Absence and plea for no homework after D of E weekend

[Macaronichee]

50% of class missing on the Monday after
Y11 students spent their weekend on a D of E trip. All staff email asking for light homework for Y11 this week because they have been on D of E. A bit pathetic and not exactly encouraging the strength of character envisaged in the D of E awards?

My DD had 100% attendance until she took the day off after the D of E expedition and I didn't blame her one bit. She had blisters on the soles of her feet and could barely walk. One day mattered not one jot- she finished y11 with a full set of 8s and 9s and is predicted all A* at A level despite her slack attitude

Parents today are completely pathetic if they can’t get their children to school after a DOf E weekend. Next they’ll be wanting holidays in term time.

How do young people learn to self study before they go to university if they never do any homework?

Self study that’s not mind numbingly boring or unnecessary?

Self study that doesn’t dominate time at home with family, hobbies etc - creating a healthy study / life balance?

I believe some schools have creatively built self-study into the school day to facilitate a more effective use of time & resources.

50% off is too high. Snowflake generation indeed!

What would te school response be to non attendance or late homework if the expedition had be via an external provider like Cadets or Scouts?

Or indeed any similar experience... an important football tournament or concert, or international trip...

It's voluntary. They volunteered to do d of e

How can young people consolidate their learning unless they get the opportunity, especially for science and maths subjects?

DD passed her GCSEs and A levels with high grades because she had a chance to practice past papers at home in a quiet environment with no distractions.

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you.

I wouldn’t class practicing past papers (at home or in another study environment) as homework though.

Perhaps we are comparing apples and oranges. 🤔

Stealthboast?
Humblebrag?

No, more like Little Miss Perfect

No doubt your kids were those 100% attendance ones as well.

Dear oh dear. Do you also go around policing grammar online too?

Bet your lots of fun at parties....😂

There are part-time positions in the police force for people like you who like telling people what to do. Or even the army perhaps?

Our son is one of the Dof E organisers at the school he works at and they’ve started doing the 2 days on a Friday /Saturday on enrichment weeks or similar as it stops the mass absence on Monday and is also easier to get staff volunteers .

My point is about incentivising (applies even more in volunteering )….

@Talipesmum

This is superb. Proper mumsnet chicken resilience. The cut off is Kilimanjaro. None of your local peaks or average walks.

Kilimanjaro is our local peak.

Haha I did think it might be, all sounds rather wonderful. Probably a different baseline of walking activity to most uk high school bronze d of e cohorts though.

@Talipesmum

Haha I did think it might be, all sounds rather wonderful. Probably a different baseline of walking activity to most uk high school bronze d of e cohorts though.

Kili is the 4th level. It starts relatively easily but they do have to pass a fitness test for any level.

I swear some people just can't treat students with a modicrum of humanity.

Compared to adults, children and teens have very little control over their schedules. If I'm making my schedule and it involves a physically and/or mentally exhausting weekend then I can choose a different date, or schedule a half day at work, or make sure I don't have any big meetings or projects the next day, or get ahead over the weeks before. I can tell my family that I'm not going to be up for weekend shopping or cooking and Monday will be a frozen pizza night, and let my friends know I'm skipping our next exercise meetup. When my DH knows I'm exhausted he'll pick up some of my normal tasks instead of dumping extra on me, just like my colleagues and I are considerate of each other's workloads. And I (oh so scandelously, apparently) even take the occasional rest day just to catch up on sleep and hit pause.

Teens, on the other hand, have a dozen adults each independently setting them tasks, each often having zero regard for what else is on the teen's plate.

Being able to allocate our finite time and energy and recognize when something can be temporarily deprioritized or postponed isn't weak or whiny, it's a vital life skill.