Timaru schools at ease on homework

Timaru primary schools are sticking with traditional homework methods while also taking a more modern approach, such as encouraging pupils to cook a family meal, walk around Saltwater Creek, or visit an elderly person at least five times a term.

Earlier this week, Wellington schools scrapped traditional homework and instead asked children to read comics, play boardgames or do crosswords.

Their decision was based on research that suggested homework had no positive impact, a thought echoed by some Timaru principals.

Five of the nine primary schools The Herald talked to yesterday had introduced a system, similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, in which pupils had to complete activities in order to receive an award at the end of the year.

Activities ranged from making lunch to making dinner, organising a fundraiser to coaching a sports team, learning a musical instrument to putting together a slideshow, and even mowing a neighbour's lawn.

Highfield Primary School principal Shane Gallagher said the school still had reading, spelling and basic facts as everyday homework, but also encouraged a more "holistic" approach.

This year the school would review the whole idea of homework and its purpose, and talk with parents.

"We'll be looking at what children are getting out of it, is it really beneficial, are there other ways of doing it. [Our homework] has changed from being really basic ... to open-ended tasks for children which encourage creative thinking.

"Children spend six hours at school, perhaps the best thing for them is going home to relax."

Oceanview Heights School principal Wayne Facer said the school's leadership challenge seemed to work better than traditional homework methods.

He said pupils might do a PowerPoint presentation on Eminem with links to YouTube, which would engage them more than a project on Marco Polo.

"We have a year 5 girl who is our secretary at playtime and lunchtime. We also had a boy with autism who thrived on it [the challenge].

"There's been a huge change in what children are doing for homework in some schools."

Bluestone School principal Ian Poulter said he believed daily reading and spelling for junior classes were still essential.

"They are things that are of value and useful. But like many schools, we have looked at the sort of homework we give and why it's given."

Pupils also worked on projects, such as making a collage of themselves, making a bike out of recyclable material and playing games with their family.

Gleniti Primary School principal Paul Gill said the school was surveying parents on homework, but it currently followed a more traditional model.

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