No homework!

I got all excited when I read the headline today that Teachers Call For Ban On Homework. But then I read on and realised it was only in primary school. WHY?!

Firstly, the day of a primary school child is short - finishing early, most of them live within walking distance even if their parents insist on dusting off the jeep to drive them there. Plus the kids (well, most of them) aren't into rebelling and hanging around on street corners yet, so they are more pliable.

Secondly, if it's going to be banned in primary schools then let's PLEASE ban it in secondary schools too. It is far easier to spend several days banging a lump of rock in the hope that blood will start to seep from its weathered exterior than it is to extract homework from some kids. It's excrutiating and time-wasting - how much of lesson time is spent chasing up homework, listening to excuses, reading notes from parents to say that printer ink has run out (it's the new dog-eats-book), writing warning slips and generally faffing around trying to collect this stuff in? Far too long, all of which is quality teaching time that is just frittered away. If I spend ten minutes twice a week chasing up homework, that's longer than the majority of kids spend scribbling sub-standard answers into their jotters as they watch "Skins". I might as well have that teaching time back and do it properly...!