Everybody is under the assumption that when it comes to handing out homework and deciding how much homework your child should get, it is up to the teachers. They know what is best in regards to homework, right? However, you might be shocked to realize that research shows that most teachers during their education courses have never once studied anything about homework. This means that hardly any of the teachers are aware of the fact that homework has little to no effect with academic success in elementary school. Nor are they aware of the fact that homework overload has a negative impact on learning in all grades.
Due to their lack of education on the topic of homework, most teachers are not able to design a homework program that is full of good assignments. Nor are these same teachers able to determine how much homework they need to give their students, or if they should assign homework that involves a student’s parents. In fact, for most teachers the subject of homework is an afterthought because most of their education focuses on teaching children. A further drawback for these teachers is that once they begin teaching they will seldom get guidance from their schools on the subject of homework. The reason for this is that only 35% of the schools in the United States have written homework policies.
Due to these facts, it is no wonder that many of our students are suffering from homework overload. If your children’s teachers do not know how much homework is considered too much, chances are your child is currently dealing with homework overload. As a parent, one of the worst things that you can do is sit back and allow the homework overload to continue. What you need to do is to step in and talk to the teacher about the problems that your child is having with the amount of homework that is currently being assigned.
Here are some tips that you can follow when approaching your child’s teacher to discuss homework overload.
Tip one:
When approaching the teacher make sure that you do so in a positive manner. You want to approach the teacher in a respectful and friendly way. Avoid being aggressive because then the teacher will take the defensive side of things and the conversation will most likely not go anywhere. When you are approaching the teacher about your concerns, you want to do so in person rather than through an email, although the initial request for a meeting can be handled through email or even over the phone.
Tip two:
When talking to the teacher you want to be clear and concise as to what you think the problem is, if possible talk to other parents beforehand so that you can discuss with the teacher that it is not just your student struggling with the homework load. You should also make it clear as to what you think the best possible solutions are for the homework problem.
Tip three:
Never sit back and take what the teacher has to say as something that is written in stone. The reason for this is that only you know what is going on in your house each night during homework. If the teacher brings up the point that only your student is having these problems, which is highly unlikely, you still need to point out that the homework is not working for your child. A good teacher is going to do everything that they can to try to figure out what will work best for your child because they want your student to excel just like everybody else.
Parenting viewpoints from parents in the trenches, because parenting doesn’t come with a manual. In addition to