Homework, it is something we have all experienced and as educators it is a part of our profession. I teach first grade and even them at a young age have homework almost nightly. That is a whole other conversation but I ask myself, am I giving my students homework or their parents. I read an article from The Wall Street Journal about parents helping their child too much with their homework. I think this is starting to happen more and more and with a variety of age levels. It is causing students to become helpless and too dependent on adults.
Schools are urging parents to take part in their child’s education and that includes homework. Families are living very busy lives and often times have events and activities on school nights. This adds pressure to complete homework after a long day before bedtime. Parents provide extra help which usually includes giving more answers than assistance because they feel they have to make sure their child is keeping up with the competitiveness of the current education system. A great example of this happened in my classroom today. A little guy was having trouble with a math problem and as soon as others started to finish he came up to me and said, “I’m just going to take this home so my mommy can help me.” I was shocked that he wouldn’t just ask me (the teacher) for help. When I said he needed to finish it at school he started crying. I’m sure we have also seen the big projects that come with mom’s and dad’s touches to them. They look perfect and when you ask the student how they completed it or why they did it that way they don’t have anything to say. I have seen this every year, one project specifically. Every Thanksgiving we send home a turkey that the students are supposed to disguise and many return very cute but very much done by a parent. When I say done by a parent I don’t mean they did it when their child was in bed, I mean the parents put more work or influence on the project than the child does. In my opinion this is destroying our children. Students compare their work to work that was mainly done by an adult and they get frustrated when they don’t see the same results.
I found one article that gives a suggestion to set ups a homework area in the home. Another article gives suggestions to use at home to make homework go smoothly and less stressful. The most important points are to have a certain time and place that homework occurs so it is consistent and turn the TV off!!! I really liked this site because it offers tips and answer the common questions on how to guide your child through their homework not do it for them. I think this is a great article to share with parents at a conference or in a newsletter.
Are you noticing anything like this in your classrooms? Do you have suggestions for teacher or parents in this situation?
Why restructure? Does it really do anything?
15 years ago
Trista--You make some intersting and valid points about the society that our children are growing up in. I, too, experienced the same thing annually when we had science fair projects and I definitely feel your frustration. While I'm sure not every parent is doing this simply to get a good grade for their child or to save time by doing it for them, the message that these young people are hearing is loud and clear: why do it when someone else will?
ReplyDeleteI would be interested, too, in any suggestions that others may post to your blog! What makes it so particularly difficult is that it is primarily a parent issue and we don't work with the parents on a daily basis.
Great job, Trista!
Trista--
ReplyDeleteI don't teach young students but I could see how having the parents do the homework or "help" might end up hurting the child. I myself do not remember my parents really helping with homework past about 3rd grade. I had an older sister that enjoyed homework or just enjoyed telling me how to do things. Either way, she was like a parent that helped me with math for example. I did like the help and she was tough enough to not do it but make me do it.
Anyways, did the young boy start asking you for help after you explained to him that mom won't always be there?
I think parents believe they are helping the child and I think it is great they want to but there needs to be some rules that maybe should be mentioned at a parent-teacher conference.
Do you think teachers are giving to much homework?
Trista,
ReplyDeleteI have also had students tell me that they are not going to do their work at school because their parents want to help them. More often than not I call the parent and verify that the student is telling the truth and they usually are. I know for a fact just by looking at test scores relative to homework scores that parents are either doing the homework for their child or they are helping them way too much.
I am jaded on the topic of homework (in middle school and elementary school) so I may be a person whose opinion you may want to completely ignore on the topic in that I do not believe in homework. At the high school level it is fine to give homework, but in working with at risk youth in alternative education I have seen homework become a hindrance and stress to children who either have no help waiting for them at home or have to babysit their siblings all night while mom and dad are at the casino (there are so many scenarios of my students not being able to feasibly do their homework it makes me sick). My thought is that if we added an hour or two to the school day and eliminated homework we would see better standardized test scores and overall better grades (then we could all meet AYP!!). In our district, students are supposed to spend between 60-90 minutes per night on homework. Add that time to the school day and eliminate homework altogether. I wouldn't mind staying an hour or two longer if that meant I wouldn't ever have to grade another paper (besides subjective tests) again. This way we could also be sure that students are completely accountable for their academic progress because their parents are not there to bail them out by doing homework.
Admit it, I am on to something here =D
cheers,
ct
CT-I have my issues with homework for elementary too but that just might have to wait until another blog! Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteWith my students, I want their parents to help them, if they don't, my students will not do their homework. It is not that their work is to difficult, they just forget. My friends that teach reg. ed, have noticed that their parents are often doing the work for them and are both frustrated and happy. They are frustrated that the child is doing nothing and happy with the parent involvment. It seems a no win situation. With my own children, we have them do their homework by themselfs first, we check it and help them with anything that the need help with.
ReplyDeleteSarah
I don't remember having a lot of homework growing up. We had a study hall in middle and high school. Homework could be completed at those times. As a teacher, if we're giving anything in the way of homework in our school it's information that kids need reinforcement in. Most of the students who "get it" and complete the work in the time allotted each period, don't have homework. Slower learners will need to finish it in the way of homework, not classwork.
ReplyDeleteI've had a parent complain that I gave too much homework personally. She claimed that her daughter spent 3 hours while they were camping over Labor Day weekend on the questions I assigned in science class. The funny thing about it was that I actually felt bad about it. I've come to learn more about this student as the year has gone by, however, and no longer feel any pain about the 8 comprehension questions I assigned. She had finished 4 of them in class over the 20 minute period I gave. The remaining 4 she stressed about so much because her mother thinks she's an "A" student and should be able to answer every question with perfection. Her family is the reason why she is so concerned and worried about school work. She is daily having a panic attack about her 97% in science class not being good enough.
I think some people are just more capable than others. Society should consider that some people are just cut out for ditch digging while others are destined for Harvard. Just like men and women are different, contrary to the activists' beliefs, kids and families are different. If one family decides they want to do all their kids' homework, let them. They are the ultimate makers of their futures if they set goals.
I think that having too much parent involvement isn't a problem considering it the opposite is what we've been battling more recently. Too much parent involvement is frowned upon if the kids can't figure out how to fend for themselves later in life. They'll learn time and information management quick or dig ditches. It's that simple.