Helping Kids Succeed Alaskan Style!
Practical Suggestions for Building Assets in Your Child
Asset # 23- Homework
Words of Encouragement Last year, as a freshman in college, I found, for the first
time, that I didn't know how to study. Studying is a concept I should have learned in High School, but because I did not feel challenged, I got by with
very little studying. Asset 23 encourages youth to complete one or more
hours of homework every day. This is a fabulous habit! It enables one to
develop time management skills and a work routine. Good study habits
include spending time outside of class for studying or working on projects. To ensure that your student spends one or more hours of
homework per day be in communication with your child's teacher. Most
teachers send out a weekly bulletin announcing future projects or homework
assignments. It will also help if your child's teacher knows that you
support homework being assigned, and you're willing to help your child with
their daily homework. I remember my mother proofreading almost all of my
papers before I handed them in. I not only learned revision skills, but
also developed proofreading skills because of her efforts. When it comes to studying and doing homework, establish a
pattern. I find that I work best late afternoon/early evening. This varies
for everyone. Find your child's best time of day and provide a quiet,
undisturbed environment for them. Perhaps some soft music in the background
will help, or having a small bowl of trail mix or popcorn they can munch on
as they go through their homework. Support your student if they are having difficulties, often
you'll find that they're not the only one feeling this way. Get a group of
students together to work on homework with each other. They can discuss the
assignment and will probably be able to help each other if one gets stuck.
Try to quietly monitor just to be sure that one person isn't doing the work
for everyone. These are just a few suggestions from my own personal
experience, and from other Alaskans throughout the state. Encourage your
children to do one or more hours of homework each day, and be available to
help when needed. Research Studies that
have looked at the effects of time spent on homework have found a positive
relationship between time spent on homework and school success. Time spent
on homework has been associated with better mental health and lower drug
use. It has also been associated with: Higher
achievement test scores, grades, or both. Keith et al.,
1986; Leone & Richards, 1989; Thomas et al., 1993 Improved
scientific literacy Reynolds,
1991 Greater
completion and accuracy of homework Miller &
Kelley, 1991 Reduced
behavioral conduct problems Hagborg,
1991 Lessened
chance of marijuana use Smith, 1992 Quotes: "The
worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." James Bryce "What
we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished
with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books." http://www.quoteland.com
author.asp?AUTHOR_ID=478Thomas Carlyle Developing a
method for recording and prioritizing school work, and scheduling time to
complete it, are essential to school success. Diane Heacox, author of Up
from Under-Achievement, a parenting book about helping your child succeed
in school. This newsletter and
other asset resources are produced by the Association of
Alaska School Boards Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement
(Alaska ICE) 316 West 11th Street Juneau, Alaska 99801 Tel: (907) 586-1486 Fax: (907) 586-1450 Email: alaskaice@aasb.org