DVDs in class

[anotherglass]

My son (Y4) tells me today that his teacher is putting on Maths and Grammar DVDs during class time. They watch the DVDs then might do a worksheet or might not. Is this normal in other schools? Why are teachers who and trained and paid to teach sticking on DVDs? He is at the local comp.

You actually haven't set a convincing argument against homework; just highlighted the logistical problems of delivering it to children of varying abilities and levels of family support. It clearly does work better for some children who are motivated, able and supported at home, but even then they present problems because the want to learn at a pace which upsets your results. Clearly the problem isn't homework in itself, when appropriately set can help reinforce and enhance what has been learned in school. It should be a virtuous circle, with homework supporting teachers to raise attainment levels. It is not a perfect world, I am aware, but please don't expect the motivated and supportive parents to swallow the line that doing extra work at home to support school learning is not of overall benefit.

Do some more research then.

There is lots of research that says homework is a bad thing for the kids. Even if they are motivated and their patents are supportive.

But really, if you want your kid to do more work at home - make them. Why do you need the teacher to set it?

"doing extra work at home to support school learning is not of overall benefit."

It depends what that work is, whether it works with a school's methods or against it, whether an appropriate level of support is given or not given (I have had a parent accuse me of not 'recognising her child's ability' because their homework is better than their school work, only for her to say in the next breath that of coiurse she wrote the work out for them to copy), whether it is sensible work or 'makework'.

It also depends what else a child does outside school. For many children, it is more beneficial in the long run for them to have a decent amount of exercise, a good meal, an hour spent on a hobby amd enough sleep, than it is for them to do 'extra' school work after hours. Would I rather have a child fresh, well rested and exercised and raring to learn or one who has been 'crammed' inside the previous eveing?

I would always recommend that every child should read aloud to an adult every day, and then read to themselves (or be read to when younger / less able) for a sustained period of 20 minutes + per day. I would also say that instant recall of times tables and number bonds is genuinely worth working on at home. I am more dubious about other work AS LONG AS the child is well-taught and given suitably differentiated work during school hours.

Indigo, you can find research to suit any opinion. My son has always, absolutely always benefited from doing extra work at home.

We want the teacher to set it so we can work with them, so what's learned in the classroom is consolidated.

Teacherwith2kids, what about children who are secure with the basics?

Some thing odd about this thread....something doesn't quite add up...

Clawdy, I agree. Reads like questioning for quotes to me.
Odd.

Hi all:

Wow guys? OK now I'm confused. I know I'm genuine. I know Clawdy from other posts may be a Mum but also is either a teacher or researcher in education. I suspect the hint is in the name: teacherwith2kids. But are you saying anotherglass isn't?

My question is this - do you genuinely feel as teachers that it would be better for no homework at all during primary?

I'm genuine guys. This thread has moved to some interesting spots over the past five days ( including a revelation by handsomeharry at 1am on Saturday morning that he is actually a he!). My replies have been short because I'm either on the go or feeling very guilty about spending so much time on mumsnet. Homework (lack of) is an irritation. There'll be more news from me this week on the DVD issue, headteacher has promised to get back to me.

Sorry typo in previous post...handsome harry is actually a she, not a he!

another,

Children who are secure with the basics - I would prefer that they read (lots), talk (lots), follow their own interests and bring the results in to share than that I set them lots more 'teacher-led' homework..

Over the last year I have had children bring me reviews of maths sites that they think others in their class might enjoy, pages of more complex maths problems applying what we've done in class, research on a topic (sometimes our class topic but sometimes not) presented in any form from a drawing to poster to a newspaper to a book to an artefact, postcards or guidebooks from visits to somewhere interesting, videos or demonstrations from a hobby or interest...and the best thing is that it has ALL been child-initiated and child-designed because at no point have I said 'for next week you must do....' or required parents to be involved (one did take a video, and presumably the postcard involved monetary outlay by somebody, but fiu=lling it in and sending it was definitely the child's idea)

Nobody was more surprised than me OP.

Teacherwith2kids, Inspired by your post my son and I have just done some maths work based on a Brazilian coin he found on the street walking home from school. We have compared with British currency and used multiplication to work out how many centavos are needed to make a real. For place value work, we did a currency conversion to see which currency was stronger. He now knows that if tooth fairy offers 10p or 10 centavos which coin to ask for. Loads of fun.

I like doing applied activities with my kids as it activates their school based learning, but I still believe that homework, set by teacher, is also very valuable for consolidating concepts taught in class. This is particularly the case for my DS who, although bright, is easily distracted and does not absorb everything said to him in class. He is at risk of falling behind and not progressing to his ability, unless we patch up with work at home.

Welcome back handsome!

Another,

As I said before, I do set weekly 'rehearsal / consolidation' homework, which would meet your criteria. It matches the work we do in class and has instructions which can be read by the child.

My contention is just that I don't think that setting MORE of this type of homework would make me a better teacher or even in most cases enable children to make better progress. In cases like your son's, then I do ask children as and when a problem arises to rehearse something individual at home (or in the case of my pupils with no-one at home to rehearse with, it is done as part of their 1:1 intervention time in school). So far, my experience has been that quick 'at that moment' intervention / support / practise is more valuable that long after the event homework.

OK I think the teachers in this discussion are mixing up - no homework whatsoever, save colouring in (which was our case) + the same book for weeks on end in KS1 - from regular homework routinely given out, reinforcing what has been taught in class (which teacherwith2kids clearly is doing).

A lot of parents requesting more homework are looking for actual useful homework. I personally find poorly thought out homeworks which are busy work (often colouring in frankly) aren't really satisfactory.

Rightly or wrongly I opted to teach my DD1 maths through an on-line tutorial. She's in a class (Y4) where 23 out of 30 children have not mastered their times tables (x1 to x10). My DD1 is one of the 7 (all of whom had parental support to learn their times tables) who are where I would naturally think all of that year should be.

It's only my opinion - but I really think had that class had one side of A5 or A4 with a dozen or so multiplication problems reviewing x1 and then x2, etc... in Years 2 and 3, they'd all be doing so much better. It's that wasted learning opportunity which upsets me. Bit by bit these kids fall behind their peer group at other better organised/ teaching schools and through not fall of their own, I suspect they'll be the one's to lose out in the long term.

Update: Have heard back from the school. The teacher has been using DVDs for "fill in" spare time at the end of the day. Have asked for a meeting to discuss. We are not happy.

A school which has "spare time" !!!! I can't fit everything in that I'm meant to, let alone have spare time at the end of the day to show a DVD. Perhaps I need a change of school!

Laughs very hollowly at the thought of 'spare time'!

I don't have enough hours in a normal school day for everything never mind spare time!
I have groups before school during lunch break and after school using every spare minute for ....teaching!