A letter condemning homework was in yesterday's Yorkshire Post. What the writer had signally failed to grasp was that there is a massive and direct link in public exam results between those who take homework seriously and those who do not.
The gap between these two groups would widen if homework were to be curtailed. Middle class parents would still ensure that their children did what Spaniards call 'lo necesario' and it would reduce even further the opportunities for children from less caring homes.
As a Spanish teacher by trade, who has typically had a maximum of 2 hours teaching time per week per pupil, I can declare that the abysmally low standards we currently achieve in teaching modern languages would seem like the top of a high peak if such ideas were to be adopted.
How do people commit to memory swathes of vocabulary? How does a pupil get to know all those verbs, tenses and irregulars? - OSMOSIS?
We are already a world laughing stock for the feebleness of our curricula - imagine how we shall feel when pupils from Eritrea and Chad outperform our cosseted little darlings!
Dedication in approach to homework is excellent preparation for life in an ever more cruel world of work. The importance of the self discipline and organisational skills acquired can never be underestimated.
