To expect homework to stay at home?

As a primary school teacher I hate giving homework. I had 4 children myself and found getting them to do their homework was a great cause of arguments. The marking and checking of who has and hasn't done the homework takes up so much time. If it was left up to me I would only give reading and times tables but schools have 'rules' that teachers have to follow!!

you see so much of him you could let him get on with it..... Well, yes, we could, except that that is not the issue. The issue is that he doesn't get on with it, and it turns what should be a happy, relaxed, post Sunday lunch family gathering into a tension filled battleground between my GS and his parents over homework which should be done at their home, not mine.

Luckygirl, thatbags and nightowl I, too, have posted previously about how absurd I consider homework at primary school to be. Even worse, is something I read about a couple of years ago on Gransnet about "shared homework" which, apparently, was deliberately intended to involve parents and/or grandparents as well as the child.

In germany homework is traditional in Junior school BUT we only have morning school. It starts at 7.45 and ends at 12 or 12.45. Then in the afternoon there is homework at home or at school if the child's parents are working and has after school care.They are no longer in the classroom.

I never had those angels who did their homework on Fridays and left the weekend free and some was often dragged out on Sunday.

Homework should only be repetition or something creative from a workbook. Many teachers don't understand this.

If he is one of those who dawdles over his homework then it is right that he finishes it on Sunday at your house. You see so much of him you could let him get on with it.

I also disagree with young children being given set homework - at least the type of homework that feels like a "chore" and which spoils a family's precious time together. My own view is that occasional tasks or "projects", such as nature hunts, collecting pictures on a particular subject for a scrapbook, drawing a picture and labelling it, can be enjoyable as well as being educational.

I don't recall being given any homework at primary or junior school. We did, though, do a project called "Looking at Africa" which I really enjoyed. It involved things like investigating what animals lived in Africa, what foods and goods were produced there, etc. etc., and creating a scrapbook.

I think it's a shame that a visit to grandparents is spoilt by homework pressures. Of course, if the school sets homework it is understandable that most people will feel they should co-operate. Given that is the situation in Greyduster's case, if it were me, I would not be too upset if homework was undertaken very occasionally when a grandchild visited. However, she says that it has happened several times recently, and I think that is a bit unreasonable.

Im joining the "homework in primary school being totally unnecessary" brigade. It should start to be given in a measured way a year before they go up to secondary(my sister is a primary school teacher) It's a useless stressful exercise. When my DS was small I just used to say sorry but we were too busy doing other things

Agree about infant and junior school homework and pleased to hear of a few heads who don't see it as necessary too. Primary schools should be encouraging places full of relaxed children, the teaching done in school, not pushed on to parents. By all means have children take a reading book home to share with someone in the family but don't make parents feel guilty about homework and children pressured. Have teachers set projects for holidays but for fun.
Maths homework: if a child gets a concept in class, they don't need it; if they don't get the concept, they can't do it. Pages of practice doesn't help either way.
Someone I knew slightly said her family couldn't go to an event they'd enjoy because of her son's homework, he was 5!! Exceptional I know but apparently true and so sad!

Am constitutionally opposed to homework. Unnecessary except in the case of senior students. Children should be able to visit GPs, read Harry Potter and explain minecraft to Dad. They work hard during the school week and need time just to be kids.

vampire that's sad. It illustrates a point though; not all children come from families where homework is seen as important.

Well done granarchist's head teacher!

When dd was little, I absolutely refused to do the set reading book with her. No doubt I was branded as "that parent" but I stuck to my guns.

I don't believe in homework for primary kids, and even less so when it impacts on the child's life outside school.

Why should teachers dictate how children's time should be spent outside school?

Maybe you could help him with his homework when he cones to you during the week?

What a brilliant headteacher. I wish there were more like her. I set homework because I had no choice. It was school policy and policies had to be adhered to.

We set Mathletics but that meant that homework could only be done by children whose parents could afford a PC and the internet. We ran a special lunchtime session for children without home computers but that didn't seem fair on them as they missed much needed playtime.

The worst thing I ever did, and I still feel guilty about it, was set homework in which the children had to write a couple of paragraphs describing their bedrooms. When the homework came in one child had described the living room because he didn't have a bedroom so he described the room he slept in.

Another voice against homework for primary age children. Luckily my daughters' headmistress said that if she didn't get all the information etc into them during the hours she had them in her school, then she was not doing her job. She often had parents demanding homework - nevertheless she held out and her pupils were way up to the mark when they moved on.

If the situation continues you could raise it casually shortly after they arrive and before dinner is ready. Then you can suggest that perhaps, as the meal isn't ready yet, he could make a start/complete it before dinner. Then suggest that would mean time to indulge in a game he likes without the dreaded homework hanging over him. Kids can be great procrastinators but a carrot dangled in front of them usually works. When my grandkids moan about boring homework I tell them the quickest way to deal with boredom is to get it out of the way asap.

My GCs do homework at my house if they come to me straight from school on Friday. They enjoy doing Mathletics online and sometimes ask for help if stuck on something. Other times the 10 year old, (occasionally) and 8 year (usually) will ask advice on how to do the work - what websites to look up, what sort of thing to make etc. When younger I read with them. This makes it constructive time spent with GC but I don't chase them hard to do the work as their Mother can do that when they get home if needed, and, as said elsewhere, neither I nor my kids did homework at Primary school.

They love it because they regard the upbringing and education of children as some sort of competition, an idea fueled by the SATs and league tables. We are creating a generation of worried young people whose mental health is at risk. The statistics speak for themselves.

thatbags I think most primary schoolteachers hate homework. My favourite parents were the ones who came and told the head they weren't going to do it. Heads for some reason seem to favour it, league tables and pushy parents being 2 possibilities. There are some people who just love it.

Waves happily to nightowl and f77ms ?

Just read your post. A bit much to bring maths homework to you on a family Sunday lunch. Ours do their's first thing Saturday am then it's done. GS usually has French vocabulary which I enjoy helping with and the 11year old usually just gets on with it to get it over and done with.
Not fair to spoil your time w with them.

Another `homework` hater here ! School work should be kept in school at primary age . I think Homework after school clubs are a great idea for teachers who insist on it . The last thing you should be doing in the evening after a day at work is trying to get a them to do homework , it was always a battle .

Sorry that's not very helpful to the OP's problem Like others, I despair at the effects on family life of this emphasis on homework for young children who should be enjoying their childhood.

Another voice against homework here Luckygirl and thatbags. DGS is almost 6 and has had homework set since he was in nursery. He still has the same homework book which is remarkably empty, and sometimes goes missing for weeks at a time somewhere between his house, our house, and school. Do any of us care? Not much. His mum's a teacher and as far as I'm concerned, she knows a thing or two about the importance or otherwise of homework for primary school children.

lucky, once again ours are the only voices speaking against homework for primary school kids. It never ceases to amaze me.

Why do people assume it's necessary up to the age of eleven or twelve just because it might be necessary during the teenage years?

Why is it assumed that a child who doesn't do homework while at primary school won't do it at secondary? My kids all did. My four siblings and I did. My parents did. None of us had homework while at primary school. All (except Minibags who hasn't got to uni yet but she's setting her sights high at age fifteen) have at least one university degree.

Don't get me going on the subject of homework! - a pernicious invasion of family life.

I share your exasperation - poor GS.

It's been good to have your views on this. I'll try and find an opening to discuss things with DD although DH still thinks I shouldn't pursue it. I think their thinking is that if keeping him in a homework routine is like pulling teeth now, what's it going to be like in a year or two's time when it really matters.

Perhaps parents have been having an awful time with getting him to do hos HW, and thought your kind, calm and encouraging approach would help resolve the issues and get things done.

Don't stew and discuss this with them calmly and with humour. Our GS is also 10, and not too keen on getting his HW done either- quite naturally. He is better with us, than with his parents- and we take that as a compliment.