Homework-How Much Should I Help?
My husband says that if I help my 4th-grader with his homework he’ll never learn to do it on his own and he’ll never learn from mistakes because I automatically correct them for him. So should I help with homework at all?
This is not an all-or-nothing issue. You and your husband just need to redefine what you mean by “helping.” The first place to start is with your son’s teacher. Ask him how he would like you to support your son academically at home. In general, you should follow the teacher’s lead because homework should reinforce the skills and concepts and habits that are taught in the classroom. If you deviate from your teacher’s intentions, you will only confuse your child and inhibit his ability to learn and navigate the requirements of the classroom. Once again, the answer to most questions about school and schooling is to forge a partnership with the teacher.
Why do teachers give homework? There are a number of reasons and for each reason there are several appropriate ways for a parent to help. Teachers give homework in order to:
1. Create good work habits: Completing a nightly homework assignment enables children and adolescents to develop habits of responsibility and accountability. A homework routine engenders the expectation that work does not end when the workday ends or the final bell rings. Successful professionals take their work home and put in thought and effort beyond 9-5 office hours. By just having a “home-and-back folder” in kindergarten, young children get used to the choreography and responsibility of bringing work with them. As the tasks and expectations of homework get more complex, students are prepared not only for the rigors of college but also for the professional lifestyle.
You as a parent can reinforce this goal by:
a. Establishing a daily homework time and place that includes a nutritious snack and check-in about what homework needs to be done and what the expectations are;
b. Postponing media time (television, computer, music) and extended playtime until homework is completed. Your child may need a break when she returns from school, but she should get to work soon thereafter.
c. Establishing a check-out routine, where a caregiver makes sure that the work is done before the child moves on to another activity;
d. Establishing a packaging procedure in which the completed homework is neatly filed in a backpack so that it will not be forgotten the next morning;
e. Doing your own homework alongside your child. Working together not only models good homework habits but it also mitigates against the loneliness and tedium often associated with homework.
2. Reinforce previously taught concepts and skills: Repetition is the key to learning. Many textbooks now use the “spiraling” technique where skills are continually revisited. In my day, a subject was organized like a stairway-once you “covered” one chapter you stepped up to the next. This purely linear approach did not allow for review and did not allow students who did not understand something the first time to ever master it. Homework assists teachers and students by giving kids the chance to practice what they know or to understand what they don’t quite get. Homework allows kids to “spiral” back over the day’s work.
You can reinforce this homework goal by:
a. Checking for understanding before and after your child completes the assignment. You can do this by creating some of your own questions based on the skills and concepts she is learning. You can also check the homework itself. When your daughter gets one wrong, don’t give her the answer. Just circle it and have her do it again on her own.
b. Teaching for understanding. If your child is having a difficult time with a skill, try to teach her on your own and then have her attempt the homework.
c. Incorporating the lesson into family activities. This is harder to do than it is to suggest. But, say your son is studying his addition facts. When he helps you set the table, have him add up the number of forks and knives. If he is studying the American Civil War, try to relate some of the historical lessons to current events when you are having a conversation driving him to school.
3. Introduce new concepts before they are taught: Sometimes teachers will preview new material by assigning it for homework. This technique is the opposite of spiraling and repetition, but it can be just as effective. It may be frustrating to the student, though, because he will have to struggle through an assignment for which he is unprepared. Remember that struggling is the point; sometimes we learn best when we have to wrestle with a concept or idea.
You can help with this homework goal by:
a. Letting your child struggle. I know it is hard to watch your kid get frustrated, but sometimes you need a little pain to break through to a new understanding. Under no circumstances should you break down and do the assignment for him.
b. Intervening with hints and tips, just don’t give the answer.
c. Stopping the process when the frustration level gets too overwhelming. Communicate what happened to the teacher the next day.
4. Teach how to organize and execute long-term projects: As your children get older, they will be given more assignments that are due over a period of time. Projects are assignments like term papers or science fair exhibits or poetry anthology compilations or class presentations. A project is not due the next day, but work must be done on it on a daily basis.
You can help with projects by:
a. Creating a timeline with your child and reducing the project into discrete chunks to be completed in an orderly process;
b. Checking in on a daily basis that your child is methodically working through the timeline;
c. Providing necessary materials for the project;
d. Brainstorming ideas;
e. Questioning the child about decisions he’s made concerning the project or his line of argumentation;
f. Resisting making or writing the project on your own.
I hope that this outline describes the difference between helping your child with his homework and actually doing it for him. Perhaps, we should abandon the phrase “homework help” and replace it with “homework support or management.” If your kids screamed “Mom, I need support with my homework!”” instead of “Mom, will you help me with my homework?” the whole issue of homework would be a little clearer.
This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book "Whatever Happened to Recess?" published by Crossroad Publishing.
This is not an all-or-nothing issue. You and your husband just need to redefine what you mean by “helping.” The first place to start is with your son’s teacher. Ask him how he would like you to support your son academically at home. In general, you should follow the teacher’s lead because homework should reinforce the skills and concepts and habits that are taught in the classroom. If you deviate from your teacher’s intentions, you will only confuse your child and inhibit his ability to learn and navigate the requirements of the classroom. Once again, the answer to most questions about school and schooling is to forge a partnership with the teacher.
Why do teachers give homework? There are a number of reasons and for each reason there are several appropriate ways for a parent to help. Teachers give homework in order to:
1. Create good work habits: Completing a nightly homework assignment enables children and adolescents to develop habits of responsibility and accountability. A homework routine engenders the expectation that work does not end when the workday ends or the final bell rings. Successful professionals take their work home and put in thought and effort beyond 9-5 office hours. By just having a “home-and-back folder” in kindergarten, young children get used to the choreography and responsibility of bringing work with them. As the tasks and expectations of homework get more complex, students are prepared not only for the rigors of college but also for the professional lifestyle.
You as a parent can reinforce this goal by:
a. Establishing a daily homework time and place that includes a nutritious snack and check-in about what homework needs to be done and what the expectations are;
b. Postponing media time (television, computer, music) and extended playtime until homework is completed. Your child may need a break when she returns from school, but she should get to work soon thereafter.
c. Establishing a check-out routine, where a caregiver makes sure that the work is done before the child moves on to another activity;
d. Establishing a packaging procedure in which the completed homework is neatly filed in a backpack so that it will not be forgotten the next morning;
e. Doing your own homework alongside your child. Working together not only models good homework habits but it also mitigates against the loneliness and tedium often associated with homework.
2. Reinforce previously taught concepts and skills: Repetition is the key to learning. Many textbooks now use the “spiraling” technique where skills are continually revisited. In my day, a subject was organized like a stairway-once you “covered” one chapter you stepped up to the next. This purely linear approach did not allow for review and did not allow students who did not understand something the first time to ever master it. Homework assists teachers and students by giving kids the chance to practice what they know or to understand what they don’t quite get. Homework allows kids to “spiral” back over the day’s work.
You can reinforce this homework goal by:
a. Checking for understanding before and after your child completes the assignment. You can do this by creating some of your own questions based on the skills and concepts she is learning. You can also check the homework itself. When your daughter gets one wrong, don’t give her the answer. Just circle it and have her do it again on her own.
b. Teaching for understanding. If your child is having a difficult time with a skill, try to teach her on your own and then have her attempt the homework.
c. Incorporating the lesson into family activities. This is harder to do than it is to suggest. But, say your son is studying his addition facts. When he helps you set the table, have him add up the number of forks and knives. If he is studying the American Civil War, try to relate some of the historical lessons to current events when you are having a conversation driving him to school.
3. Introduce new concepts before they are taught: Sometimes teachers will preview new material by assigning it for homework. This technique is the opposite of spiraling and repetition, but it can be just as effective. It may be frustrating to the student, though, because he will have to struggle through an assignment for which he is unprepared. Remember that struggling is the point; sometimes we learn best when we have to wrestle with a concept or idea.
You can help with this homework goal by:
a. Letting your child struggle. I know it is hard to watch your kid get frustrated, but sometimes you need a little pain to break through to a new understanding. Under no circumstances should you break down and do the assignment for him.
b. Intervening with hints and tips, just don’t give the answer.
c. Stopping the process when the frustration level gets too overwhelming. Communicate what happened to the teacher the next day.
4. Teach how to organize and execute long-term projects: As your children get older, they will be given more assignments that are due over a period of time. Projects are assignments like term papers or science fair exhibits or poetry anthology compilations or class presentations. A project is not due the next day, but work must be done on it on a daily basis.
You can help with projects by:
a. Creating a timeline with your child and reducing the project into discrete chunks to be completed in an orderly process;
b. Checking in on a daily basis that your child is methodically working through the timeline;
c. Providing necessary materials for the project;
d. Brainstorming ideas;
e. Questioning the child about decisions he’s made concerning the project or his line of argumentation;
f. Resisting making or writing the project on your own.
I hope that this outline describes the difference between helping your child with his homework and actually doing it for him. Perhaps, we should abandon the phrase “homework help” and replace it with “homework support or management.” If your kids screamed “Mom, I need support with my homework!”” instead of “Mom, will you help me with my homework?” the whole issue of homework would be a little clearer.
This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book "Whatever Happened to Recess?" published by Crossroad Publishing.
Labels: Homework Help
posted by Dr. Keith Frome at 7:43 AM
