Parent sparks furious debate after saying two hours’ homework a night is excessive

A mother has sparked a furious debate among parents by asking if two hours’ homework for a year 10 pupil is excessive. 

Taking to British parenting forum Mumsnet, the woman wrote that her child, who attends a grammar school in England, receives two hours’ homework a night. 

She then explained that her child was ‘stomping around’ about it and had called a teacher a ‘mean cow’.

Most Mumsnet users agreed with the child, thinking two hours was excessive, but others thought it was fine.  

The original post explained how the child thought the school’s homework demands were unreasonable, and how the child called a teacher a ‘mean cow’ after giving her a poor mark 

In the original post, the user wrote: ‘Dear Daughter is adamant that two hours a night homework is against her human rights. 

‘She has been stomping around, refusing to start her homework. 

‘She has been exceptionally rude to me swearing at me for sending her to a prison camp and claiming to be-having a nervous breakdown due to the schools expectations.’

The poster went on to write that she had explained to her child that two hours homework a night is ‘quite proportionate’ for a year 10 girl in Grammar School. 

Many Mumsnet users found sympathy with the child, agreeing that two hours’ homework a night was too much

And she said this was especially so as her girls’ predicted grades were all quite high – level 7 or 9. 

She added: ‘Her head of year as given her a after school detention today for calling her English teacher a ‘mean cow’ for a poor homework mark. 

‘My daughter denies calling the teacher that, saying she was misheard when she pulled her face at the teacher.’

But she added her child viewed the detention as ‘unfair’ and ‘against her human rights’ because it is ‘grossly an excessive punishment’.

She added her daughter argues the face-pulling was justified as ‘someone has to stand up against the schools unrealistic and unreasonable levels of homework demanded’.

The reactions were very divided with some calling the child rude for her attitude towards teachers, but others saying the school was wrong to set so much work 

The post sparked a wave of comments from other parents on Mumsnet.

Most were sympathetic with the daughter, viewing two hours homework a night as excessive and bad for mental health. 

One wrote: ‘An hour is fair enough two is too much, definitely. That’s [sic] no time for any extra curricular activities either.’

Another wrote: ‘GCSE’s shouldn’t be that hard.’ 

And a third wrote: ‘Two hours is too much. It’s not conducive to good mental health.’ 

Some sympathised with the mother, with one praising her for being ‘reasonable’ and ‘consistent’ with her child. 

While another said they school was not doing a good job if they expected their pupils to do that much extra work at home.  

But some said the amount was acceptable and comparable to what they had had at that age.

Others thought that the amount of homework was fair and realistic, and praised the mother for trying to manage the situation with sensitivity

One wrote that they had experienced something similar and that by the time they were 16 /17 they were given three/four hours a night. 

‘That was much tougher,’  they said.

Another said two hours a night was ‘completely normal’ and ‘standard’ in a secondary school. 

But others pulled the child up on their attitude to school and her teachers. 

One wrote: ‘I’d give her a detention for her homework.’

They added: ‘And she’d have a day in isolation for calling any member of staff a mean cow.’

A second mocked her ideas of human rights – saying they were a ‘pipe dream’.  

Another called her a ‘rude brat’ while a further user added: ‘Her behaviour towards her teacher was disgusting and you are right to pull her up on it.’