All of this can be done in school time.

Pop, It can be done to an extent in school time. It can be done even better (and give children the independent study skills they will need in secondary skills) in a combination of school and home time. For an adult to read for 15 minutes with each child in a class of 30 every day would actually take more hours than there are in a school day. So in school we do 1x 30 minute guided reading session once a week, at least one 15 minute 1 to 1 reading session each week, and ask children to read for 10 - 15 minutes to an adult at home on the remaining days.

Equally, we have a 30 minute spelling lesson once a week to learn a new spelling rule (then on other days we use that slot for guided reading, handwriting, times tables, mental maths). There are maybe 15 minutes for rehearsal in that lesson. Reinforcement using a self-completed read / write / cover sheet for a couple of minutes 3 times a week at home just adds to the amount of rehearsal possible.

Same argument for rehearsal of times tables - yes, we have a timetabled slot, and often use them as starters in maths lessons, but extra rehearsal is good.

Pop - don't.

I will.

Pop, If you don't want to your child to do homework, tell them not to do it.

Your child won't 'completely miss' anything, as homework tasks are rehearsal of what is done in school.

However, it will mean that they might be slightly 'less fluent' at some things - like reading, or remembering number facts, or applying a spelling rule - because they will have had a bit less rehearsal than some others. Equally, if your child is particularly good at something - they may already be a very good reader, or a naturally good speller, or have learned the target times tables for the age group, then you can choose for them not to bother doing that particular homework as it doesn't help them in their learning at all.

I don't see the need for homework at primary age, especially in the earlier years. There was never any when I was at school and it seems a strange idea to me.

I did always read a lot at home - but never ever saw this as 'work', I've always thought of reading as fun and a guilty pleasure to be indulged in when I should really be doing some actual work!

I didn't have homework until junior school and my parents never helped anyway.

I am interested to see what DS is learning and keeping up with how it is taught. All of this is very different from when I was at school. I don't think 20 mins a day is too onerous and it is helpful to check they have understood everything. The standard reply to 'what have you been doing at school' is 'nothing'.

TEACHERWITH 2KIDS.

Oh believe me I would but my son would never break the rules.................he would look at me in horror if I suggested he did'nt do it.

Last year [year 4] his english homework was word searches every week for about 15 weeks.....................complete rubbish..........how does this help with anything............maybe once in and out but every week..................the teacher has been been off sick from school since about May so I suggest something was going on there.

He is a 5c in english and just gone into year 5.....................so the crap homework did not help nor hinder him.

Ah. Truly terrible homework IS indefensible and I'm not going to try to defend it.

My responses to your previous posts were based on decent homework tasks being set, as you hadn't mentioned their silliness until now.

I can defend the homework I and many other teachers set for the reasons that I have given. I can't defend weekly wordsearches and I'm not going to try.

I've been thinking about this after reading this thread, and I think the key for me is differentiation - or lack of.

I have absolutely no problem with homework that is clearly relevant to my child - obviously the standard things of reading books, helping her learn whichever tables she's meant to be working on, listening to any pieces she's meant to be learning etc. Similarly work that comes home that is obviously reinforcing class work. I can see from what is set that it has been given to dd's group - ie it is aimed at an appropriate level.

What I struggle with is the 'projects' that I know have been set to every child in KS2 with absolutely no differentiation according to where the children are at. So "Write 10 pages about bells" - which would be appropriate though taxing for dd now in yr 5 (she has mastered the mechanics of writing, and has a target for this year of increasing quantity and writing in paragraphs). But it was a total joke at this point in yr 3 when she couldn't actually write independently. And even more ridiculous for her severely dyslexic friend who couldn't read at all either.

I do think that a lot of moans about homework on here are linked to lack of differentiation - whether that be those of us dealing with children in tears and tantrums because the work is absurdly beyond their capabilities unless we as parents basically do it for them, or at the other extreme where people see their dc coming home with 'homework' that is obviously so beneath their abilities as to be trivial. I'm not quite sure why this is when class work is obviously very carefully differentiated by the level the child is working at. Certainly I would rather have no homework than homework that is - as it sometimes appears - just set for the sake of it.

Its also frustrating for my dd when she spends 5 or 6 hours on a piece of work over the holiday, hands it in, and gets it back with no feedback at all - just 'well done X' regardless of the quality of the work (which is pretty much what happened in yr 3 & 4 with these projects - some she really laboured over, others she gave up & just gave in total rubbish - the 'feedback' was the same).

teacherwith2kids - I should say that I would absolutely support the sort of homework that you talk about - 'rehearsing' things learnt in school, and I completely see the value of it.

I didn't have homework until secondary, I remember me and the rest of my class begging the teacher for homework.
My dd is now in Y2. In YR the only 'homework' they had was a reading book and occasionally a topic to talk about over the weekend (things like 'Autumn' 'or village' and the like) in Y1 the had the reading book and four words a week for spelling. Now in Y2 they have reading, spellings and a small worksheet type given on Fridays and to be handed in by Tuesday, this really suits her and us, we have more time over the weekend and so far the homework has been perfect, It is always consolidating what they have done in class that week, some weeks maths others Literacy or science. It is differentiated across the class so each child gets something they can do with minimal parental support.
I like the idea of optional homework as there will always be children like mine who love it and can't get enough (dd begged me to buy her work books and gets them out of her own accord to do more work) and you will have others that just don't get along with it.

I do have to give a small smile to the MN way, everybody is always going on about getting the best schools, the best education, how bright and advanced their children are, competition about being in the top sets but when it comes to homework so many have the attitude of 'teachers should be doing this', 'all education should happen in the school day' and 'I am not a teacher so I won't do their job'. It just baffles me, education is in everything, teachers have our children for such a small amount of time and with the rest of the class to take into consideration, all parents are teachers of their children, it doesn't have to be set homework or work books, everyday life is such a rich learning environment. I just don't get the juxtaposition of MN parents on their issues.

Well AICM I think you have your answer. Blackeyedsusan & cat64 are right - there is no one fit.

From my perspective what I want is predictability. If you say spellings will be sent out on a Monday - then they should be. Not Tuesday or Wednesday. If there is an INSET day, why not send them early or put them on-line on the Monday.

I would like books regularly changed (preferably at least 2x a week KS1/ 1x a week KS2 - possibly longer as books get more challenging or the child requests more time with the book). I'd also like regular maths homework reinforcing the learning going on in class. There is no writing homework at our school - so even one exercise would be a 100% improvement.

We're not getting regular homework at our school - so I'm coming up with my own solutions. My DDs seem to like it and all I can say is the internet is fabulous! It's been such a help. As have ideas from Mumsnetters.

Finally what I would love to see as a parent is examples of the work that is actually going on coming home for us to see. No school work is sent home and barely any are pasted into various books for us to see on parents evening. My DH and I often wonder why we are only shown 10 - 12 pieces of work a term. Surely more work must be done? We're told this is because of the OFSTED inspection system - but honestly we can't see why every piece of school work/ art has to be kept at school.

I know there's no pleasing everybody AICM but I think the common ground here is that everyone would like the understand what their child currently is learning and have the chance to see progression in their learning taking place.

Popadop, you say that the solution is after school homework clubs but you also say it should all be individual so if a teacher is spending half an hour after school helping the child who is struggling that week with fractions, what should the child struggling with commas be doing at this time? Twiddling her thumbs and waiting for her individual input?

Also, if the class teachers were to do this every night then who is going to hold all the after school activity clubs that parents and kids are so keen on? Who will take them to netball fixtures or run computer club? Oh and if a teacher is giving extra tuition until 5pm when do they do their marking and prep for the following morning?

Rubbish homework is simply pointless. Homework should be given out as and when it is appropriate to consolidate what is going on in class. There should be no teaching necessary as the children should be doing work based on what they are currently learning in class.

lovingthecoast.

Teachers should organise their time better. It is their job, if I failed in my job I would be disciplined and eventually have my contract terminated.

Teachers get away with an awful lot of shoddiness, and their excuse being ''we are overworked'' well aren't we all?

None! It is completely unnecessary in primary. Send reading home by all means but be aware that those parents who need to read to their children, may not do it whatever you do.
Later on, a few spellings or timetables.
But for the love of God, let's kill the worksheets and projects. They're hellishly boring, worthless and just annoy the parents

greyroses............yep yep and yep.

A parent will read with their child if they want to or not. We love to read together and now ds reads to me, while I doze...................

But I would do that whatever the teacher says.

The children that need the help probably don't get it at home either so there is no point.

Popadop,

My understanding is that

• Your son had a teacher last year who gave him bad homework.
• This year, he has maths homework that he does not understand.

On this basis, you have decided that all homework is useless and that teachers who choose, or are required by their school policy, to send homework home should organise their time better or be sacked.

Is it just me who finds this something of an over-reaction?

If you receive poor homework, or homework that doesn't help your child, don't do it. If he doesn't understand it, he should ask his teacher to explain it and they should do so willingly as it shouldn't be new to him and the teacher needs to know that he doesn't understand it yet. If the school is consistently using homework to 'teach' new knowledge or skills then you should raise that with them - it should be reinforcement. If your child doesn't need to rehearse or reinforce something, then just don't do the homework. To condemn all teachers who set homework as 'shoddy' is ... a bit bizarre, frankly.

What is your plan for secondary homework in a couple of years' time? With my 'parent' hat on, I have equipped my son, now in Year 6, with the ability to organise himself, to find his own time to do his homework, to set himself appropriate standards for it and then to take any consequences or praise that comes his way - as that is what I believe he will need for secondary school homework. As a parent, the content of the homework is not that important to me (though luckily his school has a sensible homework policy that clearly supports class work), but gradually developing study skills is

Interestingly, to reply to popadup's last post - it is the children of the parents who are illiterate who are actually the most conscientious about reading at home (often to siblings), who do and return their homework on time, who practise their spellings every week. You'd be surprised by my homework non-doers!

Pop,

Apologies, I found your last post somewhat inflammatory and so posted a reply that was less moderate in tone than I would normally like.

Could you explain where you see shoddiness in this?

• I give 2 pieces of homework per week (Year 3). 10 - 15 minutes of reading daily is also expected.
• One piece of homework is always spelling, and rehearses a rule that the children have learned or revised that week.
• The second alternates between maths and literacy.
• These tasks are always differentiated, based on day-by-day class assessment.
• Maths homework may be suggestions for activities to learn (individually tailored) times tables or may be questions which rehearse some core maths skills learned recently in class.
• Literacy homework rehearses e.g. punctuation or is a piece of writing with clear success factors that I am looking for based on work in class. For example if we have been looking at settings in class I might ask children to write a description of a place that they know well.
• I state the maximum time required for each task, usually 30 minutes per week for the maths / literacy task.
• Every task has a deadline a week later.
• Any child or parent with a question or problem talks to me about it during the week or puts a note in the homework diary and i spend time discussing the problem.
• I mark the homework in detail, using the school's standard marking policy.

Not sure why you think a teacher is failing when not all children are understanding every concept first time of teaching! Learning doesn't work that way. I was actually an AST so both my school and ofsted happened to think I was pretty good but I never went through a year where all children picked up everything I taught at all times. It just doesn't work like that when there is one adult in a class of 34 or 35 especially in schools where teachers are spending class time wading through all the other issues such as children not ariving until 10am or falling asleep by 10am or passing out due to not eating since the evening before.

You teach a lesson via a whole class input then you set independent work differentiated for varying abilities. Some children will understand completely and then you set them some form of extention challenge to further stretch their understanding. Other kids will just about grasp it from the input and slowly, whilst working through the independent work will consolidate that understanding. This means that in the follow up lesson they might either be ready for something more challenging or need more repetition of the same. Other kids will struggle with the input and will need to be hand held through a very simple form of the independent task. It may take them all year and many visits to the topic to really grasp the concept. Sometimes, all it will do is form a stronger platform for them to grasp a little more the following year so they leave my year never fully understanding yet still having made huge progress.

Not sure what any of this has to do with homework though! Homework is pointless unless it further deepens the child's understanding or challenges them further. For those children struggling with the concept in class it is often pointless because they need hand holding through each part.

and yes, I can spell both arriving and extension! Just trying to type with newborn.

Loving, if children are struggling with a concept in class I would not set that for homework. However, they are sometimes struggling because they lack some basic skill or need to rehearse some basic number facts etc. I would then set the homework on the basic skill or on revising the basic number facts (e.g. number bonds to 10 or 20 or complements to 100 or doubles or whatever) rather than the new concept IYSWIM?

Yes, TW2K, it also needs marking and feedback. Also the use of homework diaries meant that any issues could be dealt with promptly.