Summer Homework
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Comment| Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 | | CWK Producer |
“It’s not really as stressful as school can be, but it’s a challenge.”
– Mark, Age 14.
Shooting baskets ... playing with his boa constrictor ... and messing around with video games. That’s all 14-year-old Mark would do during the summer, if it were up to him.
Instead, he has spent a good part of his summer vacation doing homework for school. “My mom wakes me up at about ten, and I have breakfast, and then I start my reading for an hour, and then I work on my math book like three or four pages a day,” Mark says.
Dr. Stephen Garber is a child psychologist. He says summer homework is a step toward year-round learning, and he’s not so sure that’s a good idea. “There’s a lot of pressure on kids. A lot of pressure on parents, a lot of pressure on teachers, that I’m not so sure is really so good for the kids, or even necessarily for learning,” Garber says.
In fact, he recommends that learning continue all year long, but more than that, whether in the summer or in school, learning should be more creative: less memorizing, fewer reading lists and more experiences- trips to the library, the zoo, or traveling.
“It’s not just content that we need to drum into their heads, and skills, but we really need kids to have experiences. There’s a lot of incidental learning that goes on by having experiences other than homework,” Garber says.
But, on the other side of the debate stands research from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Jeffrey Valentine, a psychological scientist there, says students who don’t study over the summer tend to forget what they’ve already learned. When school resumes, it takes them two weeks to catch up.
That makes sense to Stephanie Tramonte, Mark’s mother. “It helps him to review what he learned the previous year,” she says, “and it makes the transition into the school year so much easier.”
Tips for Parents
Whether homework is assigned during the school year, or as a “summer bridge” between grades, parents can help their children get it done. In fact, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) says parents can help their children academically, even if homework is not assigned. The AFT describes home as “a child’s first school.” The organization recommends spending a little time each day on reading, writing and math activities.
The American Medical Association has some specific suggestions on ways parents can help children with homework:
- Help them get organized - It can be hard to schedule homework time into our kids’ busy lives, but that is exactly what we must do. Prioritizing homework tells your kids that learning, reading, and studying are important. If you need to, post a weekly calendar with slots for daily homework time.
- Help them find the right workspace - Where your child should do homework depends largely on your child's age. The workspace should be well lighted and supplied with pencils, paper, rulers, and books so kids don't waste time hunting for tools. The kitchen or dining room table is the most popular workspace for young children.
- Let the child do the work - Young children in particular are accustomed to being helped with many tasks, so they naturally look to parents for help with homework. Remember that a primary goal of homework is to build responsibility. Here, yours is a supporting role as a parent - encouraging your child to think, evaluate, and respond.
- Parents can help the child understand instructions but should then step back and let the child work independently. It is important that a parent does not actually do the work because this denies the child an essential sense of achievement. Praise should be focused on the child's effort, rather than on "correct" or "incorrect."
- Be a parent, not a teacher - The most important role parents can play is as a parent. It is important not to become the teacher at home. The parent can scan the assignment first to become familiar with it. That way, if the child has trouble finding the answer, the parent can offer a clue and then let the child find the answer. This approach helps build the child's confidence that she can, indeed, do the work on her own. Parents should be ready with praise when the assignment is completed.
- Final Checkout - Parents should check homework assignments for completion before they are handed in. This not only gives you an indication of your child's ability, but it also keeps you up-to-date on what she is studying. If you do find errors, don't criticize. If your child is really struggling, send a note to the teacher pointing out the difficulties your child had with that assignment. By going over homework with your child, you can see whether there are any problems that need to be addressed.
The AFT also recommends that parents reward their children for work well done, or for trying hard, even when they make mistakes. The rewards don’t have to cost money. A hug, or a smile and some words of praise can mean more than candy or a toy.
According to the U. S. Department of Education, students and parents should expect the following amounts of homework:
- From kindergarten to third grade, no more than 20 minutes per day.
- From fourth to sixth grade, between 20 to 40 minutes per day.
- From seventh to ninth grade, students can expect to spend up to 2 hours on homework each day
- High school students often need to study more than 2 hours each day.
References
- American Medical Association
- American Federation of Teachers
