Parents’ main grievance is that their children have too much homework.
For specific children and students, classroom learning or work isn’t enough. Hence, schools and teachers deem it fit to foster better academic performance through homework.
Some parents and stakeholders think that homework increases stress in children.
This arose from the quantity of work assigned to their children.
Arguments about homework have created a divide among busy parents and teachers.
Finding a healthy balance is vital for teachers because too little or too much homework can make students bored or overwhelmed.
Hence, homework is a task assigned to students by teachers or school leadership that must be completed at home.
Let us first review the aim or purpose of the homework.
Aim of Homework to Students
- Homework aims to transfer previous knowledge to new situations.
- It aims at helping students gain mastery of learned skills.
- It keeps parents up to date with class activities.
- Assignment helps to improve students’ academic performance.
Questions asked by Parents
- Is homework compulsory?
The jitteriness enveloping homework for students, particularly in primary schools, is common among parents. According to academic stakeholders, homework aids further learning.
However, parents believe that the quantity or amount of homework given to their children is too much.
- Should children be punished for not doing their homework?
While parents complain about the amount or quantity of homework given.
Unfinished or incomplete homework results in consequences for the students.
It is inappropriate to discipline a child or student for not doing their homework.
There are reasons sometimes beyond the student’s control.
Clare, a Grade four Teacher, disclosed that in January, she discovered that children return to school each day with partly done homework. At other times, they do nothing.
When she enquired, students responded that they accompanied their parents to church after school.
In light of this, some churches observe 14 to 21 days of fasting and prayer in January.
Parents either go to church with their kids or aren’t available to help them out. Also, parents who do 8 am to 5 pm jobs tend to struggle with their children’s homework.
Therefore, punishing kids who fail to do their homework is improper.
- Do pre-school children need homework?
Mona said she drops her kid off at about 8 am and picks her up at 2 pm. She gets pissed when she gets home to find homework worksheets in her daughter’s bag.
Children of this stage are to enjoy their childhood. Piles of homework scare them from learning.
To ease parents’ agitation, teachers should give less homework.
Reasons why Teachers should consider Less Homework
- Homework helps children spend time with family and friends when it’s less.
- Less homework helps children get better sleep
- Less homework averts mental illness caused by academic pressure.
- Less homework keeps children refreshed from classwork.
- Less amount of assignments compels children to enjoy learning and school.
Homework Strategies: How to help students
Define Homework Task
Abuse is inevitable when the purpose of a task is not clear.
Teachers reinforce learning when the purpose of homework is known to the students.
You make them look forward to doing that homework because they have been pre-informed of the benefits.
Let your homework be clear and concise.
To make homework free of the complaint as a teacher. Make it concise and easy to comprehend.
A child could get home two hours after an explanation is done, and the child would likely forget what was said by the teacher.
When homework is clear and concise, children struggle less.
Hence, improving better academic performance.
See also Maths Skills: How to improve your child’s Maths skills as Parents.
Give your students homework they can comprehend.
When giving homework, take note of children’s learning abilities and the availability of parents.
Consideration should be given to children who won’t have parental support and those with learning disabilities.
It’s rather unfair to give huge writing and spelling homework to dyslexic children.
Ease your work and students’ time by guiding your students through homework tasks.
Homework is part of the evaluation. It shouldn’t be intended for students to fail.
It forms a part of a well-understood lesson or teaching.
Hence, when you give homework, let it be one that children with different learning abilities can comprehend.
See also Quantitative Reasoning; Teaching Methods for Primary Schools
Ask your students why the homework is incomplete.
Do not be quick to punish a child for undone homework. Be considerate when speaking with the child.
Learn what happened since you gave out the homework.
You can determine why the homework is incomplete using the information collected.
I had a student who was preparing for an external examination. Frequently, he returned his homework undone. In a chat session with him, I gathered his parents needed him to pass that examination.
A coach was to teach him at home, and he had to answer over 50 past questions daily. He was stressed, so I had to give him a break until the examination was over.
Consider your students.
All students shouldn’t have homework.
When giving homework, consider background, availability of parents, and children’s role at home.
I once taught a child who happened to be a young caregiver with another family. She was 13 years of age, children in the class were 8 to 10 years old.
She returns each day with her homework not done.
The best action then is to let her finish her homework after school.
Conclusion
As teachers prevent and avoid parent grievances over too much homework.
Teachers sometimes struggle to cover children’s textbooks bought by parents. Homework seems to be one way to get it done.
The school management can introduce a homework policy to curb homework uproar. Also, school management can take out unnecessary textbooks.
To this end, the school management can look into the excessive textbooks parents are made to buy.