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| Homework
has been a part of students' lives since the beginning of formal
schooling in the United States. However, the practice has sometimes
been accepted and other times rejected, both by educators and
parents. This has happened because homework can have both positive
and negative effects on children's learning and attitudes toward
school. |
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| 100
Years of Homework |
| In
the early 20th century, the mind was viewed as a muscle that
could be strengthened through mental exercise. Since exercise
could be done at home, homework was viewed favorably. During
the 1940s, schools began shifting their emphasis from memorization
to problem solving. Homework fell out of favor because it was
closely associated with the repetition of material. In the
1950s, Americans worried that education lacked rigor and left
children unprepared for the new technologies, such as computers.
Homework, it was believed, could speed up learning. |
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| In
the 1960s, educators and parents became concerned that homework
was crowding out social experience, outdoor recreation and creative
activities. Two decades later, in the 1980s, homework again came
back into favor as it came to be viewed as one way to stem a rising
tide of mediocrity in American education. The push for more homework
continued into the 1990s, fueled by rising academic standards. |
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| To
Do or Not To Do Homework? |
| Homework
can have many benefits for young children. It can improve remembering
and understanding of schoolwork. Homework can help students
develop study skills that will be of value even after they
leave school. It can teach them that learning takes place anywhere,
not just in the classroom. Homework can benefit children in
more general ways as well. It can foster positive character
traits such as independence and responsibility. Homework can
teach children how to manage time. |
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| Homework,
if not properly assigned and monitored, can also have negative
effects on children. Educators and parents worry that students
will grow bored if they are required to spend too much time
on schoolwork. Homework can prevent children from taking part
in leisure-time and community activities that also teach important
life skills. Homework can lead to undesirable character traits
if it promotes cheating, either through the copying of assignments
or help with homework that goes beyond tutoring. |
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| The
issue for educators and parents is not which list of effects,
the positive or negative, is correct. To a degree, both are.
It is the job of parents and educators to maximize the benefits
of homework and minimize the costs. |
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| Is
It Enough Homework? |
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most critical question about homework is "How much homework
should students do?" Experts agree that the amount of
homework should depend on the age and skills of the student.
Many national groups of teachers and parents, including the
National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), suggest that homework
for children in kindergarten through second grade is most effective
when it does not exceed 10-20 minutes each day. In third through
sixth grade, children can benefit from 30-60 minutes of homework
per day. Junior high and high school students can benefit from
more time on homework, and the amount may vary from night to
night. |
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| Reading
at home is especially important for young children. High-interest
reading assignments might push the time on homework a bit beyond
the minutes suggested above. |
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| These
recommendations are consistent with the conclusions reached
by many studies on the effectiveness of homework. For young
children, research shows that shorter and more frequent assignments
may be more effective than longer but fewer assignments. This
is because young children have short spans of attention and
need to feel they have successfully completed a task. |
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| Types
of Homework |
| Homework
assignments typically have one or more purposes. The most common
purpose is to have students practice material already presented
in class. Practice homework is meant to reinforce learning
and help the student master specific skills. Preparation homework
introduces material that will be presented in future lessons.
These assignments aim to help students learn new material better
when it is covered in class. Extension homework asks students
to apply skills they already have to new situations. Integration
homework requires the student to apply many different skills
to a single task, such as book reports, science projects or
creative writing. |
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| In
particular, math homework has been shown to be more important
in the middle to high school grades and less important in the
elementary grades. It starts to become important in the fourth
grade and is increasingly important in the upper grades. |
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| How
Parents Can Help with Homework |
| Research
also shows that parent involvement can have either a positive
or negative impact on the value of homework. Parent involvement
can be used to speed up a child's learning. Homework can involve
parents in the school process. It can enhance parents' appreciation
of education. It can give them an opportunity to express positive
attitudes about the value of success in school. |
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| But
parent involvement may also interfere with learning. For example,
parents can confuse children if the teaching techniques they
use differ from those used in the classroom. Parent involvement
in homework can turn into parent interference if parents complete
tasks that the child is capable of completing alone. |
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| When
mothers and fathers get involved with their children's homework,
communication between the school and family can improve. It can
clarify for parents what is expected of students. It can give parents
a firsthand idea of what students are learning and how well their
child is doing in school. |
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| Research
shows that if a child is having difficulty with homework, parents
should become involved by paying close attention. They should
expect more requests from teachers for their help. If a child
is doing well in school, parents should consider shifting their
efforts to providing support for their child's own choices
about how to do homework. Parents should avoid interfering
in the independent completion of assignments. |
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| As
this brief introduction suggests, homework can be an effective
way for students to improve their learning and for parents
to communicate their appreciation of schooling. Because a great
many things influence the impact of homework achievement, expectations
for homework's effects, especially in the earlier grades, must
be realistic. |
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| Homework policies and practices should give teachers and parents the flexibility
to take into account the unique needs and circumstances of their students. That
way, they can maximize the positive effects of homework and minimize the negative
ones. |
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| General
Homework Tips For Parents |
| Make
sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework. |
| Avoid
having your child do homework with the television on or
in places with other distractions, such as people coming
and going. |
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| Make
sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils
and a dictionary, are available. |
| Ask your child
if special materials will be needed for some projects and
get them in advance. |
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| Help
your child with time management. |
| Establish a set
time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child
leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using
a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects,
especially if the project involves getting together with
classmates. |
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| Be
positive about homework. |
| Tell your child
how important school is. The attitude you express about
homework will be the attitude your child acquires. |
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| When
your child does homework, you do homework. |
| Show your child
that the skills they are learning are related to things
you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read
too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook. |
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| When
your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. |
| Giving answers
means your child will not learn the material. Too much
help teaches your child that when the going gets rough,
someone will do the work for him or her. |
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| When
the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do
it. |
| Cooperate with
the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home
are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher. |
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| If
homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay
away. |
| Too much parent
involvement can prevent homework from having some positive
effects. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent,
lifelong learning skills. |
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| Stay
informed. |
| Talk with your
child's teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework
and what your child's class rules are. |
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| Help
your child figure out what is hard homework and what
is easy homework. |
| Have your child
do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most
alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material
will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set in. |
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| Watch
your child for signs of failure and frustration. |
| Let your child
take a short break if she is having trouble keeping her
mind on an assignment. |
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| Reward
progress in homework. |
| If your child
has been successful in homework completion and is working
hard, celebrate that success with a special event (e.g.,
pizza, a walk, a trip to the park) to reinforce the positive
effort. |
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| Reading
Homework Tips For Parents |
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Have
your child read aloud to you every night. |
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Choose
a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to
do his nightly reading assignments. |
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As
your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns
such as cat, pat, hat. |
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When
your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point
out the words she has missed and help her to read the word
correctly. |
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After
your child has stopped to correct a word he has read, have
him go back and reread the entire sentence from the beginning
to make sure he understands what the sentence is saying. |
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Ask
your child to tell you in her own words what happened in
a story. |
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To
check your child's understanding of what he is reading,
occasionally pause and ask your child questions about the
characters and events in the story. |
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Ask
your child why she thinks a character acted in a certain
way and ask your child to support her answer with information
from the story. |
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Before
getting to the end of a story, ask your child what he thinks
will happen next and why. |
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| Math
Homework Tips For Parents |
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Encourage
your child to use a daily math assignment book. |
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Follow
the progress your child is making in math. Check with
your child daily about his homework. |
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If
you don't understand your child's math assignments, engage
in frequent communication with his or her teacher. |
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If
your child is experiencing problems in math, contact
the teacher to learn whether he or she is working at
grade level and what can be done at home to help improve
academic progress. |
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Request
that your child's teacher schedule after-school math
tutoring sessions if your child really needs help. |
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Advocate
with the principal for the use of research-based peer
tutoring programs for math. These tutoring programs have
proven results, and students really enjoy them. |
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Use
household chores as opportunities for reinforcing math
learning such as cooking and repair activities. |
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Try
to be aware of how your child is being taught math, and
don't teach strategies and shortcuts that conflict with
the approach the teacher is using. Check in with the
teacher and ask what you can do to help. Ask the teacher
about online resources that you can use with your child
at home. |
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At
the beginning of the year, ask your child's teacher for
a list of suggestions that will enable you to help your
child with math homework. |
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