The ideal:
- child gets to autonomously review work already done in class.
- the teacher gets feedback as to how much of the work has been understood.
- parent feels involved and gets feedback on the topics their child is learning about.
The reality:
- child sits at the dining room table, takes one look at it and bursts into tears. “I CAN’T DO IT!”
- parent tries to explain it in cack-handed manner using techniques that haven’t been seen in a classroom for the last 20 years.
- child gets even more confused and upset.
- parent gets frustrated and angry.
- session ends with a row or just nasty atmosphere with parent ending up virtually telling child what to write.
- rinse repeat every single afternoon after school.
- parent/child relations disintegrate totally involving lots of therapy for all.
The frustrating part is that I’m continually being told that Akra Jr is bright, enthusiastic and engaged, but the futility of homework in Key Stage 2 is driving all of us insane. God knows how the less bright ones are coping. I can’t see how this nightly torture is helping his learning at all.
At least I can delegate the weekly spelling test revision to the computer (thank you look cover). So that leaves his reading book which he’s hardly touched this week despite reading voraciously on his own, because Harry Potter is far more fun and interesting.
I honestly am beginning to think that homework at primary level should be banned.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Dom // 18th Sep 2008 at 5:42 pm
I have never understood the supposed benefits of making children that young do homework. All it does it lead to stress, anxiety, and a fear of going into school the next day.
2 Caroline // 18th Sep 2008 at 5:48 pm
You are not alone!
My son, who is in UK equivalent of Yr4, has
1 +hours homework a night. This includes math, spelling, any unfinished class work, German + 30 minutes reading! He gets on the school bus at 7.40am and returns 16.45. And then the homework fun starts! Not even time to play before bed.
Yes, I think homework at this age should be abolished.
3 Sylvia // 18th Sep 2008 at 10:17 pm
You know I agree. It’s one thing to expect teens to revise, or even to work on essays (and time management) on their own time. But sending young kids home with work for their parents to supervise really winds me up.
4 anabels // 18th Sep 2008 at 11:51 pm
Gees, I remember having a reading book at his age. Spelling started about 7 or 8 and some maths added in the last year of primary school. That amount of homework is just nuts for little kids!
5 Tami // 19th Sep 2008 at 12:25 am
It sounds to me like a parent/teacher conference needs to be scheduled soon.
6 Jane // 19th Sep 2008 at 10:04 am
OMG this is so topical for us too…
It is a NIGHTMARE. He’s in Grade 1 and gets (supposedly) half an hour 3 times a week. He doesn’t get in until just before 5pm and if we don’t do it right away he gets too tired. If we _do_ try to do it right away he’s too hungry. The boys go up to bed at 7:30pm so there’s not a huge timeframe, considering we have to eat as well (hah, not to mention actually prepare the food)
The other two aren’t at their best at that time in the afternoon either. Anything I try to occupy them with is an added distraction for S. The only way we managed it on Weds was because hubby came home early (by chance, not for that reason, I hasten to add) and could give him one-to-one.
Heh, and I’ve been rolling my eyes and telling everyone “Well in the UK we didn’t get any homework at all until we were eleven” (what was that about 20-year-old techniques?)
Sorry about the rant. This is a big issue for us too :-)
7 Pewari // 19th Sep 2008 at 10:18 am
Wow, I thought we were hard done by, but by the sounds of it we get off lightly.
Akra Jr currently gets a reading book (and it’s a proper chapter book now, so fairly lengthy – if he takes longer than a week to read it, eyebrows get raised), a spelling test every week (so have to practise them every night), 30 mins of numeracy homework and 30 mins of literacy. Which doesn’t seem like much but it basically means 30 mins every afternoon straight after school plus extra reading time at bedtime (which I haven’t managed to do this week because Akra isn’t here).
20 year techniques: numeracy this week was fairly easy stuff like 250+50, but he can’t seem to get his head round it at all. They don’t write one underneath the other and add units, tens, hundreds like we were taught so I just have no concept on how to help him with a fairly easy sum!
I tried to reference him to his beloved pocket money (well, if you had £2.50 and I gave you 50p how much would you have?) as he’s usually VERY good when it comes to whether he can afford his next lego set!! But he just looked at me like “what’s THAT got to do with it?!”.
He is absolutely convinced that he’s useless at maths, but I keep getting told that he’s on the top table and doing really well. I really don’t understand why writing underneath and adding each bit separately is so evil, as it seems much more logical and easier to me, but I’m sure there’s a good reason why that’s bad practise these days.
8 Pewari // 19th Sep 2008 at 10:19 am
How do single parents with multiple children or parents who both work fit this into the even smaller time frame of their evenings I’ll never know…
9 Miss L // 19th Sep 2008 at 1:06 pm
I deliberately have not read other comments on this, but simply want to say this is why I set very little homework whilst teaching. I think the highlight of my experiences in this line was when one little boy brought in his work which was immaculately written in copper plate handwriting, grand-dad had worked so hard!
Ask Akra Jr to show you how it is done at school and keep to his methodology. If all fails send me an email and I will try to help you!! They work on understanding place value, we worked on following tricks – writing numbers in columns and adding them up which meant very little to most kids, but ‘the sum’ could be ‘done’. Subtraction usually causes the downfall in this old method!
I used to invite parents into the maths lessons so that they understood what was going on and we had evening sessions for them too.. Try this site and chose the area of work that is involved:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/features/mathematics/lesson_plans/year_3 – and good luck!
Seriously if I can help any more, let me know!
10 Pewari // 19th Sep 2008 at 1:51 pm
Thank you, Miss L :) Funnily enough, asking him how its done at school is always the first thing out of my mouth, but somehow he always manages to claim ignorance. I’m sure he *has* done it in class, I just think in his panic he somehow doesn’t connect what he did at school with what’s being asked in the homework.
There are numeracy “keeping up with the kids” sessions at school, unfortunately they’re being run in the evenings this year (next year they’ll do them in afternoons which I’ll be more likely to be able to attend). I just wish there was a note for parents at the bottom of every homework stating exactly what method they want the kids to use! Or a termly summary sheet or something!!
11 Paula // 21st Sep 2008 at 9:41 pm
I’ll back you up on a ban straight away even though it would seem that the Hobbits do get less than poor Akra jr. and aren’t too stressed by it. (Reading book, spelling (written plus sentence), occassional math and French.)
One thing – I hate Kipper books, sorry but they are awful! And don’t get me started on phonics, good for teaching them to read but then at the grand old age of 36 I am having to remind myself the letter sounds rather than the names or confusion reigns!
12 Pewari // 23rd Sep 2008 at 9:08 am
Ironically, we had a homework questionnaire last night to ask if the school had the right balance.
I might have included a continuation sheet.
Ahem.
13 Mondrak // 23rd Sep 2008 at 10:06 am
Oh, don’t I know it to be true. LOL. Now with becoming a single parent, it has become even more fun. There is none of this “can you explain it better” :-D
14 Blue Witch // 26th Sep 2008 at 1:12 pm
I get more phone calls from parents about homework concerns than about anything else.
I think the problem is that many parents give their children so much help that the teacher doesn’t then realise that she’s setting work at the wrong level, or that the children don’t understand well enough to work independently.
Parents feel they can’t say anything or their child will be penalised or they will be seen as a pushy or uncooperative parent, so the vicious circle of ignorance continues.
I blame the government myself.
15 Ackers // 15th Oct 2008 at 10:58 am
I also blame the government myself too.
I tend to toe the line in making sure the homework is got out and attempted before the twins’ supper-time (English on a Monday to be handed in by Wed and Maths on a Wed to be handed in by Friday).
We all sit down for milk (cup of tea) and biscuits when they come home and I’m there to assist, explain etc but if they haven’t finished by the time I’m done with my tea they can either stay at the table to do it or put in their bag incomplete.
I’m in agreement with most of the other posters here that little kids have a long busy day and are perfectly able to attain curriculum targets within the school day. If they aren’t then the numerous trips to the local church or assembly could surely provide the time.
Next week at parent’s evening I shall be informing the teachers of my stance (its up to the children to do the homework as I am not in favour of it). I refuse to *make* them do extra work when they are tired and need to play/unwind.
16 Petition Against Overloading Homework (UK) // 24th Oct 2008 at 6:33 pm
[...] my rant back in September, I think most people know my stance on homework, particularly in primary school – ban [...]
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