If you hang around with parents of young children long enough, you’re bound to hear complaints about homework. I’ve been hearing this kind of chatter well before I had a child who was in school and I think I’ve finally hit my threshold on it. (And so I shall inflict my rant upon my unsuspecting blog readers. Evil laugh.)
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Here’s the scene: I’m at a playdate/get-together at a friend’s house. I don’t know any of the other parents besides the friend who invited me. The kids are playing in the basement. The parents are in the sitting room enjoying some wine. The topic of homework comes up. *Sigh* I try to engage in some daydreaming. But that doesn’t work. I’m forced to listen to the same ol’ moans about homework. However, one woman has taken her beliefs on homework way farther than I’ve heard before. Now I’m listening. This could get interesting.
Interesting woman: “Yes, I’ve had issues with Mrs. [teacher name] on the very same thing.”
Other woman: “It’s just so hard to get homework done. I don’t have much time with my son, so the last thing I want to do is spend time battling with him about homework.”
Me [inside voice]: Yeah, I could see how that wouldn’t be fun.
Interesting woman: “My children don’t do homework.”
Me [inside voice]: Huh. I must be really programmed because I never even thought that was an option. But, wow, that’s kinda rebellious I guess.
Interesting woman: “I’ve actually had screaming matches with Mrs. [teacher name] in the school hallway on this.”
Me [inside voice]: Okay, we’re moving past rebellious into some kinda other territory perhaps?
Interesting woman: “I told her that if she has a problem with our son not doing homework that she can arrange for a meeting with me and my husband and the principal.”
Me [inside voice]: Hmmm … I bet there’s more to this story. Some juicy bits.
Interesting woman: “The research shows that doing homework at a young age does not improve academic results and whatnot.”
Man: “Why do they give homework, anyway? It is because the teachers aren’t getting their job done during the day so they send it home?”
Me [inside voice]: Here we go. I knew it would eventually come to this: teacher-bashing. I’m going to fill up my wine glass now.
Man: “Like, why do they spend time colouring and whatnot. If they spent the time in school teaching, then we wouldn’t need homework.”
Other woman/Interesting woman/Man: [chuckles]
Me [inside voice]: Quick, get up and get another glass of wine before you blow your top!
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Wondering why I stayed quiet? Well, I have enough teachers in my family to know that I simply can’t respond in a nice, calm objective way when we stumble into the ol’ teacher-bashing territory. So I just try and keep my mouth shut (at least with people I don’t know!).
Surely, though, I am not the only one who sees value in homework, am I? I mean, yes, it can be a pain if your child is whining about not wanting to do homework and you have to cajole them into it. It can also be a pain to teach your child to go to bed at an appropriate time at night, or to eat from all the nutritional groups, or even to say “please” and “thank you” — and call me old fashioned — but I think that all these things are a parent’s job.
So without consulting a single bit of research, here are three plain ol’ common sense reasons why I think parents should encourage their children to do homework.
1. Your attitude rubs off on your children
Sure, you might find that helping a young child do their homework is tedious or annoying or useless, but what are you teaching your child about homework in voicing this to them? You’re helping them develop a bad attitude towards homework. Eventually, in highschool and university, homework is not an option — your child will need to do it to succeed and pass their courses — but a negative attitude developed early in life will likely be hard to kick.
Tips from an amateur: I can get really frustrated helping my daughter to do homework. She can be a real perfectionist and decide to simply not do something instead of risking to get it wrong. To get through this while biting my tongue and trying to preserve my own attitude (and thus, hopefully, hers), I sometimes tag-team with my husband to get through a particularly tough teaching moment. Other alternatives are to (1) skip the difficult part and move onto the rest and get that done. Sometimes the success builds positive momentum and the hard part doesn’t seem as hard anymore; (2) when all else fails, stop working on it that night and decide to do it immediately after breakfast. After a fresh sleep and a full belly, your child might be more inspired to learn.
2. Homework teaches good study habits
Good study habits are essential for success in higher education. Starting to do homework young may not help a youngster’s grades, but surely it can help in the long-term development of good study habits. When I was young, I cannot recall ever having a bedroom that didn’t have a desk, a lamp and some basic supplies. My parents were both the first in their families to attend university, and neither grew up with these things in their rooms. Clearly, they thought that life might have been a littler easier if they had of had them though. My favourite desk was an old sewing desk of my mother’s that my father had painted a cheerful bright blue and added pretty glass knobs to the drawers. It was my space for learning.
Tips from an amateur: Despite the small size of our rooms, we managed to squeeze a desk into my daughter’s room. Right now though, while she still needs a lot of help getting through her homework, the desk in her room isn’t particularly helpful. Instead, I have a small “homework bin.” In it, are her own special school supplies that others in the family can’t pilfer — Pokemon pencils, a funky ruler, a children’s French dictionary. I pull this bin out and place it on the dining room table while dinner is cooking. She works there and calls out when she wants help. She works on homework at the same time each night, using the same familiar supplies (unless we hit a roadblock and then defer until after breakfast the next day, as explained above).
3. Homework forces me to get involved in my child’s learning
When your children are young, you have to sit down and guide them through it. This forces me as a parent to really get a feel for which areas my child is doing well in and which areas might need some extra help. It also allows me to better understand what is being taught during the day and the overall philosophy of the teacher. As a working parent who does not volunteer during the day at school, I see homework as a way to keep myself involved and in-the-loop with my child’s education.
Tips from an amateur: I engage with my daughter’s teacher though the homework. If there is something my daughter particularly enjoyed, my husband or I will let the teacher know by including a note. Same thing if something was particularly challenging or if there is a reason why a piece of homework did not get completed. It’s just a small interaction, but I like to think that it helps create a larger “teamwork” approach to helping our daughter learn.
Now, that’s just three reasons. Can you think of more? Or perhaps you’ve read the research and feel that there are indeed strong reasons not to do homework at a young age? Please share and tell!
