Wednesday 21 September 2011

Bringing up boys: Homework

I hate homework.
I hate it because The Boy hates it.
I hate it because it is SUCH a trial and I always either a) land up shouting at him to get on with it or b) land up doing it myself after shouting at him if only to get the wretched stuff over and done with before midnight.
I'd like to say he is fine in the classroom but from my conversation with his form teacher this morning he isn't. He flops about not getting on with it in exactly the same way as he flops about not getting on with it at home.
How can I get him to wake up to the fact that the quicker he gets his homework done the more time he has for doing stuff he enjoys? How can I get him to focus?
I swear if I left him to finish his homework all by himself he would still be sitting at the dining room table the following day with not a word written down or a sum answered.
I want to shake him!
I've lectured, I've cried, I've timed him, I've bribed, I've threatrened, I've taken away treats but NOTHING gets through to him.
Is he stupid or something?
It gets to the stage that I just want to run screaming from the house as soon as I catch a glimpse of his Prep Diary. It's not funny you know. I thought once I had left school I would NEVER have to do homework again and now look whtat's happened!
You know they don't tell you this in any of the baby or toddler manuals.

10 comments:

Jen Walshaw said...

I hate homework and as mine are only 5 and 6 I do not make them do it!

Rob-bear said...

Sorry that you're in this situation. I have no wisdom to offer.
I do hope the lad can get on with things. As it is, he's dreaming his childhood away.
Which may not be all that bad. In moderation.

Little Red Hen said...

I think you live at my house. Boy doesn't get his work done in the time allotted at school because he's been distracted by a speck of dirt and gets sent to the "homework club" which means being kept in at lunch. He can't seem to get it either that if he does his work, he gets to play. He's only 8 so I shudder to think how things are going to be in 2 or 3 years when things get more difficult and time-consuming.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Jen on this (TheMadHouse). I hate homework and think it's totally unnecessary for children. Once they get to their teens then that's a different story, but when they're young it's something they really don't need.

Don't they do enough work at school? Makes you wonder doesn't it?!

Amy didn't get homework at middle school because I went in and told them she couldn't cope with it. They accepted what I said so everyone was happy. She's been given one piece of homework since starting her new school in September but it was very basic and literally took 5 minutes. Because it's a special school, they won't give them too much work to do at home because they simply can't cope with it.

CJ xx

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

I don't hold with homework either . There are enough school hours per day to teach basic subjects perfectly well . And if they can't get it over during the lessons , then it's useless to expect extra work to do it at home .
The whole object of primary school is to waken childrens' enthusiasm for finding out more for themselves , surely .
Your's Faithfully , A Veteran Of Ten Long Divisions Per Night During Year Five (for all three daughters) ....

Expat mum said...

Unfortunately homework is a fact of life for most kids so you just have to get on with it, and hopefully find a way to get them to do it. It sounds like the whole hting has become a bad experience (much like trying to get kids to eat veg was in my house) and everyone falls into a pattern. What about shaking up the routine a little? Getting him to start his homework at a slightly different time? Do something to get him in a good mood first then ever so lightly turn his attention to the homework and tell him that after the homework, you'll move onto to something else. I know you've probably tried all this, but I do think you have to do something to break out of the rut.

Suburbia said...

OMG I could have written this!! I can't bear it when they come home loaded with homework as I KNOW I am going to be the one cajoling for hours to get it done. Sometimes I think I should just let them suffer the consequences of not doing it. Have you tried that?! If you find a solution, please let me know?!

PS Just read other comments and I really think kids under Y6 shouldn't get set homework, poor things, when do they get time to do 'kid things'?

Wally B said...

We are going through the same shit here. He would rather poke his eye out than do homework. Fortunately, he's attentive and responsive at school. We are trying a new approach as of last night. He gets to choose where and when he does it on condition it gets done. If it doesn't get it done, then he loses his privileges until it is done. We were advised to call it study time, instead of homework. Even if he has none, he still has to study at the chosen time.
Good luck

Dorset Dispatches said...

I HATE having to do homework with the boys and I resent it. I used to not do it but I've lost my nerve on that front and now I worry that my resentment at having to do will affect them.

LagosMum said...

I can't comment on your post from a parental point of view because my boy is only 1 and by the time he starts getting homework, I might feel the same way!
But from a teaching point of view, I think homework is quite important.
Most teachers don't give out homework just for the sake of it. It's meant to consolidate what the children have learnt during the week.
At my previous school, we gave key stage 1 children homework on a Friday and they had a week to complete it and hand it back in. That way it could be worked around other activities children do outside of school. Apart from consolidating what they'd already learnt, it was a good way for parents to know what was being taught, which topics were being covered and the methods that the teachers were using.
Yes, children work hard at school, but believe me - there's always so much going on, that covering the whole curriculum is always a struggle!
I don't really know, but I think that if children started receiving homework later on, when they're older, I don't think they'd have the discipline or the organisational skills to sit down and actually do it independently.
Like I said, I might feel very differently when V starts school! :)

Go on you know you want to...

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