Primary school homework

[Blumlein 88]

I was tutoring a relative's child in math in the early 2000's. I thought it was too much homework and I wondered what are they doing during class. The child I was tutoring finally had enough of it and in protest would not turn in the homework. I had made sure they did it, took time to help them understand it and the school required clear backpacks. I found out when they flunked a six weeks for turning in zero homework. When I talked to the teacher, she said she could see the homework in the backpack, but they weren't allowed to force students to take things out of backpacks. So she knew the homework was done, and it was right there, but the child refused to turn it in. The child said we could make her learn it, could make her do it, but it was too much and we couldn't make her turn it in. ?????????

 

[lateralous]

One thing it taught me was getting things done to get to do things I wanted.

I think you've described a reasonable argument against homework - for many it is simply an act of completion, not learning or re-enforcement of learning. Of course there is a grey area here, rote practice in some areas like math can be essential in gaining proficiencies required for more advanced learning.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I think you've described a reasonable argument against homework - for many it is simply an act of completion, not learning or re-enforcement of learning. Of course there is a grey area here, rote practice in some areas like math can be essential in gaining proficiencies required for more advanced learning.

I don't agree with this. I certainly learned from it whether my motivation was learning or getting it done (for me it was both, I liked learning things). The way most of my homework was given it was also to let the teacher find out where you weren't up to speed. It was feedback and a chance for her to give more help when homework showed it was needed.

 

[restorer-john]

Homework for 6 YOs seems a little daft to me.

Utterly ridiculous giving any homework to primary school age kids. I had to do homework from about grade 5 and am still scarred by the whole getting my parents to sign my record book and all the BS associated with homework. And I was a top student then. I wanted to go fishing, riding my bike, scouring building sites, digging in the creek, making electronic projects after school. The first thing I put on my 'student/homework' desk when Dad bought me one, was my soldering iron! Screw homework.

The kids spend 7+ hours at school, 5 days a week. That's more than enough school work.

 

[amirm]

I think the whole school system is antiquated and needs major reform. I would turn this argument around: show that doing homework is effective or don't do it.

Yes, some of the homework was useful. But much of it was given as busy work. If kids are not learning what they need to during school hours, then fix that.

 

[JaMaSt]

My elementary school (mid-70's) had "packets" which students would take and complete. If you could do it, you could be in first grad and working on 4th grade packets in, say, English, and 1st grade packets in math. The beauty of this system is that it allowed teachers to focus on students who needed more hand-holding. There was never any homework.

 

[OldHvyMec]

Certain people are going to be astronaut, just like some people are going to be carrot farmers. I'm pretty sure there is no homework for carrot farmers.


Regards

 

[jhaider]

Sounds like typical leftist political opinion. They come up periodically with this this kind of stuff: don't read to your kids (to make them equal to kids in households where the parents don't read), don't hug your kids etc.

Who is this mythical “they?” Citation, please.

I get that conservatism by definition is reticence to embrace new ideas, but, really, homework for little kids?

I’m with @amirm here. I get there’s value in studied repetition for many skills. But often it’s just dumb. Though on the flip side coming up with creative ways to not devote meaningful time or effort to busywork while not suffering adverse effects may be perhaps a useful life lesson…

We have an elementary school kid attending a school where arguably the modern concept of primary education originated. They don’t start homework until sometime in third grade, if memory serves. And then HW is more about tracking the free reading the kid naturally does than assignments per se. Obviously workload goes up as they get older and the math gets more complicated, class time becomes more for guided grappling with material you’ve already read than information download, etc. But for little kids not so much.

 

[Galliardist]

Where's that research?

Sounds like typical leftist political opinion on the theme of "equality of outcomes by levelling everybody down". They come up periodically with this this kind of stuff: don't read to your kids (to make them equal to kids in households where the parents don't read), don't hug your kids etc.

My son is in primary school and actually loves doing homework. They get these little brochures for maths and reading and he does everything in advance, optional stuff and all...

You forgot to say "woke".

Look, just throwing the word "leftist" and suchlike around, especially when adding plainly stupid ideas that you got about "leftists" from somewhere, it's not nice. Especially when any actual response has to involve political concepts (rather than this "just add insults" stuff) and will inevitably invoke bans and ending the thread.

There's been a fair bit of this around here recently, and if the intention is to drive anyone with left of centre views out of the place, I have to say it is going to work on me very soon.

Leave it out, please.

 

[HedgeHog]

Just give them ChatGPT training and forget about the issue

That was my initial guffaw...I actually used it to get a better answer than their useless textbook. After showing my kid that, I got texted a video the next day showing the teacher using ChatGPT to teach the lesson. He types in the question and AI shows all the steps. We're doomed.

 

[BDWoody]

Sounds like typical leftist political opinion on the theme...

Can we please stay away from any sentence that begins anything like that?

Stay away from divisive politics, and the culture wars. We don't want to be fighting that battle here.

 

[Jimbob54]

I did mean 5 or 6 pupils yurrqa. Not their age. Sorry, I didn't make that clear.

My sons school has 3 classes of around 25 to 30 kids in each year group.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Last night via a Portal screen, we observed our six year old Grandchild doing her "homework" with Dad. He was asking her questions about the plague, and the great fire of London. She seemed to be looking along a form, possibly at time lines, and seemed extremely well informed on the subject. This morning my lad has confirmed that, up to now, she is enjoying the experience.

 

[tomtoo]

School should be for learning something, homwork for exercising the learned. Not to complicated and not to much couse then it gets boring.
The kids should not need there parents for making homework. And not need more than 30min-1h. Than i see no problem

 

[Krusty09]

On the Today Radio programme this morning. Kirstie Allsopp and Steve Chalk claiming that getting primary school children to do homework, actually damages them, mentally, and fails to give them any educational advantage over children who aren't given homework. And then claiming that this is widely validated by research.
Having a six year old Grandchild who is given homework, I was interested. Considered Allsopp, and have done due diligence on Chalk since the broadcast. Thought, and think that it is tosh, but am generally wrong. For me, it is like the poster the other day who claimed a subjective opinion, was universally taken to be the truth! Did anyone else hear this? And any general observations most welcome. (Not sure if Amirs kit is up to testing this "truth"!)

Hey. Can you post a link to that show episode so that we can hear it for ourselves?

It would be good to listen to it before posting anything not knowing as to what they said.

Thanks

 

[Krusty09]

Of course it was meant in pejorative sense, don't lie to yourself/us. Notice how you've dodged the "matter of fact" piece - do you honestly think it is a typical position to eschew all reading to children and hugging of said children? I guess you will now announce you've ignored me too, as you see a challenge to your unfounded bias a personal attack.

Hey.

Do you have a place where leftiest or a person says ,eschew all reading to children and hugging of said children. I would like to know who said that as I would like put them on my ignor list.

Thanks

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Hey. Can you post a link to that show episode so that we can hear it for ourselves?

It would be good to listen to it before posting anything not knowing as to what they said.

Thanks

Right. BBC Sounds. 20th, that is yesterday. Radio 4, the Today programme. About 08.25!

 

[egellings]

Okay, a bit of Googling, which I should have done before posting, certainly puts forward views which are negative to the homework. Not finding universality about it though.
Not sure if our granddaughter actually "loves" it mind!

Homework is okay if it is not simply make-work designed to instill an acceptance of regimentation, but has interesting assignments that engage the student and pique their interest in the subject.

 

[Galliardist]

I just want to apologise for the trouble I stirred up in this thread. I’ve requested my account be deleted accordingly.

 

[Galliardist]

I just want to apologise for the trouble I stirred up in this thread. I’ve requested my account be deleted accordingly.

@amirm has declined my request. I will take some time off posting and come back later, and limit what I read.