How much revision to give my ds

[rainbowsRcool]

Hello all

My son is currently in year 9 and I am currently giving him 1 hour and a half of revision then I let him go on his PlayStation. Some say this is too much but I think this is about right because of how important his GCSE's are. What do others think?

Why isn't he sorting out his own revision?

Year 9? And you’re making him do 1.5 hours of revision every night for exams he’ll take in 2021?

Has he even covered the gcse syllabus? Does he know what to revise? Will he even remember it in 2.5 years?

You’re post is all I. Your son is 14, what does he think?

My dd is in year nine, she does zero hours of revision a night. She does her homework , like all her classmates.

Revising? Poor kid, what will you make him do in year 11? I have a yr9 and I think you're insane.

Not pleased about this

What on top of his homework issued by the school? What are you making him revise? It's a bit off, no?

Ott, not off

Thank you all for your opinions but surely it is better to get him into the right rhythm so when he gets to year 11 he has a head start.

He is also revising the stuff that he gets in class, mainly English, maths and science as he has already started the course for these subjects

OTT
Revision for exams is fine. But not what you are making dc do!

DS is year 9. He has started the GCSE syllabus in all subjects. He does his homework, a bit of revision for end of topic tests but never 90 minutes a night, that's ridiculous. Maybe an hour a day, three days a week for homework with a bit more at weekends.

Far too much in my opinion.
Come y11 you could well end up with a rebellious 15/16 yo who will down tools entirely.

Revision for upcoming tests? yes
Including revision cards / mind maps? yes

90 mins a night just because? no.

If you are expecting 90 mins a night now, what will you expect in y11?

Good lord no. He needs time to be a kid. Even the strict school near us that emphasises rote learning and has a lot of homework gives 30min reading, 30min maths app and 30min rote learning. But that's it, no other homework at all. And i still think its too much!

You're in danger of putting him off altogether and neglecting other lifeskills/sport/interests.

Doesn't he get any homework? Can't imagine when my year 9 dd would fit in an hour and a half of revision each day on top of all her other work! Let alone have time left over to play on the PlayStation!

When does he exercise? Socialise with his friends? Just chill out?

I'm sorry, but by year 9, I think you have a problem if he is not managing his own schedule a bit more. I don't tell my dd how much work she has to do, she already knows!

DD Y9 does have periodic tests and does testing with her friends at break times and sometimes for languages she will listen to videos and news in that language - but more treated as fun and nothing that I dictate. She manages her own time, revision and gaps in her knowledge.

DD has clubs outside of school on a Tuesday, Weds and Sunday and she is about to start volunteering at a local Brownie pack on a Friday and Is starting a few babysitting jobs. I hear of other parents excusing their children from clubs, work experience or volunteering due to homework loads and it is so very very sad. DD has one friend who no one sees any more as her parents say she is too busy (not at DD’s school). Thanks

There is more to life than homework.

DD knows that she will gradullay have to ramp things up for GCSEs but that is a while away and revising now when virtually none of the syllabus has been covered is. It helpful.

Rainbow, Year 9 is the perfect time for your DS to take ownership of his work as it gives time for him to learn by trial and error how much effort he needs to put in. IME even when DCs are compliant, your approach runs the risk of him becoming a passive rather than proactive student and adult.
You can discuss with him what is a rreasonable total time doing homework or revision per evening. One and half hours total for both is plenty. He will have time in the holidays to do extra revision but Year 9 is usually low key and should not require that much. Also, if he has spare time, that is an opportunity to encourage him to do something else extra to the PlayStation that will help broaden his horizons in the next few years.

I bet he thinks the world of you! Oh my gosh leave him alone

Wow! In my opinion 90 mins total homework (no revision except for regular tests) is more than enough in year 9. I think it’s really important that children have a life - exercise, relaxation, family and social life - and also work out how much work is enough/not enough by themselves before it matters. If you let your DS “fly” by himself at this age, he will either do a great job or, more likely at that age, cruise a little and not quite get the marks he wants in Year 9. If the latter, he will learn a really important life lesson - how HE feels about the outcome of his own efforts. That will teach him, much better than you can, to work harder and achieve - to satisfy himself, not you. And Year 9 is absolutely the time to learn this. I know it’s really hard to let your child fly by themselves but it’s so important for them to do so. Give it a try! You might be disappointed by his short term results, but in the long run it will be worth it.

I think you should be encouraging him to take responsibility for his own learning.

I also think 90 mins of revision (for exams that are literally years away no less) on top of homework is excessive for his age.

I have thought about letting him decide his own workload and worried he won't do any and damage his exam chances.

If people think 1 hour and a half is too much how much does everyone think I should give him.

Thank you all for your feedback.

How much homework does he actually get? Are you making hm revise on top of that? Or is he getting no homework from school?

DS1 (year 9) gets between 90mins and 2 hours a night homework. If he had to revise on top of that he would probably collapse and die.

I think people are saying don't 'give' him anything (unless he is struggling in a subject perhaps). Let him do what the school asks of him, expect reasonable revision and results for tests, and go from there.

Come on.

I have a child of the same age (I think year 9 is about 13, we're in Scotland so it's different). She spent about 45 minutes yesterday revising for a maths test which she has next week. She puts lots of effort into homework when set.

She does not do extra revision above and beyond "just because". Plenty of time for that.

(waiting for drip feed that child is seriously behind, or is sitting GCSEs two years early, or some other ridiculous story).

My dd (now 18) has been at a very pushy, very academic secondary school. The school would be horrified at your approach. That is simply far too much, far too soon. Your son will become resentful, or anxious, or exhausted (or any combination of those) well before his GCSEs. He will also not learn to take responsibility for his own education or time-management. How is he supposed to learn to prioritise if you do his thinking for him?
A little consolidation work during the school holidays might be appropriate at this time but what you are advocating at the moment is ludicrous “helicopter-parenting”. It does not produce well-rounded, independent, motivated young people. Quite the opposite.

Mine did/do the homework set by the school. Even when revising for gcses they didn't do that much revising at home.

I too think an hour and a half on top of homework is too much. Dd is in year 11 and does, at the most, 2 hours a night, including homework.

If you want him to do some work every night to support his learning, why not let him pick what he studies and let him pick what he is interested in. If it is maths, he could do nrich or UKMT tests. If it is English, he could try writing stories, If it is science or computing he could do some Khan Academy.

There will be plenty of time for revision in year 11, when, no matter how much he does now, will still be pretty full on. He has the time now to develop an interest in learning.