Education Quandary
'My 11-year-old downloads sheets of incomprehensible homework information from the internet. Are there any simpler websites?'
By Hilary Wilce
Published: 08 March 2007
Hilary's advice
This reader is tired of having to interpret material from the internet for her son. She says it takes hours. But there are all sorts of problems here, only one of which is the level of material he is downloading.
For a start, research shows that long hours spent on homework at this age are a waste of everyone's time, so his teacher should be laying down clear limits for what pupils should be doing, and how long it should take them - and giving them pointers towards websites that might help.
Also, sitting and helping your son like this will only encourage him to carry on downloading things willy-nilly, without thinking about what he is doing. He needs to start developing the vital research skills of sifting and evaluating source materials.
You need to talk to your son's teacher and see what strategies you can develop together. In the meantime, get on the internet yourself and hunt around the various well-known homework sites so that you can point him towards them when the next project comes up. Try www.wisekids.org.uk, set up to promote safe internet use for children - follow the links through "young people" to "homework help". Also, look at the Channel 4 and BBC homework sites. And there is an excellent site - www.woodlands-junior.kent. sch.uk/homework - set up by a junior school in Kent, which is aligned to the primary curriculum and offers a lot of good, quick facts plus further child-friendly sites to browse through.
Time spent helping your son to use the internet sensibly, for himself, will be better than just being his on-tap translator.
Readers' advice
A strategy I use with students for efficient internet searches is as follows. Clarify the aim of the project. Get the student to write down what they already know about the subject. Select only key words or phrases when searching the net (The Dummy's Guide to the Internet is quite a good book). Use resulting downloads to build the project.
If the student does not understand the content of download, he or she should not use them - stop doing your child's work for them! Plagiarising does not constitute learning.
Bill Knight, delivery tutor, East London e-Learning Ltd
While running a homework course in the library where I work, I used the book The Best Websites for Home-Work: Recommended Websites for Key Stage 3 by Andy Seed. It is divided into subject areas, then topics. Some sites are wordier than others, but we found some very useful ones.
Joanna Ezekiel, London SW18
Most websites are not user-friendly for younger users, but more are coming online that are useful. For science, try: BBC Science Clips; www.schoolscience.co.uk; www.planet-science.com; and www.soil-net.com. For geography: www.geographyinthenews.rgs.org; and www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone. For ecology: www.planetarkive.org; www.bbc.co.uk/sn; and www.naee.org.uk. For history: www.bbchistorymagazine.com; and www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids. Excellent general sites are: www.enchantedlearning.com; and BBC "Schools" sites. All of these sites are interactive.
Henricus Peters, teacher and executive, National Association for Environmental Education
Next Week's Quandary
Dear Hilary,
My children's school is always asking for contributions for activities and outings. Most parents don't mind, because this is quite a wealthy area, but I struggle. Now there is a Year Six leavers' week to Wales. I really can't afford it, but my daughter says that she will die if she is left out.
Send your letters or quandaries to Hilary Wilce, to arrive no later than Monday 12 March, to 'The Independent', Education Desk, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; or fax: 020-7005 2143; or e-mail: h.wilce@ btinternet.com. Please include your postal address. Readers whose letters are printed will receive a Berol Combi Pack of a cartridge pen, handwriting pen and ink eraser
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