Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Words of comfort to parents about homework

Paul Cappon, President and CEO, CCL

Oct. 25, 2006

A national survey on learning recently released by the Canadian Council on Learning reveals that almost two-thirds of Canadians feel parents don’t have enough knowledge to help their children with homework. Although parents may not be able to cope with the homework themselves, 93 per cent of Canadians believe that homework “is an important part of schooling.”

They are absolutely right.  Research supports the idea that homework assignments in reasonable amounts can substantially contribute to learning. Not surprisingly, students who do homework perform better on tests and other assessments than students who duck it. And, up to a point—there is such a thing as too much homework—the more homework students do, the better they perform.

So, is parents’ inability to provide homework assistance a serious problem?  The short answer is no.

Parents will be relieved to learn that they don’t need to rush out and brush up on their knowledge of physics, calculus and literature. However, parents should play an important part in their children’s homework by taking an interest in their children’s schoolwork, ensuring their children have a regular time and place to do their homework, and making certain that their children complete their homework in a timely fashion. 

What parents shouldn’t do is complete their children’s homework, because this defeats its purpose.

Homework is a form of independent practice designed to be done without the assistance of the teacher or parents.  Homework is usually assigned so students will practice and solidify newly acquired concepts and skills, or apply ones that are already well-honed. Students shouldn’t practice something independently if they haven’t mastered the skill or concept well enough to avoid making mistakes again and again. Repeating errors simply reinforces misconceptions, making subsequent instruction more difficult for the teacher, and more challenging and frustrating for the learner.  When homework is too difficult, it becomes counter productive and its value for the student is lost.

But parents, take heart. You can make a significant contribution to your children’s schoolwork, even without expertise in specific subjects. Here are four ways:

• Help your children develop good work habits, manage their time and set priorities, so they can address homework assignments in a disciplined manner and avoid last-minute panics.
  
  
• Provide your children with a quiet study space and ensure that homework time is established and respected within the family schedule.  This could mean requiring your children to finish their homework before playing with their friends.
  
  
• Take an interest in your children’s schoolwork and acknowledge the effort they have devoted to complete their assignments, at home and in school.
  
  
• Watch for signs that your children are experiencing unusual degrees of difficulty. If a child needs help understanding or completing the work assigned by the teacher, it may mean the concepts haven’t been mastered in class to the extent required for independent practice at home. The best way a parent can assist a struggling student is to talk to the teacher. Ideally, all three parties—the student, the parent and the teacher—will be involved in finding solutions to a student’s challenges.

Schools and families both share responsibility for children’s education.  Among the greatest contributions parents can make is developing a positive attitude toward learning, which starts with reading to their children at an early age, by serving as models for ongoing learning themselves and by acting as advocates for their children if they continually struggle with schoolwork.

This article was first published by globeandmail.com on Oct. 25, 2006.

Top