Please take the short Homework Poll.
School's begun...and so have the homework wars! Many parents fret because their children's grades plummet. Others complain how their children seem to “forget” to bring assignments home, take forever to begin working on them, and hand in messy and incomplete work unless they stand over them. For many pointers on how to prevent this from happening, read: SCHOOL HOMEWORK- THE EVERLASTING PARENT/CHILD BATTLEGROUND
Yes, welcome to the universal parent-child battle ground! Parents and educators have challenged the value of homework since the early 1900’s, but whenever the amount of homework decreased, grades and test scores plummeted.
Keep encouraging your daughter to do her homework…and to do it “smarter.” Your efforts will enrich the basic skills she is learning in class, insure her state-decreed graduation test passage, and ultimately determine how far she goes in life. It seems she is floundering academically not because she can’t master the material, but because she is disorganized. So, organize and “set her up for success” by scheduling an agreeable, but specific, “study time”. Fashion an uncluttered, quiet and well-lit “study place”; furnish her with a pocket notebook to record assignments and discuss with her that finding answers to homework problems is her responsibility, and that you will offer guidance only as needed. Determine if her homework is “child-friendly” and crafted with a qualitative, not quantitative, purpose; is planned as carefully as the classroom instructions; and is not only graded when turned in but occasionally glamorized with teacher comments honoring improvement as well as perfection.
Try “bibliotherapy” by reading and discussing children’s books with her that describe study hassles. I recommend “Mitch and Amy” by Beverly Bunn Cleary (1967), a story about twin 4th graders who solved their school difficulties (ages 9-11). Another proven resorce: “Winning the homework war” by F. Levine and K. Anesko (1987)
Lastly, pull out the ultimate combat weapon to terminate the homework war: “catch her being good” and sneak into her “study place” armed with a snack, a hug and a word of encouragement.
Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. has retired from his positions of School Psychologist and adjunct professor in the School of Leadership & Policy Studies at Bowling Green State Univeristy. A portion of Ad sale revenue from this site is donated to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. Questions? Comment? Concerns about family, parenting, educational or personal concerns? Contact him on the secure Bpath Mail Form.
