The key to homework is understanding its two distinct purposes. First, given in appropriate amounts, and despite whatever amount of repetition it may represent, homework reinforces concepts that were introduced that day or during the current week. Second, it is designed to build a healthy relationship between both work and free time.
It is unfortunate that, in some cases at schools, a large amount of homework is arbitrarily assigned to a class that includes students who do not need that amount of repetition. For children who understand concepts quickly, having to nonetheless spend time on them can be demotivating and become a point of contention with their parents who choose to force their child to rehash material they have already mastered.
In reality, this needless repetition is actually counterproductive to nurturing a level of learning, in addition to becoming a point of friction within the family. At Nysmith, we believe that the appropriate amount of homework is no more than 10 minutes per grade per weeknight. That means a second-grader should not have more than 20 minutes of homework each night of the school week. That said, if a child needs more help on the assignments it may occasionally take longer.
Our goal is to nurture every student to intrinsically understand and embrace the notion of completing a small amount of work each day before turning their attention to free time. The amount of homework builds in small increments every grade, but the assignments are not repetitive in nature. The objective is to teach the children how to use their time effectively while working on assignments tailored to their skill set. That reinforces the importance of creating a healthy and balanced relationship between work and free time.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this balance is to have your child do their homework in an area where they can be generally supervised. If the child is very young, he or she is likely to need parental assistance, for example, in using flashcards to learn spelling words. As the little ones get older, the role of the parent becomes more about monitoring the child to make sure they are doing their best work by devoting proper attention to the assignment.
We want parents to let us know if their child is spending more than 10 minutes per grade on homework. We encourage children to see their teachers if they feel they’re getting too much homework. Our teaching teams coordinate with each other and make their best efforts to schedule tests on different days so the children are not overloaded with pre-test study work on a single night.
Some nights, based on a heavy schedule of activities or if your child is just not in the mood to do homework, the parent may be forced to make the decision. We do not want your child to be upset if he or she is forced to do their homework. Many times our teachers assign homework early in the week to give students more than enough time to complete it by late in the week. In those special cases, however, we encourage them–or the child–to reach out to the teacher ahead of time. And if your child does not understand the assignment they’ve been given, they may arrange to meet with their teacher before class for clarification.
We are frequently asked how our graduating students adjust to the high volume of homework that awaits them in high school. Based on years of insights from graduates, it takes them about three weeks to adjust to the heavy homework load, assuming they are able to maintain a healthy work-fun balance. The keys are time management, organization and motivation. Parents need to realize that the more of the responsibility you can turn over to your child early will help build their independence and self-confidence to handle it going forward.
Setting Aside Time For Homework
It is essential to establish when your child is going to do his or her homework over the course of the week. Many children have lots of outside activities, thus the importance of planning times for them to complete their homework assignments.
It is always easier and less stressful to complete homework or out-of-class projects ahead of schedule. The other major benefit of finishing the assignment prior to when it’s due is that if there are questions, they can be addressed without running the risk of missing the deadline. By involving your child in discussing and determining when they will do the work–and how much time to set aside to finish it–you will not only receive more cooperation but will also help develop their internal motivation and understanding of a healthy work-life balance.
As you monitor your child’s progress on their assignment, it is important to realize that many children choose to rush through their work, prioritizing completion of the task over the quality of the finished product. We recommend that if a child finishes their homework more quickly than the amount of time designated for the task, they should use that extra time to read a book or work on another assignment due later in the week. If a child feels it’s okay to rush through their work to more quickly get to their “fun” activities, it is more than likely they will not dedicate the necessary time and attention to future assignments. It’s never too early to at least try to instill a strong work ethic in your young student.
We noted at the top that assigning an appropriate amount of homework is key to achieving a healthy work-free time balance during a child’s formative years. With appropriate parental support and a strong channel of communication with teachers, there is no reason that homework should be cause for concern for families.
