Teachers not marking homework... what?! AIBU

[NoNeatFreakHere]

... and by marking I don't mean grading - giving a number. An absolutely star teacher last year wrote a one liner on DCs homework and DC was always excited to read it. The one liner conveyed "I see you" and maybe you want to adjust this thing or other but I liked such and such thing you wrote. DC couldn't wait to read it always and made a difference in DC being enthusiastic about school.

Now the school management has communicated there is no more of that and homework books will come and go. Met DCs teacher this year and explained what a difference the one line made last year to motivation to do the homework and general enthusiasm and asked her that school mgmt consider the feedback. I was met with the response of pfff we have 30 of them to do, we can't do it (and an attitude of it's so obvious this is not doable). Now homework is once a week and it's primary school. It's not that much and can't there be a middle ground? Do the marking once every 2 weeks or something?

The argument here is that feedback is given in class and for class work. Then why do we have homework? And why would my DC be incentivised to do it? We have asked the school management when it was announced. We were told... and felt like out points were ignored of those parents that spoke. It was a patronising session to the tune of "us heads of school know better". Extremely frustrating.

This also breaks parent comms in my mind as I have no clue what is happening or expected then outside of a termly 10 minute session. It's hard to know how much or little is expected of certain quite open ended pieces of homework. Booking more time with the teacher in my mind would defeat the purpose of being more efficient with teachers' time.

School is state and ofsted outstanding for context.

AIBU:

• I empathise with teachers' workload but isn't this a core part of the job?
• I am sure there are teachers here, what do you think? Am I being in complete ignorance of what teachers go through?
• Other MNers is this happening in your school too or is it just ours? What do you think of it?

Thank you for reading 🙏🏻

What a lot of teacher bashing! I hate homework. I hated setting it when I worked in Mainstream (it is, absolutely, a box-ticking activity to placate those parents who want it) because it’s so hard to give the children something meaningful that they can do independently (never assume parents are willing or able to help). I also hate trying to get my own children to do theirs.

Reading- yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Times tables/number bonds practice, also yes. However, homework can FTFO as far as I’m concerned.

@NoNeatFreakHere children love praise, in any form.
Parents don't always see the evidence of it as often it's verbal, but I do think, as you say, children notice if they don't get recognised and this frustration comes home.

Especially those who always try. Teachers are often only focused on those who don't. I give extra merit points/extra playtime for those who go above and beyond, as often these children never get recognised.

Since returning to school after lockdown, my dd's primary school sets one maths task and one spag task for homework each week. They use workbooks and try to give a task that relates to what the children are doing in class where possible.
It makes it a lot easier all round. Parents and children know what to expect. It doesn't tend to take a huge amount of time or resources to do.
The teacher goes through the answers in class and the children mark it themselves.

Prior to this they'd had some awful grid system where the child could choose a task but so many of them required a lot of parental input and resources and took a lot of time that it just wasn't feasible. In dd's school there is quite a lot of variation in whether families have the resources to do complicated homework so the 'workbook' approach reduces that aspect.

The children get plenty of other feedback about their work. School has organised 'book looks' where parents go in and your child can show you their work and you can see the teacher comments.

My kids’ school gives out those books in year 6, in prep for SATs. 🙄 I guess I can understand that; it’s practice in answering questions, and they do mark it all together on a Friday in class so misconceptions can be addressed. Bloomin useless if parents just do it for the children, though.

As an ex teacher, it was always hard to assign scarce time to tasks that research shows is not beneficial (homework). If I don't have enough time to do everything, I'd focus on the stuff that I know is important or will have the biggest impact on learning. Homework is really only a show for parents.
However, if I did set homework, I did realise the impression I would be giving to the student by my reaction to their work (or any work they did). A class will very quickly realise that you're not even looking at their work, and then effort and presentation will go out the window. So I would really try to mark homework promptly and well. I just didn't set it often.

I would love to see more schools where the management took a stand against doing stuff that is proven to be a waste of everyone's time.

" It was a patronising session to the tune of "us heads of school know better". Extremely frustrating."

It is a shame if they were patronising but I do think that educational professionals know more than parents about how to teach and consolidate learning. I think they know more about what is effective and what is being done out of habit, or because parents expect it.

I applaud a school that sets out to try something different and does not back down when parents complain, and one which seeks to support staff and manage workload.

Do not compare the smiley teacher with the one who admits he can't keep on top of the workload. It means nothing. I am the smiley teacher but the face I present to parents is not necessarily my true one.

It does not break school comms because your entitlement is to three points of contact a year, to include a report and parents' evenings. You can get in touch with the school via email and phone I assume also. Why do you need more? Let them do their jobs.

I think you are over-focused on the homework individual praise line, because that’s all you see of the teacher’s input into your child’s learning. But you need to trust that actually, they are invested in your child in all sorts of ways 9-3, 5 days a week. That one line in the homework journal isn’t representative of how good a teacher they are, or how they motivate your child day-to-day.

" And why would you not want to improve? And I don't mean compete... I mean just good natured healthy energy and motivation to be good that we are trying to role model to our kids... "

But your feedback to them is to mark the homework, albeit in a reduced capacity. Research suggests that this does not improve learning, ergo your feedback can be briefly considered and then ignored. You are not offering feedback. You are stamping your foot that you are not getting your way. It is not just you, it is happening a lot now. We are treated like staff by many parents. It is a reason many give when leaving the profession.

"Also thinking more... the sentence that a teacher writes is not a reward or social recognition - it's connection - after a few difficult years."

They are connecting all day, every day. If your child is very upset my the absence of a positive phrase on her homework, discuss the reason and build her resilience with a little perspective.

My primary aged child got homework every week last year, every time he got a tick next to the work, no comment - even a wee stamp with a smiley face would have been nice (and quick). The teacher was quick to tell him off if he didn't have it done. It was the most boring year of homework ever. This year he has things like reading and sumdog, the teacher doesn't mark those obviously but it seems better than that single ✔️ he was getting before.

My school now has a no marking policy. Luckily, no parental complaints. It has been in place for I think three years. You won't see marking on anything but guess what - progress, results, relationships and learning are all excellent. We are an oversubscribed, popular school. Mistakes and misconceptions are addressed and positive reinforcement happens in different ways.

You only saw a tick but that is not all your son saw. We are here to help your child to learn not to waste time on pointless exercises to pacify a certain type of parent. If he's learning, who cares about that single tick? Is he learning? If he is, well done to that school. If he isn't, I guarantee it isn't because his homework got a single tick.

I asked him if his teacher ever said anything to him about his homework, he said no (other than if he hadn't done it). He is a good kid, the kind who's no bother and is easily overlooked. So praise mattered.
I'm a teacher, no need to get on your high horse about awkward parents, but I never set homework if I'm not going to mark it.

"but I never set homework if I'm not going to mark it."

That's not your decision to make, it's school policy.

It's your impression that I am stamping my foot. My frustration is in the lack of constructive response. Equally my impression is teachers expect parents to be involved in their child's education only when it's convenient and not to raise difficult questions...

I just think it’s worth it trying not to latch on every small problem or perceived problem with schools and just try to get on with life and enjoying life in particular

@Iknowforsure1 I can assure you I enjoy life very much, thanks for your concern. This specific thread was asking if anyone else was unhappy with their child’s homework not being marked, which I am. How you conclude from me commenting on a specific thread about a specific subject with no other context that this is the number one worry I have in my life or that it affects my enjoyment of my life in any way I do not know but thanks for the free life coaching.

My frustration is in the lack of constructive response.

What would a ‘constructive response’ have been to you?

"I think most of them just can't be arsed. They're busy. The busiest people on the planet if you believe them."

I never complain about being busy. But who, in any job, would want to do a pointless extra task with no discernible benefit?

Refer to my earlier responses - when another constructive PP explained what useful stuff are happening in class. Also refer to "conversation" with the school that does not treat parents as any of those nasty adjectives used in other previous posts and doubting or questioning parents' motives. "Anything to get parents off our back" is not one of them.

Thanks again all for your thoughts.

my impression is teachers expect parents to be involved in their child's education only when it's convenient and not to raise difficult questions...

That's a really stupid impression to form. It would be a fairly big leap to think one teacher was like that, without a lot of interaction with them. It's bloody bonkers to decide that about all of them.

"Equally my impression is teachers expect parents to be involved in their child's education only when it's convenient and not to raise difficult questions..."

We want you involved because it improves outcomes for the child and we have your child's best interests at heart. You're not doing us a favour.

You are not raising a difficult question. You are asking them to do something that they have decided not to do. I am sure the school thought about it before making the decision. PP have explained why they might have made the decision. Your question isn't difficult. It is very easy to answer but you don't like the answer. It is not radical or insightful or investigative journalism.

I don't know what your job is but imagine a customer coming to ask you to do something pointless and time consuming. You'd nod and smile and explain why you wouldn't be doing it.

I find it annoying when they ask you to do something, say it's important, you do it, and then...nothing. Not even a quick thumbs up.
This is via Google classroom, which I do have to get involved in as DS is too young to sort it by himself.

I agree that forcing DC to do homework which had no / little learning value in valuable weekend time and then it not being marked is annoying. For me, the solution was to say to the DC that they could either do it, or face the consequences in school (which were nonexistent in KS1, by Y6 they had to stay in and do it in break). Up to them.

I did make sure that we read together, and used times tables and spellings apps, as those had learning value in KS1/early KS2.

I found a strong correlation between parents pushing for more homework and those wanting a smarter uniform (ties, shirts etc).

Marking policies on most schools are moving away as it takes so much of teachers time and most are not read by the student. It takes me around 45 minutes to put a comment on every piece of work for a class of 30. Multiply that by 3-4 pieces of classwork per day and it's unmanageable. The best way to mark primary homework is together as a class. At my school we only set readings and spelling practice as homework.

I would not be annoyed if said client had questions and objections and I would be open to discussion. I would not attempt to shut client down just because of difference of opinion and I would have an open / growth mindset to understand their point of view and consider whether they had a point or not. I would expect the education system to see that.