I can't stand homework - do you think it's a good thing?

[mydoorisalwaysopen]

DS1 (year 5) gets the same homework every week.... "This week we have been learning about X. Tell me what you know." Every week I have a battle to get him to do it and it just doesn't seem worth the effort. Marking is usually a tick and a smiley face. DS2 (year 2) gets a more detailed description of a task but very often it's a poster for this, that or the other. Marking is perfunctory but does occasionally contain a comment.

What are your thoughts on homework? I wish they didn't have any at primary school mainly as I think what they are set is of limited value and the main lesson being learnt is that mum will sit you down and drag it out of you. I won't be doing that every night for a couple of hours when they go to secondary school.

Teachers are busy! Homework work for work's sake. It is not a great assessment tool as we have no idea when it is completed beautifully how long it took and how independently so hard to see so can't take any kind of assessment info from it. Maths homework is a particular minefield as often parents do not use/understand the written methods that we teach in school these days and can confuse children.

Homework is done by children who have space, support and peace to do it but many children do not have these luxuries and I don't believe that it's fair to penalise children younger than Y5 who have not completed the homework; you may be penalising them because they live in an overcrowded home or Mum and Dad don't speak English. Is this fair?

If you are concerned about your child's progress, speak to their teacher and ask if extra work is suitable. Teachers are accountable for your child's progress, so if your child can't add or their handwriting is awful then there will be questions from the Senior Leadership team about what is being done about it in class. Homework won't fix this, work in school will. Homework is given to appease parents, not for any educational reason. Trust us, we are professionals!

Reading every night for 10 -30 mins depending on age is non-negotiable however.

Forgive crap editing in post above. It's late.....

LAxy teacher who doesn't have sons - or daughters who struggle to retain stuff. That's my gut feeling.
I'm a teacher. In terms of brilliance (no thought of preparation, negligible need for marking, the semblance of weekly revision / consolidation), this teacher must've thought they'd struck bloody gold when she came up with this nugget. She's a nugget. Lol

Lazy

I agree threetomatoes- My dd does 10 hours of dance a week- I particularly objected to large pieces of homework that were given out one day and due in the next.
Kids do have a life outside school.

I'm a year 5 teacher. I hate setting it. But who complains more than anyone if you don't set it? PARENTS! My class get 20min Maths homework on a Tuesday, due in on Friday and 20min Literacy homework on a Friday due for Monday along with 45minutes of reading each week. Once a term they get a research project. Seriously though, if ever one piece slips through the net, I get several parents at my door asking where their homework is.

Apart from regularly listening to reading and a small spate of completing homework in year 3, DS has done none at all. I don't believe his education has suffered at all. He's due to get 5a's at the end of primary school but has still managed to have a good degree of balance in his life. Looking back at the homework that's been set over the years, only a minimal amount seems to have been really useful anyway.

Tea1sugar who is the teacher?? CT's are quick enough to tell me who is in charge when asked to provide additional support to my Ds aka fook you I do what suits me...if you don't agree then tell them why.

wordfactory numeracy is pretty poor in the UK because some schools push literacy.

I agree with postsellbydate. I am not a fan of unnecessary homework. However when knowing a child is behind or not quite secured in some area/s of a subject then I believe a little extra homework to help his/her parent to help that child will be a good thing unless the parent feels unable to. Otherwise how will the child ever close the ability gap or keep up with their learning to meet targets. If one is not keeping up with the rest of the class then one has to accept to put extra time into the subject. I have two summer children so I feel setting a little additional homework for them is way to help them close the ability gaps. Hopefully their lives will get easier as they get older.