In a Daze over School Daze…
Isn’t it great when your child brings home a certificate from school? I am so proud of my daughter, who brought home a ‘teacher helper’ certificate for being helpful in class today.
You feel that your time spent helping with homework has been helpful. You are proud of your child for exhibiting good behavior, completing a task, or going above and beyond what was expected.
Homework is always a matter of pride for the parent, but sometimes embarrassment for the child. You have to remember it’s their homework, not yours. You’re not being judged on your work, your kids are.
A lot of teachers I know set homework for two main reasons. Firstly, it’s so parents are aware of topics being covered at school, and to help the children practice what they’ve just learned. The second reason is that there are only so many teaching hours in the day, and by the time the kids have settled down its almost time for the next class. Homework helps to keep the children on track, but also give feedback to the teacher of who might be struggling with a particular topic.
It also helps to develop good independent study habits. These will be really useful come college, where if they don’t do the work, they’ll just flunk out.
You can help your child most by providing a good area to work. It can be as simple as a cleared dining table, a desk, or even a trip to the library. You need to ensure there’s adequate and suitable lighting, and minimal distractions. If you have other older or younger children, make sure that they respect the fact that there should be quiet, for suitable amount of time.
The BBC has some great articles about homework here.
fatherhood, homework, school, help at school, study skills
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