If you do not do homework in 8th grade language arts with your child – he’s all mixed up, half not done, inevitably rolls to F’s – so think some parents. But what does the teacher think, let’s find out!
I know a teacher who frankly said at a parent-teacher meeting, “I am annoyed by incorrectly done homework. Dear parents, homework is not just for the kids, it’s for you!” That is, she believes that it is the parents’ responsibility to help the children with their homework. This attitude of the teacher leads to the fact that parents make crafts and presentations, write poems and compose stories. Creativity is wonderful. But not when you do it instead of the child.
In my opinion, parents do the assignment for the child for 3 reasons:
Parents are perfectionists, “great at heart.” These moms and dads can’t accept that the child isn’t doing everything as well and accurately as they would like: “Let me show you how to do it!”
Parents just don’t have time. Dad comes home from work, he’s tired, the show or a soccer game is about to start, and his son is there with his homework: “Let me do it faster, and you rewrite it.
Parents are afraid of the teacher and 5th grade math multiple choice questions. Yes, it happens.
Teachers can see perfectly well if the pupil did the work himself or if he had help. I don’t even have to ask about this, I know very well what each pupil is capable of. But I work in a small private school where the number of kids in the class allows me to check on every lesson whether the topic has been learned. The most important principle that should guide the teacher: ask only what you have taught. Because homework – this is a check, how the student understood the material. That’s the main point of homework, and not whether the teacher will praise you, put “5” or “3”. Doing “homework” for a child means to harm him and interfere with the teacher.
How to help your child cope with homework?
My advice: patience. Patience and observation. If a child can cope by himself, does not ask for help, if the teacher is not in touch with you about his homework, then the question of help falls away. Sometimes it is enough to check the very existence of the completed homework. Teachers usually comment on students’ work. Remember such notes in red pen: “No work on mistakes”, “Where is homework 14?”, “Write neater!” and so on. Of course, you have to pay attention to this. But again, patience. Observe and just prompt the child if you notice that he forgot something or did not form his work correctly.
Will I lower the grade if the work in 2nd grade ela is done correctly, but poorly formatted and sloppily written? No, but I will write a reprimand, especially to the child who can write better but does not try. Parents should not be intimidated by the teacher’s notes. This is not a characteristic of the student and his parents. It is a work, a learning process. It can’t work out all at once.
What to do if a child does not succeed in his homework?
This situation, of course, should not be ignored. If you yourself understand the subject, explain it, but try not to show a ready-made solution, but with questions, lead them to it. It is even better to find another similar task. It may well be in the same notebook in the class work. Eliminate all books and manuals with ready-made homework. Let me tell you a secret: there are a lot of mistakes. In formal homework, especially in elementary school, when the foundations of knowledge are laid, they do much more harm than good. If you can’t do anything at all, it’s better to be honest with your teacher and ask him to explain how you should have done the assignment.
To accept the inevitability of homework, you need to understand that this is an important stage in learning. It is a repetition and consolidation of the passed material. One more thing. There are children who absolutely refuse any help. And don’t impose! Maybe you’re just lucky!