Homework, daily reading, spelling, learning journal, take home tasks……….many names but usually one result – the cause of parent/child conflict and domestic disharmony in the scant window of non-school time during the week or a blot on the weekend!
Now I am not against ALL parental involvement helping their children learn……and I accept (as well as know from professional experience) how valuable this can be…….but often it is the frequency, the expectation and burden and the sheer mundaneness of the tasks which really make me really cross!
I am talking specifically about Primary (4-11) aged children. Young children have many hours in school each week – and that is plenty of time for them to do their ‘formal’ learning. Their non-school hours should be spent exploring and playing, enjoying being with their family, taking part in other activities – Cubs, Dance, gymnastics, swimming, learning an instrument etc and most importantly of all – relaxing. They are continually learning and growing at an astonishing rate – but without the necessary ‘down time’ and sleep all these experiences cannot become meaningful.
I have a child in Year 3 who has always been enthusiastic at school and generally performing at or above average. However this last term he has had the most mind numbingly boring and pointless comprehension activities EVERY SINGLE WEEK which have led to tears and a complete turning off from anything to do with reading and writing – which is supposed to be the point of the thing! It is boring for the child, causes grief for the parents and ultimately achieves zero new learning!
Parents should be encouraged to help and support their children in a variety of ways – and be given the necessary suggestions and guidance for things they can do; short simple tasks to re-inforce learning that is happening at school, activities which enhance a child’s natural curiosity or enrich their topic work in school are ideal.
Do you have a homework battle in your house? Do you think your child has too little or too much?
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I totally agree that children at primary age should be allowed to play when they get home. Both as a teacher (in my previous incarnation!) and as a parent I don’t like the added pressure on parents to complete tasks which threatens the atmosphere at home and at times their relationship with their children. However, homework as policy in primary schools is here to stay and I DO agree with encouraging learning at home too and getting parents involved with their children’s learning.
I thoroughly recommend finding out what your schools’ homework policy says that they should spend every night on their homework for their school age and STICKING TO IT. Different children work and learn at different speeds, and if your child is supposed to spend 20 mins on a task, then setting a timer and getting them to work conscientiously on it for that amount of time means you restrict the impact it has on your home life and maximise their enjoyment of it (if any!). Making a note of what they can do in that time will also give the teacher a really good indication of how well they’ve coped with the task. Sitting with your child and finishing the thing, no matter how many hairs are pulled out at the roots, and how much you end up doing for them doesn’t do you, your child or their teacher any favours!
Homework has always been an issue in our household with my son – we now use a reward chart by The Victoria Chart Company – http://www.victoriachartcompany.co.uk/credit-reward-chart.html
It keeps him on track, motivated and stops all the yelling about completing the work.