TnT Unleashed 1pic4twenty Blog

 

Even primary school children are getting plenty of homework. I can only expect the amount of homework that school children receive to increase even more in high school.

My sons are aged 10 and 11 and go to a public school in East London, South Africa. The amount of homework they are receiving in this fourth school term is unbelievable. It has also been quite a lot in the second term, but generally the first and third terms are a little easier on the parents and children, and I suspect on the teachers too.

I wish the amount of projects and orals that are expected to be handed in or delivered over a year could be spread out a little more, but understanding that teachers follow a certain curriculum, and cannot hand out assignments or homework related to certain subjects at times that the material has not yet been covered in class, has made me wonder about what can be done to ease the load for parents, children, and teachers alike.

My younger son has even more projects and orals due than my older one. I could be wrong though, as I might still get to hear of more assignments being due for my older son. What my younger son’s teacher has done, which I’m sure all the parents appreciate, is to send out a notice in the first week of term that highlights the important dates related to projects, orals and tests for this term. Even though this was received only about ten days before the first assignment was due, and showed that 5 different projects or orals were due in a ten day period – and still more after that before exams start – this certainly helps children and their parents manage time a little better.

However, I still feel that more time is needed to prepare schoolwork that is to be presented in class. I’m sure those pupils that don’t achieve that well in class, could use the extra time allowed for excellently preparing work to improve overall marks by delivering high quality work to their teachers. Also, those pupils that achieve really excellent results in class need not panic about their grades dropping, simply because there isn’t enough time to successfully complete work assigned to the class.

It seems a really large amount of work has to be covered in just one year, at least here in East London, South Africa, in public schools, both in the classroom and at home. I doubt anything can be done about reducing the amount of homework, if the expected progress to the next grade cannot take place if the curriculum has not been fully covered, but I do feel that, with better organization, the burden on parents, children, and teachers can be somewhat reduced.

I remember that when I was at school, the criteria for projects to be completed for the following term was sometimes handed out at the start of the school holidays, and was due a week or two after school started again. If some students chose not to do anything about starting work on their school assignment in the holidays, that was their choice, but the students who wanted to be less stressed in class the following term, wanted to concentrate better in class, and cope better with the usual daily or weekly homework, as well as sport, and also make allowances for missing school due to illness, would have at least started working on researching information needed for their projects or orals, and would probably even have completed preparing them.

Pupils might think that holidays are there to be enjoyed and for not doing anything related to schoolwork, but then they find themselves being stressed at school. There is no mad rush to get things done associated with doing homework in school holidays, and due to being more relaxed, better presentations and grades are likely to be more easily achieved by the students. More students might find that they actually enjoy doing their projects and will retain what they learn for longer.

Also, it doesn’t need to matter if the work has not yet been covered in class, before the teacher gives out criteria for assignments. If research at the library or on the Internet has to be done for gathering information in order to successfully complete the work and deliver a worthwhile project or oral that is a pleasure for the teacher to mark, why not let if also be a pleasure for that teacher to give a lesson to children who already have some background knowledge on the subject, and as a result are more attentive and involved in the lesson.

It should not be compulsory that assignments be completed during school holidays and due on the first day of school, but having that choice to get on with schoolwork while on vacation, could certainly make a big difference, and be a huge help in reducing stress for everyone.

© Teresa Schultz

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