New research suggests as many as 44 percent of British parents confess, they are CLUELESS when it comes to helping with secondary school homework, while a third (34 percent) cannot even help their primary school kids.
In fact, half of parents (50 percent) insist they would not pass their school exams if they had to take them again.
Trigonometry (52 percent), Pythagoras theorem (46 percent), algebra (46 percent), calculating Pi (39 percent) and the periodic table (35 percent) all leave parents scratching their heads, according to the survey.
While 15 percent have forgotten most of the flags of the world, and 21 percent admit they no longer know the difference between a noun, a verb and an adjective.
Correct use of punctuation (15 percent), how to ask for directions in French (31 percent) and the beginning and end dates of World War I and World War II, leave almost one in five (19 percent) flummoxed.
On average, British parents spend an average of four hours attempting to help their children do their homework a week, with 73 percent ending up arguing over homework.
Yet, almost nine in ten (87 percent) say that schoolwork has become much more challenging than the work they had to complete in school, with a further 77 percent believing their children work much harder than they did at the same age.
Maths (57 percent) is the subject that British parents struggle the most with, according to the study, commissioned by leading online tuition business MyTutor,
Florence Milner, UK Schools General Manager at MyTutor said: “Even though most parents devote a significant amount of time weekly to helping their children with schoolwork, it’s unsurprising that many find the task daunting. Few would claim to be expert in every subject, many will have left formal education years before and the vast majority, according to our survey, acknowledge that the curriculum is much more challenging now than when they were in school. Given that, it’s understandable that so many parents are actively seeking additional tuition to support their children.”
A quarter of parents (27 percent) have considered getting an out of school tutor to help their child with their work but for 60 percent the cost of hiring someone is just too expensive, so much so that they would prefer the school to help instead (25 percent).
One in five (19 percent) have contacted their child’s school to ask for additional help while 39 percent say they don’t get enough support from their child’s school.
A quarter (23 percent) admit they are unaware if the school even offers any extra support. A sixth (15 percent) don’t think the school has time to help with schoolwork.
“All the evidence shows that small-group tutoring can have a significant, positive impact on a child’s academic progress”, added Ms Milner. “Parents increasingly expect schools to facilitate this – not only because they may lack the resources to do it themselves but also because they appreciate that schools are best-placed to ensure that the tuition is targeted and aligns with the curriculum delivered by the school.
“The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) [the Department for Education’s project to supports schools by providing funding to spend on academic support delivered by trained and experienced tutors and mentors] is tackling the attainment gap but a lack of funding is threatening its long-term future, and arrangements for next year are still to be confirmed.”
Two thirds (66 percent) get embarrassed when they are not able to do their children’s homework, with a tenth (12 percent) admitting they are in the dark about what their child is studying at school.
A sixth (16 percent) say they quarrel with their children because they are cleverer than them, while one in ten (11 percent) get upset because their offspring aren’t as clever as they want them to be.
One in three (34 percent) have no idea how to convert fractions, while 32 percent dread long division cropping up.
Asking where the hospital is in French (31 percent), comparative and superlative adjectives (31 percent), the difference between types of triangles (26 percent) and the difference between a noun, verb and an adjective (21 percent) also leave mums and dads scratching their heads.
HOW MANY OF THE FOLLOWING CAN YOU REMEMBER / COULD YOU HELP WITH?
- Trigonometry – 52% – (of parents have completely forgotten how to do this)
- Pythagoras’ Theorem – 46%
- Algebra – 46%
- How to calculate Pi – 39%
- The periodic table – 35%
- How to convert fractions – 34%
- Long division – 32%
- How to ask for directions in French – 31%
- Comparative and superlative adjectives – 31%
- The different types of triangles – 26%
- The difference between a noun, a verb and an adjective – 21%
- Beginning and end dates of World War I and World War II – 19%
- Correct use of punctuation – 15%
- Common flags of the world – 15%
- Capital cities of all countries – 13%
