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From Tucson Parent Magazine 12/15/2000 |
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(520) 323-9835 |
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THE HOMEWORK DILEMMABy David Bynes CISW
Unfortunately this has placed new and challenging demands on parents who are already experiencing more stress than ever before. Even though kindergartners are too young developmentally, cognitively and emotionally to do homework, they are often sent home with homework packets. Schools and teachers often assume that the parents will spend 15-30 minutes each evening helping their child do the homework. Since kindergartners are usually pre-readers, there is no way they can complete homework packets without the aid of an adult. Now where are working families going to find the time to do this? Here's an evening schedule that many families who have children in grades K-3 have to keep. 5:30 p.m. pick up children at daycare As you can see, there is no time for this family to spend 20-30 minutes doing homework together without sacrificing important nutritional, hygienic, and social needs. Story-time is absolutely essential for vigorous development of speech and language skills. Key reading strategies (sequencing, focusing and tracking, phonics, etc.) are learned by listening to stories. For children younger than 10, story time is more important to them developmentally than homework. Story-time is a great way to spend quality time with your child. It provides important bonding and security for young children necessary for an ability to form healthy attachments to their parents and in future relationships. Many children in grades K-3 simply do not get enough sleep. Many children ages 4-7 need 10 hours of sleep. For many families an 8:00 p.m. bedtime is critical in order for children to get enough sleep. Even if the parents with the schedule listed above, do everything they can for their child's well-being, the reality is that their children are not getting enough physical exercise recommended for healthy development. THERE IS NO TIME FOR HOMEWORK!!! ...so what should parents do when their five, six or seven year old has been assigned 15-30 minutes of homework each day? First, go talk to your child's teacher. If you have a schedule as hectic as the one listed above, try to explain this to the teacher. Let the teacher know that you have very little quality free-time to spend with your child. Ask the teacher if there is any way to incorporate story-time into meeting your child's homework requirements. Perhaps your child's teacher can help you prepare a reading log where you and your child document what stories you read each night; and hand this to the teacher at the end of the week. Some teachers take the approach that homework, although assigned in the early grades, is optional. I do not agree with this approach, because it belittles the concept of homework. Children who are told in kindergarten that homework is optional, will have a hard time accepting the reality that homework is mandatory in 4th grade. Homework is entirely appropriate for children over age 7. These children are at a different stage in physical and psychological development than ages 4-6. These children need less sleep and, therefore, have more time to spend on homework. They can also read instructions for completing the homework. The field of psychology has known for a long time that children in early elementary school are in a different developmental stage than students in grades 2 and higher. Hopefully schools will develop their policies based on the information from the fields of child development and psychology rather than meeting pressure for higher scores on standardized exams.
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