Pointless homework - WWYD?

[EvilTwins]

DTDs are in yr 7. One gets endless amounts of homework (the other doesn’t) and much of it feels a bit pointless. Today, she told me she has a 3 week history project for which she has to “make something” to do with castles - she can make a cake or a model or a mood board with lots of pictures. I asked her what The actual learning in the project is and she doesn’t know. Last week, she was given a project where she had to do a presentation about herself. That’s for study skills, and they are focusing on the presentation aspect. Her sister does the same subjects (different teachers) and did not have the same homework - hers was to practise the presentation skills, rather than spend hours doing a pointless PowerPoint.

Homework should be to either consolidate learning, extend learning or prepare for a lesson (or test) Making a model of Lincoln Castle out of fudge does neither of those things.

WWYD? Contact School? DTD2 could be spending her time so much better.

Maybe I'll start doing mood boards in maths too. Homework is to either solve these quadratic equations, bake a cake in the shape of a quadratic equation, or to create a mood board of quadratic equations.

My mood board would look angry and confused. It would also be square and possibly handed over in some form of brackets.

They could bake a pi.

My classes would obviously produce mood boards full of bright colours, hearts and rainbows.

Maths mood boards could have a circle in the middle with all the relevant stuff in the middle, and then a load of lines just touching the edge with irrelevant stuff going off on a tangent.

going off on a tangent.

Can I just clarify, I'm not saying more creative homework should happen all the time, nor that they are suitable for every subject or topic. I'm just suggesting that before dismissing entire types of homework tasks, we consider that there may actually be a point to them in some contexts.

Creative homework tasks can be the biggest pile of rubbish on earth if they are not set with a purpose and well designed.
A bank of activities on a worksheet can equally be a pointless pile of rubbish, just people tend not to criticise them as much even though because it looks like the type of acceptable homework people expect. Honestly, lots of written homework tasks I've seen over the years have the educational value of a dot to dot book.

As long as the teacher is planning appropriate, educational homework that meets the needs to the class that's all that matters.

Of course I teach them how to do fractions, but when it's over to them they're doing fractions, they're not making up an interpretive dance about fractions.

Noblegiraffe

You've clearly never seen the dramatic performance my DS creates when faced with maths homework. the fractions are like getting blood out of a stone, but the interpretive dance is thrown in for free...

Honestly, lots of written homework tasks I've seen over the years have the educational value of a dot to dot book.

Maisy I love your examples of creative homework, very useful - developing thinking, connecting themes, ideas etc but when it comes to pointless written versus pointless creative - written can be done and dusted quite quickly, it requires little of the planning, frustration - emotional turmoil and family upsets, time and extra resources (often expensive materials) that pointless creative homework often requires and results in, so it's not surprising that people don't complain as much about the written.

orange Thank you 😀 I felt the need to fly the flag for well designed creative homework. It can be really successful.

I hear where you're coming from on pointless tasks.

I dislike all pointless homework.
Students resent doing it so success rate is hit and miss.
Those who do it tend to rush it because 'what's the point?'
I then have to waste time making said pointless task
I also have to give detentions for missing homework or reissue substandard work

It's a waste of everyone's time.

Because I only set purposeful homework, I expect it to always be completed, on time and to a high standard.

DS (y7) loves a creative homework project. We've already made a wooden shield this term and tonight we're started on our 3D animal cell ( Rice Krispie and marshmallow cake) - it has cost about £10 in ingredients and my kitchen looks like a war zone to but hey ho It's a bonding experience

noblegiraffe My DD would definitely be more engaged with Maths if it involved more moodboards and cake making!

A lo of homework set in year 7 and year 8 is to engage the students and get them motivated for the subject. So this type of task allows their own creativity and independent thinking around a task, they will create what they want to with a link to that subject. Worksheets and more didactic learning at this point often disengages students and makes them doing homework higher up school more difficult.

Just a thought helly.... that works if one assumes all children enjoy creative tasks. Creative thinking is very important but when nearly all homework becomes design a poster it loses its validity. I'm a teacher and -let's face it - it's generally set to minimise marking.

My two DCs can not draw. They are demotivated not engaged. I always give choices and alternatives when setting this kind of work myself.

angels :that homework would make me weep.

Rite of passage at our secondary is the shoebox model of a shantytown slum. Also a castle model...

DS hates creative work (it actually made him very anxious), is a Born Procrastinator, has a history of massive tantrums & poor emotional control. So all these projects were very stressful for us both! DD resorted to writing a history project for DS*, I helped colour in or stick things on, I spent many hours hand-holding & listening to DS plan and giving ideas. He would refuse to use previously agreed scheduled time to do the work, instead would delay until last possible minute which was never convenient for me, and then demand I help him. This led to some shouting (me) & sobbing (him)...

That said, the assignments taught him he can do annoying tasks, & how to plan a project. He learnt many new things from the projects about each topic (I think that's one of the purposes of education). He learnt how to search for stuff on google, and do new things in MSWord or powerpoint. He got practice at writing coherent sentences. He argued with me and therefore learnt to trust his own instincts. He has grown in confidence.

So I don't join in with your moaning. DS gained a lot from the pointless homework. Painful as it was for all of us.

Something clicked quite recently (seeing me stressed?!) & DS (now yr9) suddenly became a lot more independent in his homework. Hallelulah.

*Embarrassing story of history teacher gushing over DS's work...

Spend 15 mins on a mood board. Job done.
My 10 year old can do a PowerPoint about herself in 15 mins.
These are pointless projects. Your options are discuss with school, refuse to do it or spend max 15 mins on each assignment that us pointless

2014
There is no way ny GCSE class could have done their moodboard homework in 15 minues and it be of and sort of quality or value to their revision.

Maybe your child has been set a poorly designed piece of homework, but don't dismiss an entire homework type based on the fact your child boshed one out once.

It's a mood board. Cutting and sticking.

My favourite homework ever was the artistic representation of the 7 commandments from Animal Farm. DS2 sat and supportively supervised me, passing me coloured pencils and offering advice and feedback.

I was very proud of his my work and he I got three commendations.

He's a bit worried his teacher now thinks he is good at art.

You do realise some people can't cut and stick 2014 ? It would take my DS 15 hours, not minutes.

My 10 year old can do a PowerPoint about herself in 15 mins.

My 12-13yr old couldn't. He struggled to do it over many hours WITH my help. He is in top sets, btw, at one of the highest results schools in the county. Still was an experience where he gained skills, and many will have done.

Kids can get out of these assignments what they are willing to put into them... DS did a thorough & unimaginative job that got a high mark. DD with same assignment would have used every bell & whistle possible & padded huge pizzaz & knocked the teacher's socks off.

I guess folk want individually set homework -- maybe should home-ed instead.

@Piggywaspushed presumably your child would not be asked to do a mood board then! Were assuming the ops child is able to do a mood board. The ops issue is she thinks it pointless not that her child can't do it

I agree with what you says lljkk but it isn't actually very hard to set a range of homeworks for students to pick from. It's differentiation and we are required to do it!

I also don't like homeworks much where the only feedback is based on effort - a teacher cannot really ever possibly know how much effort a child put into homework. It's fine to praise , of course it is, but the praise should not really ever just be based on presentation/ length/ amount of work.