Back to
Parenting Home Page
Homework is Not a Four Letter
Word
By Dr. Marvin
Berkowitz
Homework has gotten a bad
rap. It needs a good public relations makeover. Kids detest
it because it robs them of what they believe to be a
God-given right to stare at a TV screen for hours on end.
Parents hate it because they can’t figure it out (“Mom,
what’s a hypotenuse?” “What does iambic pentameter mean?”
“Where are the Isles of Langerhans?”) And teachers have to
devise it, assign it, and grade it. Looks like a lose-lose
situation here.
It is time for someone to
come to the defense of homework.
We need someone to sing
its praises.
Oh, I know what you are
thinking: “Homework’s benefits are obvious. It helps kids
practice and learn their school work.” It is kind of an
extension of the school day.
You are right. But that is
not what I am getting at. This is a column about character
development, not learning. There are hidden virtues to
homework that you may not have considered. Please read on.
Psychologists and
educators have discovered that when parents are involved
with their kids’ homework, the kids develop in a more
healthy direction.
That doesn’t mean the
parents do the kids’ homework for them. We all remember the
kid whose model of Fort Sumter looked like Frank Lloyd
Wright designed it and a team of medieval artisans crafted
it, all because his dad built it. Or the kid whose science
project looked suspiciously like what his dad did in his
laboratory at work. No, what we’re talking about here are
parents who monitor their kids’ homework and support them in
completing it effectively.
Such parents care how
their kids learn, and therefore whether and how they
complete their homework. And they are there as a safety net
when kids stumble. They offer critical pieces of advice (“I
wonder if there is anything in your social studies book
about that”) or help with sub-tasks (“What if you just add
the ones column first? Do you think that would work?”). And
they check the work and give feedback (“Now, what kinds of
words are supposed to start with capital letters? Do you see
any that you missed?”).
Parents model caring and
nurturing by supporting their children’s homework pursuits.
And kids learn that family members help one another, even
with difficult or boring tasks. They also learn that their
schoolwork and homework is important to their family. But
most importantly, homework done in this way supports bonding
with parents, perhaps the single most important ingredient
in healthy character development.
The Child Development Project, generally regarded as the
best character education program in existence, has a special
homework program called “Homeside Activities” (see
“Home-side Activities Books” for children in grades 1-5 on
their web-site: www.devstu.org). Their
homework assignments are de-signed to be done with the
assistance of one’s family members.
Not only do such
assignments serve all the functions mentioned above, but
they have the added feature of getting parents involved in
their kids’ schools. And teachers and principals find that
this makes their schools much better places for kids to
develop healthy character.
So, got your pencil ready?
Your homework assignment is…
