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?

Yes, I agree with that too! I often found that a lack of basic place value knowledge led to a child struggling in so many other areas. This was often a problem in Ys3&4.

I hate homework both as a parent and a teacher. I think that in primary homework is often not differentiated to the same level as work is within lessons ... which leads to the problems stated in the OP.

When I taught Y2 and Y3, I don't think I ever sent home maths homework based on the topic for those children who were struggling with fundamental number work. What would be the point? In fact, if I was say, teaching 3D shape one week, 'that group' would do the topic work on 3days and concentrate on basic number principles the other 2. No point in sending them up a class to attempt more difficult topics when they are still struggling with PV and basic addition.

I didn't have any homework myself until secondary school and it came as a huge shock just when we were already dealing with being in a much bigger school and moving classrooms and getting school buses. I would have found it helpful to be broken into homework slowly during primary.

I don't think there is any need for homework as such in infant school, maybe spellings/tables/reading but nothing more.

I like what my children's junior school do in that they have a learning log which is sent home each Friday and it returned the following Wednesday.

• In Y3 at the top of the page is printed a choice of two activities to do, one is usually a factual writing piece, the other more creative and open. They are not expected to more than 40 minutes on it.
• In Y4 there is a choice of three activities all related to things they have done that week, they can choose to do one of them in-depth or a short bit on two of them and they are expected to do no more than 60 minutes on it.
• In Y5 and 6 there are the three activities and they are expected to do something in-depth for two of them and take no more than 90 minutes.

But lechilly, whatever your views as a parent, the level of differentiation of the homework is within your power to change as a teacher? I mean, I could choose not to differentiate homework, but I do in fact differentiate it at least 4 ways most weeks (always 4 ways for spellings, 3, 4 or 5 ways for maths and literacy).

yes I agree - but differentiating homework to the same level as within class is difficult. Differentiation can be managed by resources for instance. Much more difficult to achieve with hwk.

DS (yr2) has quite a lot of homework this half term. Literacy, numeracy and a number bonds work sheet, handwriting practice and a reading book

Normally he likes doing homework but think I am going to struggle this wk has he is booked into a football academy for the wk and is going to be too tired most evenings...

DD (3, in nursery) has homework too She has letter formation practice (following the dotted lines etc) and a reading book.

DS is in year 1 and has reading every night which isn't a problem, He also has some numeracy homework which is quick to do as it's straight forward and fun, on top of this he has phonics homework.

The phonics homework for last week was a list of 27 words with the heading 'sense and nonsense' and he had to chose the real words from the list and write them down (Ok fairly easy so far). But then with these words he had to add sound buttons??? He didn't know what to do and me and DH were stumped.

IMO the child should have a basic grasp of what they're meant to be doing but on many occasions i've sat and literally done DS's homework for him and had to write a note telling his teacher that DS doesn't understand. What is the child learning from this?? I feel like the homework is for the parents not for the children. I'm a SAHM and if i'm struggling with it I honestly don't know how working parents cope.

Last year he had poor english homework this year is fine.

I do not believe I have said anywhere he is struggling with maths I said ''i have bought a book to keep up with the new ideas''

My son just gets on with it and alaways hands it in early but I still see that there is no need for homework, when he is at school from 9-3.15.

above post replying to teacher with kids.

I do not believe all homework is bad, but as said with bad homework set my son achieved 5c grade going into his year 5.

So do you think if he had good homework his grade would of been better?

Wow, pop, it's helpful attitudes like yours that make my job so incredibly rewarding .

Teaching is a partnership between home and school - of course we do the lion's share but that doesn't mean that learning/teaching stops at the school door. My kids haven't even started school yet but I'm 'teaching' them every day.

As a teacher I know only too well what the OP is talking about with parental attitude to homework. I dislike setting homework but will always make sure it is meaningful, not a new topic, and differentiated. If at all possible it will be a game or something which encourages the family to do it together, but I do my best to ensure the homework can be done independently.

I would far rather children read regularly at home and practiced basic number facts than I would complete homework - in my experience (trying to avoid a flaming here!) my parents who have said there is not enough homework do not read regularly with their child.

steps off soapbox and hands back to OP

Oh and pop, it's "would have been better".

I totally agree that a teaching is a partnership between home and school.

I do think grades improve if a child is supported at home.

OddBoots I agree in part with your point about being thrown into homework along with the change to a much bigger and more chaotic school - but a good school should be able to introduce homework gradually over the space of the first term. This was what happened to me when I went to secondary and it was fine, no need to start early. And I also think that if you are going to start homework in primary, it should not be until Yr5 - there is such a thing as too much preparation and starting in YrR is it.

Alexironingboard, I agree that support makes a difference. There is however no research evidence showing that homework makes any difference at all in primary, and the evidence in secondary is very tenuous.

Pop, you haven't replied to my point about preparing for secondary homework - or do you think that there is no need for homework in secondary either, and therefore no need for your son to develop independent study skills at home?

Sugar, would agree with you that I would prefer a child to read every day and practise their number facts (whether that be number bonds or times tables) and not do written homework rather than the other way round. The one thing that it is genuinely impossible to fit into a school day is meaningful 1 to 1 reading time with an adult for every child every day - and that is the easiest thing for an adult at home to do with a child.

Pointy, is that true even for reading? I can imagine that it might be true for written homework (especially as I do suspect that quality and differentiation of written homework does vary from school to school) but it is very obvious in my Year 3 class who reads at home regularly and who does not in terms of their progress (Interestingly, in my class it makes less difference who the child reads to - sublings or illiterate adult seems to have the same effect as to very highly educated adult - it just seems to be the rehearsal of the skill which matters).

There is an article in this weeks TES explaining the difference between regular schools and exceptionaly good ones, might be worth a review and a more detailed look at the research behind the article, one of the points concerned homework,its nature, delivery and relevance.

Pop,

If you think that there is no need for homework for your child, and that he will pick up the study skills needed for secondary homework easily when he needs to, then just say that to your school and don't do any more homework (well, you say that you always do reading, so you already do the most important type of homework).

Those parents and children who do benefit from the structured rehearsal of skills, and the development of independent study habits, that homework provides can then get on with it. The teacher can spend his or her time supporting them and marking the homework and responding to comments in the homework diary and providing hints about study skills.

Part of choosing to educate your child in the school system, rather than individually at home, is that for some of the time things are done 'for the common good of the many' rather than 'specifically for your child's benefit'. Saying that 'homework doesn't benefit my child so I will be rude about all homework set by all teachers' is unnecessary. There is no need to link the setting of homework in general with a teacher's competence or time management skills.

I have said to my son that some homework is pointless.

But my son is very contentiousness and completes anything the teacher sets.

We also read and he writes stories of his own accord and loves the maths websites [education city etc]

We learn new stuff everyday, so I suppose I am doing all the right things [I hope]

Going against my own grain now....I do not consider reading as homework I have taught my son that reading is a joy and of course the spellings then follow.

I suppose I am still hung up on the wordsearches.......

stiching moss that was an unnecessarily rude comment to popadop.

I don't think children under Yr 5 (ish) should have anything other than reading, spellings/tables and maybe some occasional research etc. I just don't think they have the emotional maturity to understand the benefits of independent learning and practice. I think to help with transition to secondary, Yrs 5/6 could have 1-2 pieces a week, lasting no more than an hour.

As someone else has said, children of primary age should just be reading, and this would include factual books as well as fiction - parents who think their children don't get enough homework should be encouraging reading and other educational (not necessarily on the curriculum educational though) interests.

I didn't have homework (other than the above reading/spellings/tables) until secondary and it felt like a right of passage - I'd been desparate for it, and it felt like a 'grown up' priviledge to finally have some which made me much more enthusiastic to do it!

popadop reading is homework - not because it's a chore, but because reading is a skill which improves with practice, and is a primary way of discovering new facts/ideas etc. Surely the point of homework is to help extend a child's education - reading is just that.