Does your child resent
spending free time working on assignments? Students don’t like homework. Teachers are frustrated with students who
turn in assignments late or fail to complete the work at all, and parents are
understandably chagrined at having to play the role of enforcer to their
children, turning family time into a series of power struggles over schoolwork.
Some students even turn to plagiarism as a quick fix.
However, recent studies
show that properly completed homework can be extremely beneficial to secondary
students. One study showed that the average high school student who completed
their homework scored 69 per cent higher on standardized tests than fellow
students who didn't finish homework assignments. Homework creates good study habits, promotes
self-discipline, and reinforces subject matter learned in class. What then is
the solution to the homework problem?
Integrated Strategies for Homework
Top-rated private schools
in Toronto have come up with integrated strategies for the assignment and
assessment of homework. First, the outdated policy of having teachers assign a
certain number of minutes of homework per day has been discontinued; this
practice was not a good use of anyone’s time. Next, homework assignments must
be clearly understood before a student leaves the classroom. The responsibility
for clarifying assignments rests on the student and the teacher must make him
or herself available at the end of class to answer questions. Homework may
consist of class work that wasn't completed, studying for tests, drills on
previously taught work, preparatory reading, or projects such as essays. Some
schools provide laptops for students and expect them to record the due dates for
assignments and tests in the calendar function. Others distribute school
agendas, to be updated with pen or pencil daily. The best schools also list all
homework assignments and exam dates online, so that parents and students can
easily access the information.
A dialogue between the
school and parents helps to ensure that the whole family understands homework
expectations. Parents can help their children by providing a quiet place to
complete homework, posting a calendar with assignment due dates noted, and
encouraging good time management skills. Although it is tempting for parents to
help the student complete his or her work, top private schools urge students to
do the work independently.
Supervised Homework Support
First-rate schools have
established systems for dealing with students whose homework is not completed
on time. Usually this consists of having students spend time after school
finishing the work. If homework is still not being completed in a responsible
fashion, some schools even require students to spend a Saturday or Sunday at
school working on assignments. Of course, the faculty at top private schools
make themselves available before and after school to help students with
homework difficulties or to give project and study advice.
The solution to the issue
of homework is to take an approach that makes sense, followed by the school and
parents working together. Top private schools in Toronto know this and are
therefore better able to help their students achieve their full potential.