Dad says school work for kids 'is lazy and copied from US'
Pupils’ tasks are criticised for not being challenging enough
AGLASGOW dad has branded the homeschooling work set by City Council teachers during lockdown “lazy” and unchallenging.
The man who does not wish to be named, claims that most of the work is copied and pasted from American website SeeSaw which uses American colloquialisms and examples which his son, who is in primary 3, cannot relate to.
The family have started to set his own schoolwork, particularly in maths where he is learning long division as “opposed to writing down the number nine in numerical format”.
Our source said: “As I have said, it is very lazy. I understand these are unusual and challenging times, especially for teachers but more so for young kids.
“With it looking like they will be off school for close to half a year, I don’t believe the kids are being challenged anywhere near enough, which is concerning, especially in their formative years in education.
“Our son is in primary 3 and the work he has been receiving is horrendous. It is generic work which is being sent to pupils from primary 1 to 3 with just one item specific to each year.
“Tasks set via SeeSaw are quite often pictures of computer screens instead of actual documents uploaded. I logged on recently to the website where it informed me that national scribble day had been cancelled because of Covid-19.
“When I looked for more information on the event, I found pictures of a toddler learning how to scribble.
“My son has been sent French exercises to complete but he has never been taught French in his life. He starts his day at 9am and is finished by 9.30am. There have been no school report cards and we are unable to get in touch with any teacher about our concerns for his education.
“The teacher is supposed to check in with us once a week but if we miss the call, we are unable to get back in touch.”
The boy’s parents have taken to setting his own schoolwork, teaching him maths, counting in to millions with country populations as the basis, as opposed to being set tasks such as ‘what is the number after 500’ or ‘what is 70 + 10’.
They are also encouraging him to write short stories, take part in science experiments and draw or paint on top of the work being sent home.
The man continued: “On the SeeSaw app you can see every child’s work including pictures of projects they may be working on.
“You need a code to access SeeSaw but once you have you can see everything which makes me very uncomfortable.
“All the answers are typed up online instead of on a piece of paper, which means the kids will be losing their handwriting skills.
“This is not a normal way of life. The children miss their friends and their teachers. Adults can adapt more easily but children need stability.
“I would like more communication and to know what is happening to the curriculum.”
Glasgow City Council has been asked for comment.
We are unable to get in touch with any teacher