This website seems like it is just an excuse to have a whinge by parents who have no idea about how schools work day in, day out. How about doing something about it and volunteer in school or even better try to qualify as a teacher and then see how much hard work it is to engage, motivate, inspire and delight the young children of this age for 6 hours a day without just giving them a tv or psp or x-box to play on.

???

I support my children with homework if they want to do it in KS1 but refuse to sign the home school agreement because I want my children to enjoy school…not be pushed into spending time doing homework when they get home and are tired.

With three children, even reading can take an hour a day, so this is what we focus on. In my school if the kids don’t read to me 4 times a week they end up in book club at lunchtime on Friday ie they get punished for something that I cannot do sometimes with after school clubs and other things that are necessary for family life.

Education is about more than school!

I wager the posters above are simply failing to fit their children in to their already busy lives. Finish work at 5pm, drive home 6pm, make dinner, eat dinner, relax in front of Eastenders until 8pm. Now try to fit in some quality time with the children, but wait; they have homework, COMPLAIN!

Now I do understand that some lone parents will have to work long hours to feed their families, however it is not teachers who create this situation.

Primary schools today seem, to be trying too hard to be ‘fun’ including cheerleading, steel pan drumming, etc in the lesson time and pushing the reading, writing and maths onto the parents at home.

Also if behaviour was sorted then a learning environment would be better created at school and there would be no need to encroach on pupils own time with too much homework.

teachers can going go so far in creating an atmosphere where learning is valued, parents have a responsibility to do what they can at home. In todays world time is always an issue for parents and maybe thats where a lot of the disatisfaction comes from. Tired overstressed, overworked parents. Maybe its our have it all culture thats really to blame.

I looked at the recommended homework durations. my son is in yr 2, last week he got a book (100+ pages), 15 words to prepare for a spelling test, an a4 with maths and an a4 with literacy assignments, and on top of that they were stimulated to visit the new library… How on earth is a 7 year old supposed to do that in 1 hour?? Suffice to say that I complained (again). The only answer I get is that they are required to give homework, but don’t value it very highly???

I would be happy with a book and some words for a spelling test, or some maths. In yrs 5, 6 and onwards it can be more. They can also do it more independantly,with help from parents when needed.

Homework can keep kids off the streets.

When I was in school a student was expected to be assigned thirty minutes of homework per evening per class (3.5 hours a day). Now kids are to receive thirty minutes per class per fortnight. I came out of education with an overall mark of 91%. I worked very hard for this. Kids today are perfectly satisfied with 60%. In my day that would have not only been a fail, but an embarrassment.

Beyond this the teachers are not failing these children, the government is. The government want statistics to show that the they are doing a good job – so they force schools to report statistics and the schools are forced to harm teaching in the process. E.g. lowering exclusions and seclusions – so schools are forced to keep disruptive and abusive students in the classroom – teachers can’t teach the 28 well behaved students because they are spending all of there time on the 2 badly behaved ones.

I wish that every parent would call their MP and complain about this – it is so very sad that the ‘human rights’ of 28 students are cast aside because of these 2 poorly behaved ones.

The GCSE and A-Levels need to be more difficult and more challenging. Personally I wouldn’t have faith in any student with GCSEs to be employed at my company. The levels are so low and their education so spoon fed that these kids have pathetic skills… half of them can hardly spell.

I feel education in the UK is poor and getting worse. I also feel that this is 100% the government’s fault. If they would stop trying to cover their hind-sides and actually create policies that help students, teachers, and schools then the UK would have a chance in this world. I do not see things getting better with this current government. They should:

Allow and encourage exclusion and seclusion.
Have more teacher assessment in all levels.
Have no toleration of poor behaviour in classrooms.
Encourage more parental involvement in education.
Modify requirements so that work is not dumbed-down – expect more not less.

Please, if you have any concerns about the state of education in this country – be heard. Call or write your MP AND call or write the Department for Schools, Children, and Families (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/) – encourage a positive change so that we produce the best students we are able to.

Please.

People like Kieran who demand “new ways of learning” and make staunch, unnecessary complaints about the schooling system clearly have no idea what they’re talking about. I left school with GCSEs (lowest grade being a B), A and AS levels (all As) and then went onto University where I gained a Masters degree in Acoustics and am well into my second year of a three year PhD.

At risk of sounding arrogant, I would like to make the comment that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the educational system where I am concerned, and Homework (self study and assigned study) was a very large part of my schooling, right from the final years of primary school.

I see no reason why any parent would want their child to not take part in a homework activity. I see it as an excellent way for the parent and child to bond whilst ensuring the child succeeds in his or her schooling. I am of the opinion that the the hours I spent with my mother and father discussing science, language, numbers, history and geography set me in excellent stead for the classes I was taking, resulting in better exam grades and two exceptionally proud parents.

Needless to say, when my child comes home with a stack of books, the dining room table will be cleared and work will be done. Education will be encouraged at all times, especially in this age where information is in gross abundance. The Internet, books, Television, Libraries and museums all offer excellent opportunities for children to grasp their education by both hands and take it to unforseen heights. it saddens me to see exam grades dropping year after year as information becomes more readily and freely available.

I do not think the problem lies with the school, the education system or the child, but the parent and their attitude toward their child’s schooling.

If I can do as well as I did in school, why can’t everyone else?