Warning: Attempt to read property "post_title" on null in /www/businessmirror_145/public/wp-content/plugins/better-image-credits/better-image-credits.php on line 227
IT is the start of September, and not a few kids are just starting their school year. And, of course, homework.
How does your child see homework? I see some kids dread it, while others enjoy it. How about you, as a parent? How do you view your child’s homework and reviews for tests or exams? Do we view homework as the chance to get all As? Do we view it as too much work for our kids, and wish that schools would just let kids have more free time?
I admire parents who diligently supervise their kids. I also admire parents who home-school their kids. I’ve realized from conversations with friends, how our view of schoolwork greatly affects our kids view if it. I remember a story in which a dad would tell his kids that school was not important, because hard work was the key to success. That child grew up to be a hardworking and happy adult, but, at times, he’d wonder what his life would be like had he known the value of excelling in school earlier in life.
I remember my relatives would always tell us schoolwork was our way of practicing for real-life work. They told us good grades would give us good jobs one day. I remember asking, “But we have a family business?” And my aunt retorted, “What if the business is no longer there when you grow up?” That exchange stuck with me because I realized my future depended on my efforts.
I personally view homework as a critical part in my child’s lifelong-learning journey. When my kids were in preschool, I saw their homework as my chance to understand each of my kids’ learning style. I was very hands-on in their homework. I felt this was important so I would know how to help them in their grade-school years. I realized my daughter is a more visual learner: When she had to learn songs, I would draw the words out and she would learn things faster. I also saw how I needed to improve on her auditory skills, because it was difficult for her to absorb information without visual boards. For my son, he was more tactile. It always helps that he writes or draws on his own, and then he identifies his own drawings.
Now that they’re in grade school, I view homework as a practice for discipline and a way to develop a work ethic. I teach them to value the opportunity to practice their skills. I value consistency and regimens. I know parents view structure in different ways. But even when my kids were enrolled in Montessori, there were still rules and schedules to follow. I’m going after that “study rhythm” they could gradually establish on their own.
I also utilize this stage to observe and challenge their standards. I want them to observe the cause and effect of the proportion of the work they put in to the quality of the output. I focus on trial and error and the value of knowing more. I discuss with them how they got they did grade and if they’re happy with it. I remind them that their grade is their achievement, not mine.
At Grade 3, I began to usher my daughter into doing her own homework. I suggested she could do reviewers. She said she didn’t need to. When the exam results came, she got an average grade. I asked her how she felt about it. She said she wished she’d done better. I said, “OK, mom would do a reviewer for you this time and let’s check if this would help.” She got a perfect score in the next exam. From then on, my daughter would do her own reviewer three days before a test.
My son is different. He is in Grade 1 now. He is very serious in his penmanship and conduct in school. When I ask him about his test scores, he is usually OK with his results. I then drew a diagram which illustrated that A efforts result in A results, telling him that his school results lead to different options in university choices, and different universities lead to certain jobs in the future.
I believe my kids’ view of homework provides an arena in which they can learn to be accountable to themselves. Competing with other students to become the best is not the overarching motivation. (I will talk about my view on my children’s grades in the next piece.) For me, what is more important is seeing my kids being happy with their efforts and the results they got from these, and in their knowing they’re working toward their future. If your child has siblings, it is also great that siblings help each other make homework fun and creative.
When my kids enter secondary school, I hope for them to experience enriched learning. I loved our individual works in Poveda. When we were learning Canterbury Tales in English, we were asked to make our own costume of our chosen character. When we were learning Shakespeare, we needed to make our own tune from a sonnet.
There was a valuable lesson I learned in my short time in Clarkstown North in New York. Schoolwork is about context and contentment. The value of my high grades was not in being better than other students. It was about enjoying learning itself.
As much as I graduated valedictorian, I found greater value in loving the work process and continuously seeking to learn new things in the most meaningful way possible.