Childhood Matters - Homework Headaches

On October 30 check out the Childhood Matters radio talk show program on 98.1 KISS FM from 7:00-8:00am. The topic for Sunday, October 30 is Reducing Homework Headaches. Here is a blurb for the show:

Reducing Homework Headaches
October 30, 2011

98.1 KISS FM

7:00-8:00 am

Our children face great pressure to exceed and excel each year, starting at a very young age. One example is that the amount of homework students are assigned is increasing steadily. Join Nurse Rona and guest host Beth Samuelson, MA, of Student Organizational Services, as they discuss how to help students balance their workload and work smarter, not harder! What do you think about how much homework your child has? Do you think it helps them learn?

I thought I'd give some advice on the topic here since I won't be able to listen in that day because I'll be out of town (coincidentally) helping my son tour a school that will hopefully be less stressful for him and a better fit than the school he currently attends.

1. How do we help students balance their workload and work smarter, not harder?

Balance is key. Sign up for fewer extra curricular activities so that children are not stressed out after a day at school. Give your child the gift of unscheduled time every afternoon after school. Then, don't fill that time with hours of homework, but with other unstructured activities - hanging out with siblings, cooking, dog walking, bike riding, chilling with friends, park play time, drawing, coloring, street roller hockey, naps, etc. Once they are rejuvenated or rested from those after school activities they may have a better mindset to do a little homework.

2. What do you think about how much homework your child has?

We always focus on the amount of homework our children get. And, for good reason, because it can tend to dictate our family evenings and weekends. So, for younger children, parents need to stick to a realistic amount of time for doing homework. Even though there's no basis in research to support this, a generally accepted rule of thumb is 10 minutes per grade level per school night. So, a first grader should do only 10 minutes of homework per night and a 6th grader, 60 minutes.

And, we need to focus on the quality of the homework, too. So, if your third grader is doing 30 minutes of homework that is too difficult or too easy for him, you may write a note to the teacher at the top of the page explaining, and hopefully the teacher will adjust the work for your child. Many teachers will be receptive to making individual changes. It's perfectly acceptable to write, "My child worked on this for 30 minutes and was completely lost so I asked her to stop."

When your children get older (middle school) I find the parents can still be involved, but less so than in elementary school as far as giving their input into the homework load/quality. And in high school, your child needs to advocate for himself. The parents should be completely hands off of homework at this stage. By this point the student needs to take complete ownership of his work, grades, successes and failures.

3. Do you think homework helps your children learn?

We learn everyday in life in many ways. So yes, of course, sometimes students will learn something beneficial from a homework assignment. But, I would ask, does it get them excited about learning? Does it prompt them to ask questions and try to find answers themselves? Does it make them curious, creative, capable, cooperative learners? Often it doesn't. Often it kills the joy in learning. Often it is meaningless to them at that specific time in their lives.

If it feels meaningless, feel empowered to ask the teacher why she/he assigned a certain assignment. Or, encourage your child to ask the teacher. If the teacher is open, she will listen to feedback from parents and students. If not, just encourage your child and know that it is ok to agree with your child when they moan about a boring assignment. I usually look at the assignment and agree with my boys, "Yes, that seems pretty ridiculous. Is it helping you learn more about the subject?" And leave it at that. Don't add, "But you have to suck it up and do it because that's life and life isn't fair. Deal with it." That type of attitude just adds fuel to the fire. Just agree with your child when he is frustrated at the amount of time spent on a homework assignment or irritated with the type of assignment. You are not disrespecting the teacher, you are agreeing with an unfortunate situation. You might also add, "Well, is there anyway you can make this assignment better? What if you talked to the teacher, what would he say?" And let it go. You will be amazed at how much ownership they will take if you don't nag them to do their homework.

Also, remember the homework is your child's, it is not YOURS. Don't say, "We have to do homework now." Let her own it. As your children get older, it can prompt a lot of good discussions about boring, routine tasks and other typs of jobs that are meaningful in life.

And, one last thing. Read. Reading is the best "homework" your child can have. If your child is young, read to them and with them. Children relish uninterrupted reading time with anyone who will be there for them - siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, etc. If your child is older, talk to her about the reading she is doing. Model reading. Encourage reading. Read.

Any other thoughts? What are your comments about these questions?

Finland's Successful Schools

The following quotes are taken from Smithsonian.com, Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?

"[Finland] the tiny Nordic nation’s staggering record of education success, [is] a phenomenon that has inspired, baffled and even irked many of America’s parents and educators.

In 1963, the Finnish Parliament made the bold decision to choose public education as its best shot at economic recovery. “I call this the Big Dream of Finnish education,” said Sahlberg, whose upcoming book, Finnish Lessons, is scheduled for release in October. “It was simply the idea that every child would have a very good public school. If we want to be competitive, we need to educate everybody. It all came out of a need to survive.”

Lawmakers landed on a deceptively simple plan that formed the foundation for everything to come.

• Public schools would be organized into one system of comprehensive schools, for ages 7 through 16.
• Teachers from all over the nation contributed to a national curriculum that provided guidelines, not prescriptions.
• Resources were distributed equally.
• Sifting and sorting children into so-called ability groupings was eliminated. All children—clever or less so—were to be taught in the same classrooms, with lots of special teacher help available to make sure no child really would be left behind.

In the 2009 PISA scores released last year, the nation came in second in science, third in reading and sixth in math among nearly half a million students worldwide.

Many schools are small enough so that teachers know every student. If one method fails, teachers consult with colleagues to try something else.

[The USA] Race to the Top initiative invites states to compete for federal dollars using tests and other methods to measure teachers, a philosophy that would not fly in Finland. “I think, in fact, teachers would tear off their shirts,” said Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki principal with 24 years of teaching experience. “If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.”

• There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school.
• There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions.
• Finland’s schools are publicly funded.
• Ninety-three percent of Finns graduate from academic or vocational high schools, 17.5 percentage points higher than the United States, and 66 percent go on to higher education, the highest rate in the European Union.
• Finland spends about 30 percent less per student than the United States.
• Play is important at this age [7 and 8 year olds]. We value play.
• Teachers in Finland spend fewer hours at school each day and spend less time in classrooms than American teachers.
• Teachers use the extra time to build curriculums and assess their students.
• Children spend far more time playing outside, even in the depths of winter.
• Homework is minimal.
• Compulsory schooling does not begin until age 7.

“We have no hurry,” said Louhivuori. “Children learn better when they are ready. Why stress them out?”

This is what we do every day, prepare kids for life."

The Secret to Success? Character.

When you think of character traits what comes to mind?

Bravery,

citizenship,

fairness,

wisdom,

integrity,

love,

humor,

zest for life,

appreciation of beauty,

social intelligence,

kindness,

self-regulation,

gratitude,

compassion,

grit,

self-control,

optimism,

curiosity,

etc.

In the NY Times article What If The Secret to Success is Failure? the author talks a lot about character development in students.

He specifically mentions 2 categories of character:

“moral character,” which embodies ethical values like fairness, generosity and integrity;

and “performance character,” which includes values like effort, diligence and perseverance.

I've noticed that elementary and middle schools are very concerned with teaching kids about moral character traits. Posters line the halls with slogans like:

“Treat everyone with respect”

“Be aware of other people’s feelings"

"Find ways to help those whose feelings have been hurt.”

“Practice Good Manners"

"Avoid Gossiping"

"Help Others”

High schools focus on performance character traits like:

"Be the best"

"Achieve your goals"

"Never give up"

"Be creative"

"We are number 1"

This reminds me of the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. We start out learning how important it is to be a good person (moral character traits) and then we go to school and end up learning how important it is to succeed and compete (performance character traits). I realize this is not always true for everyone in every school, but in my experience watching my boys go through the public school system for 13 years, this has been my observation.

As the article continues, “When I think of good character, I think: Are you fair? Are you honest in dealings with other people? Are you a cheater? I don’t think so much about: Are you tenacious? Are you a hard worker? I think, Are you a good person?”

“Sure, a trait can backfire. Too much grit, [for example] and you start to lose your ability to have empathy for other people. If you’re so gritty that you don’t understand why everyone’s complaining about how hard things are, because nothing’s hard for you, because you’re Mr. Grit, then you’re going to have a hard time being kind. Even love — being too loving might make you the kind of person who can get played. Character is something you have to be careful about. Character strengths can become character weaknesses.”

“Race to Nowhere has helped to coalesce a growing movement of psychologists and educators who argue that the systems and methods now in place to raise and educate well-off kids in the United States are in fact devastating them."

"Our kids don’t put up with a lot of suffering. They don’t have a threshold for it. They’re protected against it quite a bit. And when they do get uncomfortable, we hear from their parents."

"And yet we all know — on some level, at least — that what kids need more than anything is a little hardship: some challenge, some deprivation that they can overcome, even if just to prove to themselves that they can."

"The ultimate product of good character: a happy, meaningful, productive life. [In order for] students to succeed...they first need to learn how to fail."

So, what was the lesson from this article for me? The secret to real, meaningful success in life is not forgetting the moral character traits we learned as young children. And, a little hardship and failure goes a long way.