Call for homework to fall

This is not a bad idea, but feel 'no homework' granted only for those based on merit. Merit being say termly averages etc.

Besides, just focus during the day in class and you take most of it in.

In boarding school, those that did well with high averages had the privilege of doing 'Prep' in their rooms rather than in the Prep room. That was motivation enough for me to apply myself more to my school work.
 
Shaun108 said:
They're comparing a country like Finland's educational system to ours? bwahaha.

Kids need MORE homework here, not less. Maybe that would get their parents to actually give a **** about their kids education.
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What we need is good education. Neither more nor less homework is going to provide that so in the end it doesn't really matter.

Dan C said:
If kids pay more attention in class, they don't need homework
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I know this is sarcasm but it's exactly how I got through until Matric. Granted classwork was automatically homework but I managed to do it in class either the same day or the next.
 
At high school, I used to finish at 9/10pm at least once a week (counting that you’re at school from 8 to 4 or 9 to 5).
 
Shaun108 said:
They're comparing a country like Finland's educational system to ours? bwahaha.

Kids need MORE homework here, not less. Maybe that would get their parents to actually give a **** about their kids education.
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Homework is pointless in my opinion.
 
How long are the school days in Sweden?
Make the school day 2 hours longer from grade 5 on and do all the work then. Off to sport after that and home.
 
If you have a working system (Finland) then you can remove a component and still have a working system.

If you have a broken system (SA) then you can remove whatever you want...it's still broken.
 
The biggest problem here is that the education departments are selective in their policy adoption. These countries that are doing well in education with these "radical" policies is only because the policies are a small part of the whole system.

In Australia they have done away with homework for the most part. You are allowed to give homework if you want but most teachers don't. On top of that they have introduced a fully inclusive system so now children with autism etc that need to be given specific attention are in mainstream classes. The result, these autistic kids are disruptive or even violent, ruining classes for hours at a time, kids don't get taught and then have no homework so parents have no idea that their kids are struggling and being left behind. Couple that with the influx of refugees that cannot speak a word of English and everything is just going backwards daily. Why? because they didn't adopt the system as a whole.

The private school kids are doing fine though, they get taught in class and those that disrupt are asked to leave. They also do homework.

At least for me I know I'm going to have a job well until retirement as the majority of children in almost every country seem to be left in the dirt.
 
supersunbird said:
Even the top government schools?
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Well I was commenting on the system as a whole, not the handful of school that are doing fine.

SA is roughly matching Finland in terms of education spend as % of GDP. (6% vs 7%). Yet the output SA side is a complete shtshow for the most part.

Top gov schools are well by definition at the top of the range. From what I've seen the higher end of SA (pvt and top gov) maps to pretty well to decent European schools but frankly not much more. That's more than enough though since that's already pretty good.
 
^^vampire^^ said:
On top of that they have introduced a fully inclusive system so now children with autism etc that need to be given specific attention are in mainstream classes.
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Jikes. Who came up with that idea?

Realistically one needs to segment this stuff (Add. Math, High grade, St grade etc) - else you've got people that are bored and people not keeping up in the same class. Which is a pretty bleak failure on both fronts.
 
Fortune said Sun Valley considered their school to be progressive
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:erm: adopting an approach from 1907 (when Dr. Maria Montessori opened her first classroom) isn't all that progressive, just saying ...
 
I never remember having lots of home work. It is highly inefficient, how many kids actually learn something from it as opposed scarred into doing it.
 
HavocXphere said:
Well I was commenting on the system as a whole, not the handful of school that are doing fine.

SA is roughly matching Finland in terms of education spend as % of GDP. (6% vs 7%). Yet the output SA side is a complete shtshow for the most part.

Top gov schools are well by definition at the top of the range. From what I've seen the higher end of SA (pvt and top gov) maps to pretty well to decent European schools but frankly not much more. That's more than enough though since that's already pretty good.
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Education is also becoming the next best business in the world. The reality is that kids have different ability. A private school is not going to make your son or daughter more intelligent. I am yet to be convinced that SA's private schools provide a better education than the good (read good) model C schools. The only difference is that they pay more money.
 
I agree there shouldn't be any homework in Primary School, but High School you need it. I didn't learn anything during the day at High School, was more interested in chatting with friends and chasing grills - homework was the only time I ever actually worked and really learnt stuff by going through it by myself
 
Nicodeamus said:
Education is also becoming the next best business in the world. The reality is that kids have different ability. A private school is not going to make your son or daughter more intelligent. I am yet to be convinced that SA's private schools provide a better education than the good (read good) model C schools. The only difference is that they pay more money.
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Disagree. They provide a better (read that as also more rounded) education simply because they have better facilities & provide more opportunities.

Show me a government school in Gauteng North (within a sensible drive from Kyalami) that provides the following: (These are what our children participate in).

Advanced Program Mathematics
Advanced Program Science (Physics & Chemistry)
Sound & Lighting
Sound Tech
Equestrian (does not take place at school, but they support the school league like any other school sport - master in charge is at every event etc.)
First Aid
Investment Club
School Paper
Photography
Debating & Public Speaking
Robotics


These over & above the norm like cricket, rugby, hockey netball, basketball, tennis etc.

Then show me a government school where the teachers make themselves available for extra lessons at no additional cost.
Example: Mathematics & Science (Normal or AP) - teachers are available every weekday morning from 06h00 to 07h15 by appointment. Same during lunch from 12h50 to 13h30.
And on a Saturday. At 06h00 to 08h00. Every Saturday.
 
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