Learning / School
Helping with homework
Homework. It is annoying to make, annoying to chase and annoying to mark (and then remark when it’s been redone because the scrunched up, clammy bit of lined paper that was handed in the first time just didn’t cut the mustard.)
And yet, it is incredibly important. In an education system of ever growing class sizes it is one of the few ways in which teacher and student can communicate directly. A piece of homework demonstrating misunderstanding is as informative, and important, to me as a piece hitting the A* criteria. Without marking homework I just simply would not know the nuances of my students’ needs. It is important for me to know that some students have not been able to complete the essay in the time set. You should always encourage your children to ask teachers how long they should spend on their homework when it is being set and/or make sure that you (and they) are familiar with the school’s policy. At my school it ranges from 30 minutes a week in Year 7 to 4 hours+ in Year 13 I encourage my students to rule off after the allocated time is up to demonstrate how close they got to finishing…and then complete it in their “own” time.
So, If your child is genuinely stuck (and not just trying to wriggle out of it) what should you do? Help them by encouraging them to ask a friend or, better still, go back to the teacher and ask for further clarification of the task. Essays cut and paste from Google tell me nothing about what my students have, or have not, taken on board; likewise homework completed with “too much” help from parents is actually not helpful at all. Just remember, at the end of the year, they will be the ones sitting the exam, not Google, not you.
is needed now More than ever
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