The Weekly Debate HEADLINES. The Dilemma Is homework a waste of time? The story. Opinions. Background. FirstNews WEEKLY DEBATE

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1 The story HEADLINES A UK teacher has hit back at plans to increase the amount of homework you get set every week, saying that a lot of it is pointless. Ofsted, the group that inspects all UK schools, has plans to encourage teachers to set more homework, in an attempt to help raise standards in schools. Now, you may think that teachers love setting homework, but one teacher has spoken up, saying that he thinks some teachers end up setting completely pointless homework just to meet targets that Ofsted has set them. Teacher and education expert Tom Bennett said: I m not anti-homework it can be a useful tool but too often it s an exercise in back covering, or box ticking, with no real thought for the educational outcome. In the same week that Mr Bennett s comments have been hitting headlines, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that one of his New Year resolutions is to spend more time helping his children with their homework. But, in light of Ofsted s new plans, the PM might be spending a little more time doing that than he d originally thought Opinions I have no problem with setting challenging homework but I do disagree with the pickpocketing of family life to serve the requirements of a school s homework timetable. This may seem harmless but we must never forget that time is one resource you don t get back. Tom Bennett, teacher Homework is like most things in education - it is quality that counts, not quantity. If homework is properly connected to lessons, and regularly marked, it works. Just setting large volumes of homework for the sake of meeting targets doesn t work. Sensible discretion on the part of headteachers, to ensure the schools homework policy reinforces their teaching strategy, is fine. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Background It is one of the hottest topics of debate year in, year out: should schoolchildren be given homework? Ofsted, the organisation that inspects British schools, is encouraging children s learning progress to be documented in school books and through homework. Some teachers believe this will put pressure on teachers to set more homework. Tom Bennett, a teacher and director of an educational research group, told The Independent newspaper that many homework tasks are pointless, giving the example of a teacher who asked children to Imagine how Jesus felt on the cross and draw it. Guidelines for home study were set by the previous Labour government in 1998 and scrapped in 2012 by the current Conservative- Liberal Democrat government. Individual headteachers now decide how much homework their teachers should set without any official recommendation from government. A 2014 survey found that the average primary school child takes home four pieces of homework per week, while the average secondary school child is set 12 pieces. Is homework a useful way of improving your education, or does it get in the way of other important things such as extra-curricular activities and family time?

2 Too much homework? In 1998, the then Education Secretary, David Blunkett, set out voluntary homework recommendations for schools. Although they have been officially scrapped, some schools still operate under these basic guidelines: Years 1 and 2 (ages five to seven) Pupils should do 10 minutes of homework a night. Years 5 and 6 (ages nine to 11) Pupils should do 30 minutes. First year of secondary school Up to 90 minutes. Is homework a help or a hindrance? Years 10 and 11 Up to two and a half hours a night for those studying for their GCSEs. Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Blunkett explained that he introduced guidelines because homework varied dramatically across the country some schools offered none at all, while others set far too much. He said: The problem we were identifying was that highly educated and often better-off parents not only wanted homework but chose schools that offered [it]. We were trying to offer something for everyone in raising standards for all. Why homework? Why does homework even exist? There are several reasons: To cover all of the work on the curriculum during the school day would be very hard if not impossible, so some extra work must be done at home. Homework encourages children to take the initiative and show responsibility for their studies, as well as helping them learn self-discipline and how to manage their time. All of these skills are useful in later life. Homework involves parents and other family members, such as grandparents or older brothers and sisters, in a child s education. It helps reinforce the skills and knowledge gained in school. Learning major skills Supporters of homework argue that it teaches the pupil about a lot more than just the subject of the homework. It gives children the opportunity to develop some grown-up skills that will help them when they are adults and no longer have the fixed timetable of school. Kieran Larkin, principal of the Ark King s Academy in Birmingham, told the BBC that homework helps schoolchildren develop an independent work ethic: Homework is a way to learn practical research skills using the library, devising questionnaires or interviews and conducting online searches not just accepting the first Google hit as a universal truth. These are essential and enriching skills for later life.

3 Global homework A recent report into homework habits among 15 year-olds in 65 countries showed that British pupils were set an average of five hours of homework a week. This is much less than in many of the countries surveyed: children in Shanghai, China do nearly 14 hours every week, while those in Russia and Singapore complete 10 hours weekly. But British pupils are getting more homework than children in Finland, Germany, Sweden and Austria. Interestingly, the Finnish education system is considered to be the best in Europe. In May 2014, education and publishing company Pearson published a table of the countries with the best education systems around the world. The study took into account various international tests and education statistics from schools, as well as graduation rates in universities. If it weren t for its high graduation rates, the UK would not have made the top 20. Top 10 Education Systems 1. South Korea 2. Japan 3. Singapore 4. Hong Kong 5. Finland 6. UK 7. Canada 8. Netherlands 9. Ireland 10. Poland Average weekly homework hours Just under Just under 3 5 Between 5 and 6 Unknown 7 Just under 7 Homework gets results The 2014 report into global homework habits also found that students who spend more time doing homework tend to score higher in tests and exams. But the report pointed out that other factors, such as the quality of teaching and the organisation of a country s education system probably played a bigger part than homework in a nation s overall education performance.

4 Involving parents Is it always possible for parents and other family members to help with homework? Some mums and dads or grandparents work long hours and don t have the time or energy to help with homework at the end of the day. They may want to spend the time they have with their children doing fun stuff rather than school work. Others may not feel they know very much about the subject matter and therefore don t think they can help. There is also evidence in some countries that wealthier parents are more likely to help their children with homework than those on lower incomes is it fair that children from less well-off homes should fall behind because they don t have the support they need at home? Education expert Professor Sue Hallam says that another problem is that modern homework is very different to the sort of homework today s parents may have had when they were young: In the past children would be sent home with a spelling list of 10 words and be expected to learn their times tables. What is happening now is that children are given written work and that s where the problem starts - Mum and Dad try to help and of course teaching methods have changed and that can confuse them. Parents get upset and the child gets upset. What about time off? Does too much homework eat into leisure time? One of the key arguments against giving children work to take home is that free time both at evenings and weekends should be cherished and encouraged. This is the time when many children participate in extra-curricular activities, such as sports, drama, music, Girl Guides or Scouts. As such, it can become difficult for some children to cram in homework time. It has also been argued that leisure time playing with friends, watching films, reading books etc is also important, and that children should be allowed to have a healthy balance between study and leisure. Quality not quantity If homework is necessary in order to give a child the education they deserve, should it be modified to help children have a better balance between work and leisure? The government guidelines that were scrapped in 2012 recommended no more than 30 minutes of daily homework until the age of 11. Should homework only be allowed for secondary school children? Or does it serve a very important role for all pupils? Some teachers, such as Tom Bennett, argue that homework should remain a part of the school system but that it should be less pointless and more challenging. If you think homework should remain a part of the education process, do you think the sort of work that is set should be different and more challenging as Mr. Bennett suggests?

5 The school that banned homework In 2013, a new school, the Jane Austen College in Norwich, announced that all of its pupils would do all their school work in the timetabled hours and take nothing home at evenings or weekends. In order to have enough time to get all the work done, the school day runs until 5pm two hours later than most schools in the UK. The school s headteacher said: There will not be any traditional homework - and that has been really well received by parents who respect the fact that family time will be family time. In France, President Hollande announced in 2012 that he wants to ban homework and instead increase the number of hours children spend at school. Are longer school days a good alternative to homework? Point of View I really question how beneficial homework is, particularly for the younger primary age children. I think children have a very busy day at school and when they get home they re often quite tired and need some downtime. One of the things that worries me most is when families get into situations where the whole evening gets tense because of the amount of homework that needs to get done trying to squeeze homework in between school and having a bath and going to bed. Dawn Moore, headteacher. A UK survey in 2014 found that almost a quarter of parents do their children s homework for them because it is too difficult for the pupils to complete alone. Did you know? Questions 1. When and where do you do your homework? 2. What types of homework do you like doing and how does it help you? 3. Do family members help you with your homework? 4. If you didn t have homework, what would you do with your time instead? Do you think this would be beneficial or detrimental? 5. How would you improve your homework? 6. In general, what are the benefits of homework? 7. In general, what are the drawbacks of homework? 8. Which would you prefer: a longer school day or homework? 9. Do you think school pupils have the right balance between school work and leisure time? 10. At your school, do you think homework should be banned? Or should the amount received be reduced, increased or made more challenging?

6 What could be the benefits of homework? 1. What could be the drawbacks of homework? Can you think of alternatives or improvements to traditional homework? My reasoned opinion The Dilemma: Is homework a waste of time? I agree/ disagree that homework is a waste of time for the following reasons: