primary school homework

[screenman]

Finland's '11 ways', in brief:

1. Less Formal Schooling = More Options
2. Less Time in School = More Rest
3. Fewer Instruction Hours = More Planning Time
4. Fewer Teachers = More Consistency and Care
5. Fewer Accepted Applicants= More Confidence in Teachers
6. Fewer Classes= More Breaks
7. Less Testing = More Learning
8. Fewer Topics = More Depth
9. Less Homework = More Participation
10. Fewer Students = More Individual Attention
11. Less Structure = More Trust

I think most UK teachers would like that as well, unfortunately they are just the fott soldiers. Now kids to have more time off school, who would look after them? would that be the parents that are too busy to help with homework, or the parents who have not even taught the kids to go to the toilet or spell their name along with many other such things before joining school.

 

[screenman]

Ate you an expert in this?

No just an assumption that is all, are you such an expert then? If so please educate me because I am more than happy to be wrong. Just that as I get older I seem to be seeing more examples of what I consider poor parenting.

 

[screenman]

I agree but its not the be all and end all to having a sucessful life .....neither is money....

Never said succesful, but having choices and maybe a bit more money can sometimes make you misery nicer.

 

[User10119]

I think most UK teachers would like that as well, unfortunately they are just the fott soldiers. Now kids to have more time off school, who would look after them? would that be the parents that are too busy to help with homework, or the parents who have not even taught the kids to go to the toilet or spell their name along with many other such things before joining school.

In fairness to parents here the ones in Denmark do get given until their kids are 7 to get them ready for school, rather than 5/4/3.

The nursery/reception class that both my two went into had previously had the rule that only children who were toilet trained could take up their place - as was fairly common in EYFS classes until about 10 years ago. Guidance changed and schools aren't allowed to require this any more and I think that my eldest was in the first cohort where the school accepted children in nappies, although they still encouraged and supported (and now encourage and support) families towards toilet training.

Of course, I got to know several parents who also had older children who had gone through the Early Years before the regime change. Turns out that the older kids weren't really more reliably toilet trained than the younger siblings - the parents just used to lie, say that they were "clean and dry", cross their fingers and hope...

 

[RedRider]

No just an assumption that is all, are you such an expert then? If so please educate me because I am more than happy to be wrong. Just that as I get older I seem to be seeing more examples of what I consider poor parenting.

I'm no expert. From the confident tone of your posts I thought you might have some special insight you were hiding but happy to be wrong.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

things like counting birds in park, then asking them how many feet there would be. like what your parents would have been doing without you realising. the old fashined word for that sort of things in maths would be called "problems"

Not maths surely, arithmetic?

Or biology?

 

[Markymark]

Never said succesful, but having choices and maybe a bit more money can sometimes make you misery nicer.

I think you are confusing parents nit wanting academic homework with not wanting success in schools. I got 3 As in A levels in maths, further maths and physicswhen it was hard. And a 2:1 degree in engineering from a proper uni. My kids will do similar, I'll see to it. Success in exams requires an all round education. I expect schools to teach the academic side Monday to Friday and we'll do the life learning that will help with educational success at the weekends.

 

[subaqua]

Not maths surely, arithmetic?

Or biology?

depends on how you put the question. a lot of "problems" use algebra . My kids "hate algebra and can't do this". but they can work out problems that are algebraic .as soon as you put letters in anywhere people panic.

as diver I need to do absolute and ambient pressure calcs and partial pressure calcs for gases . which is algebra. I love it when i am instructing in getting students to do the Nitrox mix and depth/gas calcs then ask who couldn't do algebra at school and said they would never need to use it . there is always a lot who say they did.

 

[Katherine]

a good chunk of the learning is the parents responsibility FFS . its not all about teachers doing everything - teachers give the kids the tools and if you don't use the tools you forget how to. Homework is the reinforcing things into memory. I can still remember lots of the stuff i was taught in school because i set it into my mind properly.

Schools set homework because a good chunk of parents are not supporting their kids as best they can , even those with limited ability.( the parents) things like counting birds in park, then asking them how many feet there would be. like what your parents would have been doing without you realising. the old fashined word for that sort of things in maths would be called "problems"

They are called Word Problems in Maths now.

 

[Profpointy]

depends on how you put the question. a lot of "problems" use algebra . My kids "hate algebra and can't do this". but they can work out problems that are algebraic .as soon as you put letters in anywhere people panic.

as diver I need to do absolute and ambient pressure calcs and partial pressure calcs for gases . which is algebra. I love it when i am instructing in getting students to do the Nitrox mix and depth/gas calcs then ask who couldn't do algebra at school and said they would never need to use it . there is always a lot who say they did.

/pedant mode/ calculating partial pressures etc isn't really algebra; it's arithmetic. /end pedant mode/ but I do do see, and agree, with your point

 

[Markymark]

I did most of my primary education in NZ, where 'homework' was the norm at primary level.

Mr R's sister is a primary teacher. She says the main aim of homework for primary school kids is to cover off things you'd expect parents to be doing with their children but many aren't. As @subaqua says, there are lots of parents who seem to think that educating their children is the sole responsibility of schools and teachers. It isn't helped by the fact that in the UK there are a significant number of parents who are functionally illiterate and innumerate.

Most of the homework ours gets is dry spelling and maths. I would hope that school does that part and the parents do the wider learning about the world part.

 

[Markymark]

Why? I would expect parents to do a lot of the work around practising basic literacy and numeracy.

See my post 20.

 

[Markymark]

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree. Learning the basics isn't just a Monday to Friday thing.

We have spent a lot of time teaching our kids the basics. However we have to be careful as the methods they now use are very different. Number lines etc. I had to learn their way before I could help them with any homework as my way of maths, which although gets the same answer, is a very different process.

However, there's so much to learn in life which I can;t expect the school to do that will help them massively academically in the long run. I'm talking nature, science, art, social skills. This is done by engaging with them and introducing new experiences, helping them to understand and learn from them. We also invest a lot of time in reading, both fiction and non-fiction with them.This, I believe, is the primary role of parents and what we strive to do.

Getting them to do some more sums for 2 hours at the weekend does not give them the down time from that part of the learning process to take on the new ideas from those listed above.

Last summer, we had 2 weeks in Scotland. It was spent exploring, climbing, playing, fishing, by the sea. Evenings were spent playing card games/tricks, teaching drafts, playing squares and an awful lot of reading. Both kids, in those two weeks, had a massive development shift. They came back different kids. No homework in sight. Neither learning works in isolation but both are critical for both personal and academic development.

 

[Markymark]

[QUOTE 4236256, member: 45"]Which raises another issue. Often the school don't explain the methods the children are learning to use.[/QUOTE]
Yes, this. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. It's a whole different way of learning now. Often the homework sheets just have sums and it's up to the kids to explain to the parents how it is supposed to be done before the parents can then help then work through it,

 

[Crackle]

Yes, this. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. It's a whole different way of learning now. Often the homework sheets just have sums and it's up to the kids to explain to the parents how it is supposed to be done before the parents can then help then work through it,

Yep. A long time ago now, I started helping with maths and quickly learned my methods of working out were woefully out of date. The sad thing was I could not take in and keep on board the method they were using, which just seemed contrary to me.

Anyway I was very glad when they left primary school. If I'd had to do one more shoebox project, I may well have become homicidal to primary school teachers.