I know this will likely strike up a debate, but in terms of school, I don't think homework is necessary. Just give it to the kids who can't be arsed to do the work in school.
Puts a lot of pressure on the kids who do try their hardest by revising every night, yet the kids who try their hardest get pushed the furthest; while the kids who don't try at all and don't really achieve get away with murder!
I understand it's how education works, but it's just not fair. Fair enough the kids who don't necessarily try the hardest may have learning difficulties or other something, but I just don't think it's fair at all!
I remember having a really nice guy who used to help us in P.E. (I think he might have been on a course!) but he was a 50-odd year old man who had been in an era where you were disciplined all the way through school if you couldn't even write properly! - and he said he thought the way the system works is beyond a joke!
Anyone else?
(07 Dec 2014, 5:54 pm)MarcTheA4 I know this will likely strike up a debate, but in terms of school, I don't think homework is necessary. Just give it to the kids who can't be arsed to do the work in school.
Puts a lot of pressure on the kids who do try their hardest by revising every night, yet the kids who try their hardest get pushed the furthest; while the kids who don't try at all and don't really achieve get away with murder!
I understand it's how education works, but it's just not fair. Fair enough the kids who don't necessarily try the hardest may have learning difficulties or other something, but I just don't think it's fair at all!
I remember having a really nice guy who used to help us in P.E. (I think he might have been on a course!) but he was a 50-odd year old man who had been in an era where you were disciplined all the way through school if you couldn't even write properly! - and he said he thought the way the system works is beyond a joke!
Anyone else?
(07 Dec 2014, 5:54 pm)MarcTheA4 I know this will likely strike up a debate, but in terms of school, I don't think homework is necessary. Just give it to the kids who can't be arsed to do the work in school.
Puts a lot of pressure on the kids who do try their hardest by revising every night, yet the kids who try their hardest get pushed the furthest; while the kids who don't try at all and don't really achieve get away with murder!
I understand it's how education works, but it's just not fair. Fair enough the kids who don't necessarily try the hardest may have learning difficulties or other something, but I just don't think it's fair at all!
I remember having a really nice guy who used to help us in P.E. (I think he might have been on a course!) but he was a 50-odd year old man who had been in an era where you were disciplined all the way through school if you couldn't even write properly! - and he said he thought the way the system works is beyond a joke!
Anyone else?
Children react differently to different methods of teaching and all children have different levels of teaching needs.
For some the current method of teaching in the UK will work best. For others the methods employed in Sweden may prove to be more beneficial. However it's impractical to have a mix-and-match approach to teaching children on a national scale. A national policy therefore needs to be decided upon and implemented to ensure children get the best possible educational experience. Homework, unfortunately, is essential for development and transition into the working world. Unless you're in a low-paid, dead-end job with no prospects you'll soon find out that homework pervades into working life. If one decides to venture into the world of academia - at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels - homework is essentially all you do. Doing homework at school prepares children for this and encourages the development of a broad range of transferable skills relating to time-management and work prioritisation.
(07 Dec 2014, 6:39 pm)AdamY Children react differently to different methods of teaching and all children have different levels of teaching needs.
For some the current method of teaching in the UK will work best. For others the methods employed in Sweden may prove to be more beneficial. However it's impractical to have a mix-and-match approach to teaching children on a national scale. A national policy therefore needs to be decided upon and implemented to ensure children get the best possible educational experience. Homework, unfortunately, is essential for development and transition into the working world. Unless you're in a low-paid, dead-end job with no prospects you'll soon find out that homework pervades into working life. If one decides to venture into the world of academia - at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels - homework is essentially all you do. Doing homework at school prepares children for this and encourages the development of a broad range of transferable skills relating to time-management and work prioritisation.
(07 Dec 2014, 6:39 pm)AdamY Children react differently to different methods of teaching and all children have different levels of teaching needs.
For some the current method of teaching in the UK will work best. For others the methods employed in Sweden may prove to be more beneficial. However it's impractical to have a mix-and-match approach to teaching children on a national scale. A national policy therefore needs to be decided upon and implemented to ensure children get the best possible educational experience. Homework, unfortunately, is essential for development and transition into the working world. Unless you're in a low-paid, dead-end job with no prospects you'll soon find out that homework pervades into working life. If one decides to venture into the world of academia - at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels - homework is essentially all you do. Doing homework at school prepares children for this and encourages the development of a broad range of transferable skills relating to time-management and work prioritisation.
I think there ought to be a reasonable limit to the amount of homework which can be given - to allow children to develop the skills of time management and working at home, but to also allow for these children to relax... Individual schools can implement a 'time limit' to be allocated to homework, but whether it's always followed through is another matter!
We were given a piece of Business Studies homework last week, but we hadn't fully covered the content during the lesson, meaning that I didn't fully understand how to do it. Thankfully, we all kicked up a fuss, and the teacher decided to hold back on giving us it until we'd gone over it during the lesson. I haven't been so 'lucky' on other occasions, and it's been such a huge pressure for me to complete the homework correctly for the due-date.
With homework, I think it's necessary as things stand, but only because the academic week doesn't have nearly enough teaching hours within it. Especially at KS4 level. It all works on statistics unfortunately, and schools will often reduce the amount of timetable time given to what they see as the 'self sufficient' subjects, and then adjust it again when grades start to suffer. It's like having a bucket of water with 10 holes in, and having to decide which ones to cover.
My personal view is that the academic week needs to be extended. At most schools, I think it's about 5 hours a day teaching time, so only 25 over the course of the week. I think for Year 10 and 11, the week should be increased by 7.5 hours to 32.5 per week, to allow for a mandatory 1.5 hour per day session, to work on coursework, and additional work that would normally be taken home. It should only be on the basis that homework is no longer given, which should in turn enforce a work life balance.
(07 Dec 2014, 9:36 pm)aureolin With homework, I think it's necessary as things stand, but only because the academic week doesn't have nearly enough teaching hours within it. Especially at KS4 level. It all works on statistics unfortunately, and schools will often reduce the amount of timetable time given to what they see as the 'self sufficient' subjects, and then adjust it again when grades start to suffer. It's like having a bucket of water with 10 holes in, and having to decide which ones to cover.We were talking about this the other day in class, ad we came up with the following suggestion:
My personal view is that the academic week needs to be extended. At most schools, I think it's about 5 hours a day teaching time, so only 25 over the course of the week. I think for Year 10 and 11, the week should be increased by 7.5 hours to 32.5 per week, to allow for a mandatory 1.5 hour per day session, to work on coursework, and additional work that would normally be taken home. It should only be on the basis that homework is no longer given, which should in turn enforce a work life balance.
(07 Dec 2014, 9:36 pm)aureolin With homework, I think it's necessary as things stand, but only because the academic week doesn't have nearly enough teaching hours within it. Especially at KS4 level. It all works on statistics unfortunately, and schools will often reduce the amount of timetable time given to what they see as the 'self sufficient' subjects, and then adjust it again when grades start to suffer. It's like having a bucket of water with 10 holes in, and having to decide which ones to cover.We were talking about this the other day in class, ad we came up with the following suggestion:
My personal view is that the academic week needs to be extended. At most schools, I think it's about 5 hours a day teaching time, so only 25 over the course of the week. I think for Year 10 and 11, the week should be increased by 7.5 hours to 32.5 per week, to allow for a mandatory 1.5 hour per day session, to work on coursework, and additional work that would normally be taken home. It should only be on the basis that homework is no longer given, which should in turn enforce a work life balance.
I'll be starting my GCSEs next year, and yet to pick my options. I need one language (Park View is a languages college) and a humanity before 2 of my own choice.
As aureolin said, a lot of schools get 25 hours a week and mine is one of them. Next year, I'll get 4 hours of English, 4 hours of Maths, 6 hours of Science (kill me now!), 1 hour of R.E. and 2 hours of P.E., all mandatory! We get 4 options, and get 2 hours of each a week, and that adds up the total teaching hours.
Personally, I think we should get to pick 1 more, and get 2 hours less of Science. However, some will argue because we get all 3 sciences and need 2 hours of each.
Just my opinion, but extended hours would just lower 'moral' for everyone. If my year group got pulled into assembly and told next year as a new scheme we would be given extended schooldays.....there would be an uprising, and all the teachers would be shot in the yard! Just telling the truth, lol.
(07 Dec 2014, 9:57 pm)MarcTheA4 I'll be starting my GCSEs next year, and yet to pick my options. I need one language (Park View is a languages college) and a humanity before 2 of my own choice.
As aureolin said, a lot of schools get 25 hours a week and mine is one of them. Next year, I'll get 4 hours of English, 4 hours of Maths, 6 hours of Science (kill me now!), 1 hour of R.E. and 2 hours of P.E., all mandatory! We get 4 options, and get 2 hours of week, and that adds up the total teaching hours.
Personally, I think we should get to pick 1 more, and get 2 hours less of Science. However, some will argue because we get all 3 sciences and need 2 hours of each.
Just my opinion, but extended hours would just lower 'moral' for everyone. If my year group got pulled into assembly and told next year as a new scheme we would be given extended schooldays.....there would be an uprising, and all the teachers would be shot in the yard! Just telling the truth, lol.
(07 Dec 2014, 9:57 pm)MarcTheA4 I'll be starting my GCSEs next year, and yet to pick my options. I need one language (Park View is a languages college) and a humanity before 2 of my own choice.
As aureolin said, a lot of schools get 25 hours a week and mine is one of them. Next year, I'll get 4 hours of English, 4 hours of Maths, 6 hours of Science (kill me now!), 1 hour of R.E. and 2 hours of P.E., all mandatory! We get 4 options, and get 2 hours of week, and that adds up the total teaching hours.
Personally, I think we should get to pick 1 more, and get 2 hours less of Science. However, some will argue because we get all 3 sciences and need 2 hours of each.
Just my opinion, but extended hours would just lower 'moral' for everyone. If my year group got pulled into assembly and told next year as a new scheme we would be given extended schooldays.....there would be an uprising, and all the teachers would be shot in the yard! Just telling the truth, lol.
(07 Dec 2014, 10:04 pm)aureolin See, this is what gets me. Why force people through RE, a foreign language, and a humanity during KS4? If the kids aren't interested in doing it, the lesson won't be productive. The school's stats usually show that too. When I was at a community school (like Park View), I was forced to do RE & mixed humanities during Yr7-9, and then French during Yr7-11. RE was very centred around the Church of England, and in three years, never really covered any other religion. Humanities was OK, but the kids weren't interested, so the lessons were quite disruptive. Same with French.
(07 Dec 2014, 10:04 pm)aureolin See, this is what gets me. Why force people through RE, a foreign language, and a humanity during KS4? If the kids aren't interested in doing it, the lesson won't be productive. The school's stats usually show that too. When I was at a community school (like Park View), I was forced to do RE & mixed humanities during Yr7-9, and then French during Yr7-11. RE was very centred around the Church of England, and in three years, never really covered any other religion. Humanities was OK, but the kids weren't interested, so the lessons were quite disruptive. Same with French.
(07 Dec 2014, 9:49 pm)mb134 We were talking about this the other day in class, ad we came up with the following suggestion:
Mon-Thurs:
8AM Start
2x1 hour lessons
Half an hour break at 10
3x1 hour lessons
45 minute lunch from 1.30 until 2.15
15 minute registration at 2.15 until 2.30
2x1 hour lessons
Finish at 4.30
Total of 7 hours of teaching time
From Monday to Thursday this would total 28 hours
Friday:
10.30 AM Start
3 Mandatory "Study" Lessons, allowing computer access for those who might not have at home
Finish at 1.30 PM
We suggested this as it would give people no excuse for incomplete "home"work, and would relieve any additional stress added by the homework. Also, a few of us were quite tired when suggesting it, hence the later start and earlier finish on the Friday.
Finally, as an early Friday finish could cause issues for younger years, and most of them would fins the studies pointless, it would only be for Year 11-13
(07 Dec 2014, 9:49 pm)mb134 We were talking about this the other day in class, ad we came up with the following suggestion:
Mon-Thurs:
8AM Start
2x1 hour lessons
Half an hour break at 10
3x1 hour lessons
45 minute lunch from 1.30 until 2.15
15 minute registration at 2.15 until 2.30
2x1 hour lessons
Finish at 4.30
Total of 7 hours of teaching time
From Monday to Thursday this would total 28 hours
Friday:
10.30 AM Start
3 Mandatory "Study" Lessons, allowing computer access for those who might not have at home
Finish at 1.30 PM
We suggested this as it would give people no excuse for incomplete "home"work, and would relieve any additional stress added by the homework. Also, a few of us were quite tired when suggesting it, hence the later start and earlier finish on the Friday.
Finally, as an early Friday finish could cause issues for younger years, and most of them would fins the studies pointless, it would only be for Year 11-13
My personal view is it's mostly useless. A bit once in a while would probably do good, but I absolutely hated it and never did the bits I didn't like! (I was a very good liar then).
At the end of the day, I have decent GCSEs (all 11.5 grade C-A) and I'm currently in a job (well, apprenticeship) in the industry I've longed to work in for ages which is the railway. Met osme great people and I'm gaining invaluable experience which will, fingers crossed, help me to get a guard (trainman) job - of which one is coming up in the New Year.
I've always been against the opinion that qualifications are everything - in most of the railway, it's experience that counts. Qualifications are essentially bits of paper to prove you've passed an exam; how this will help you in real life I don't know! Also going on from this I have a bigger disliking of universities. Grr!
Sean.
(07 Dec 2014, 10:06 pm)Tom If I have to do RE, I will kick off. RE should not be mandatory. At least half of RE is took up by the teacher telling kids off for being disruptive, but I don't mind as I hate the subject.
I only think a language/humanity subject is mandatory if you take the English Baccalaureate but I may be wrong.
, however, we are all going to an all-you-can-eat buffet!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:06 pm)Tom If I have to do RE, I will kick off. RE should not be mandatory. At least half of RE is took up by the teacher telling kids off for being disruptive, but I don't mind as I hate the subject.
I only think a language/humanity subject is mandatory if you take the English Baccalaureate but I may be wrong.
, however, we are all going to an all-you-can-eat buffet!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:10 pm)MarcTheA4 RE is mandatory, as far as I know. I'm on a trip to Leeds to interview people at the Mosque there - the humanities department seem to think I'm quite good!
Nonetheless, it's not going to be good - we're going with TPE!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:10 pm)MarcTheA4 RE is mandatory, as far as I know. I'm on a trip to Leeds to interview people at the Mosque there - the humanities department seem to think I'm quite good!
Nonetheless, it's not going to be good - we're going with TPE!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:13 pm)Tom I'd rather sit in isolation than go and interview people at a Mosque! Regardless of whether we go to an all-you-can-eat buffet! I would just refuse to go!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:13 pm)Tom I'd rather sit in isolation than go and interview people at a Mosque! Regardless of whether we go to an all-you-can-eat buffet! I would just refuse to go!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:07 pm)aureolin See, I think registration time is pointless in this day and age. Give all the students a smart card, and ensure they swipe in and out of the school doors. In addition to that, a class register is taken during every lesson anyway, so the kids movements are pretty much tracked throughout the day. There's 40 minutes a day saved straight away.Aye completely agree, only thing is it would be hard to monitor at our school, as there is one gate in/out then three separate buildings. We're getting a new building sometime soon (our year group will be long gone) so they could do it then. With other, more modern, schools I think it should be administered as current registration is pointless, absolutely nothing is achieved. It's pretty much a 15-20 minute session to check some boxes on a laptop...
(07 Dec 2014, 10:07 pm)aureolin See, I think registration time is pointless in this day and age. Give all the students a smart card, and ensure they swipe in and out of the school doors. In addition to that, a class register is taken during every lesson anyway, so the kids movements are pretty much tracked throughout the day. There's 40 minutes a day saved straight away.Aye completely agree, only thing is it would be hard to monitor at our school, as there is one gate in/out then three separate buildings. We're getting a new building sometime soon (our year group will be long gone) so they could do it then. With other, more modern, schools I think it should be administered as current registration is pointless, absolutely nothing is achieved. It's pretty much a 15-20 minute session to check some boxes on a laptop...
(07 Dec 2014, 10:10 pm)MarcTheA4 RE is mandatory, as far as I know. I'm on a trip to Leeds to interview people at the Mosque there - the humanities department seem to think I'm quite good!
Nonetheless, it's not going to be good - we're going with TPE!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:10 pm)MarcTheA4 RE is mandatory, as far as I know. I'm on a trip to Leeds to interview people at the Mosque there - the humanities department seem to think I'm quite good!
Nonetheless, it's not going to be good - we're going with TPE!
(07 Dec 2014, 10:17 pm)aureolin I'd find that quite interesting. My school's view was that whatever the Church of England said goes, and who are you to challenge it. Absolutely no attempt to embrace any other religion.
(07 Dec 2014, 10:17 pm)aureolin I'd find that quite interesting. My school's view was that whatever the Church of England said goes, and who are you to challenge it. Absolutely no attempt to embrace any other religion.
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