GO TELL MOM ep 11 – DOING HOMEWORK
When someone tells you: “do your homework,” what does it mean to you? For me, it’s digging in, reading all I can on a subject, getting up to speed on something I didn’t know. For kids, it can mean spending time stuck inside at a desk when they’d rather be playing with their friends.
There’s been a battle over homework for decades, according to usnews.com. Should kids have it? Or should everything they learn be in the classroom? Duke’s Harris Cooper says when designed properly, homework can lead to greater student success. But too much is, well, too much. It can discourage students in their study of the subject.
I always felt that way about math in elementary school. The word problems that asked you: if you were traveling on a train at 70 miles per hour, how many French fries would you eat for breakfast - would drive me up a tree…and usually have me in tears. I would spend HOURS on one of those problems, usually because my dad would insist on helping me, and what he said didn’t quite sync up with what my math teacher told us. Or what I thought my math teacher told us.
Worksheets are not the homework favorites of parents, students or education experts. Susan Gordon of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago says that type of task is agony for families. The goal becomes getting to the bottom of the sheet with all the answers filled in, without understanding why it matters. It’s particularly tough when the worksheet includes stuff the kids haven’t been taught yet in class. Experts emphasize that effective homework reinforces skills the kids are learning in a way that’s meaningful…and hopefully enjoyable enough to stick in their memory.
My memory of math is not good. At all. My father would throw up his hands in frustration and say, “you’re such a logical person, I don’t understand why you don’t get this!” But stick me in a checkout line, and I’d usually peg the total of a string of purchases before the clerk finished the tally on the cash register. I just didn’t see the logic of word problems, so my mind would switch off. So my math homework would take HOURS for me to complete in 5th grade.
There are factions who don’t think you should be doing homework in fifth grade.
Studies have shown homework is most effective in grades 7-through-12. The standard homework guideline recommended by the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association is the "10-minute rule." That means 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level. A third grader, for instance, would receive a half hour of homework per night.
Think about that…your 8-year-old, who has been cooped up in a classroom all day, has to sit at a desk at home, indoors, for half-an-hour. My mom would usually have us grab a snack before we went to our rooms to study, and she always asked what we had for assignments. And as soon as we were done, she’d boot us outside.
Many parents are concerned that their kids are being overwhelmed with homework as teachers try to keep up with state standards, which continuously change. The flip side is that teachers are expected to be able to test kids on material that is based on what they should have learned in a previous grade, but didn’t, because the standards changed. It can be frustrating for the teacher, the student, and the student’s family. Which is why teachers give homework.
Kidshealth.org says parents should take an interest in their children’s homework and help with organizational skills. It reinforces to the child that what they do is important, not just busywork. It works best when the homework is engaging and interesting for the kid.
That means YOU don’t do the homework or project for them. Yes, you can guide, but the actual doing needs to be done by them. They won’t learn anything if you’re doing it for them. Scholastic.com recommends staying nearby when your kid does homework, but don’t be at their elbow. When you hover, you make your kid think that you don’t think he can do the work.
Does your kid have a study area? My kids had a couple – their desks in their rooms for reading chapters or doing math, and the computer in the home office for writing essays, researching projects or emailing project partners. I was usually home to check up on them and monitor any meltdowns. I also checked to make sure they were at their desk, and not playing with their handheld video games.
You need to put the kids in a space with few distractions. When I was a kid, if I had reading or history homework, I could con my mom into letting me do it in front of the TV. Nope, didn’t let my kids get away with that, because I knew it was NOT a good idea. Kidshealth.org says keep kids away from screens and loud music, unless they’re doing research or consulting a fellow student. Otherwise, no cell phones.
It’s also wise to set up a routine, so kids know, “I’m home from school, I grab a snack and then hit the books.” On days when all the teachers send them home with big assignments, you might want to step in and have them break it down in chunks. “Okay, hit the least favorite subject first, then go take a ride on your bike for half-an-hour and come back and study for the spelling test. Then after dinner, we’ll work on the history essay.” It just makes sense to break it up, like you would with a gym workout. If you don’t have an occasional breather, it’s exhausting and frustrating.
Having a printed calendar by their workspace can be helpful. If your child knows there’s an essay due next week, he can tackle it a piece at a time, so it’s not a big assignment due at the same time as a lot of math homework. It gives your kid a little more control, and takes you out of the battle.
Praise your kids when they do a good job. When my kids were up for school awards, I was ALWAYS at their assemblies. Their artwork was always on the refrigerator. My parents would take us out for a treat if we made the honor roll. These are ways to make your kid understand their efforts are worth it.
This is Go Tell Mom. I’m Dianna Kelly.