The Bane of Students' Existence
The kind of education that children today receive at the elementary school level seems quite far advanced beyond what was taught several generations ago. It is quite simply amazing what today's generation of young children are expected to absorb, from world affairs to advanced mathematics. At least it seems like advanced mathematics, when perused by someone whose early education was not all that long in the past.
So how do busy parents, exhausted after a long day at work, then focusing on their children's needs, even begin to cope with helping the kids with homework that seems difficult enough to give them a headache, never mind the young ones? Patience grows thin and tempers no doubt flare, even when the parent understands the process and aids the kids, because homework has become an onerous add-on.
Ensuring that young students understand that these homework assignments are meant to be completed at a due date, and meant to be done well, does instill a sense of personal discipline that will be of use to them throughout their lives. But perhaps the occasional work assignment, not everyday homework could substitute for that discipline process, leaving young kids free to enjoy a few untrammeled hours after school is out.
One reads, on occasion, of parents becoming totally fed up with the demands of additional time spent mentoring their children with their homework. And those demands, if there happen to be more than one or two children in a household, can be suffocating to time-strapped adults. All the more so with the prevalence of single-parent families. So does the regular daily assigning of homework function to improve a child's learning abilities?
Apparently not, according to a report recently released under the imprimatur of the Conseil superieur de l'education in Quebec that advises the provincial government. That report advised that homework assignments for elementary school students be reconsidered, and perhaps even done away with. The 124-page report makes note of a paucity of time in families making for children left adrift to their own devices in completing homework.
Scientific studies, the report points out, have not demonstrated a definitive link between the assignment of daily homework and future academic success of elementary school students. Educators, parents and community groups should re-focus on student needs. One mother who became so disgusted with time-compression and the resulting irritation quotient she would not permit her children to do assigned homework.
And although the children's teachers complained that she was short-changing her children, their marks on report cards reflecting her children's school performance were not at all deleteriously impacted. There is a distinct lack of evidence that assigning homework has any purpose other than to burden children with unnecessary distractions throughout their early learning years, when they should be free once school hours are done, to be themselves.
The school-place formula that includes special class assignments and daily homework assignments is due for a re-think, quite obviously. One can be proud of the fact that children struggle and learn to do their best in handing in homework they've worked on the night before, and do this without undue prompting. But is it really necessary?
So how do busy parents, exhausted after a long day at work, then focusing on their children's needs, even begin to cope with helping the kids with homework that seems difficult enough to give them a headache, never mind the young ones? Patience grows thin and tempers no doubt flare, even when the parent understands the process and aids the kids, because homework has become an onerous add-on.
Ensuring that young students understand that these homework assignments are meant to be completed at a due date, and meant to be done well, does instill a sense of personal discipline that will be of use to them throughout their lives. But perhaps the occasional work assignment, not everyday homework could substitute for that discipline process, leaving young kids free to enjoy a few untrammeled hours after school is out.
One reads, on occasion, of parents becoming totally fed up with the demands of additional time spent mentoring their children with their homework. And those demands, if there happen to be more than one or two children in a household, can be suffocating to time-strapped adults. All the more so with the prevalence of single-parent families. So does the regular daily assigning of homework function to improve a child's learning abilities?
Apparently not, according to a report recently released under the imprimatur of the Conseil superieur de l'education in Quebec that advises the provincial government. That report advised that homework assignments for elementary school students be reconsidered, and perhaps even done away with. The 124-page report makes note of a paucity of time in families making for children left adrift to their own devices in completing homework.
Scientific studies, the report points out, have not demonstrated a definitive link between the assignment of daily homework and future academic success of elementary school students. Educators, parents and community groups should re-focus on student needs. One mother who became so disgusted with time-compression and the resulting irritation quotient she would not permit her children to do assigned homework.
And although the children's teachers complained that she was short-changing her children, their marks on report cards reflecting her children's school performance were not at all deleteriously impacted. There is a distinct lack of evidence that assigning homework has any purpose other than to burden children with unnecessary distractions throughout their early learning years, when they should be free once school hours are done, to be themselves.
The school-place formula that includes special class assignments and daily homework assignments is due for a re-think, quite obviously. One can be proud of the fact that children struggle and learn to do their best in handing in homework they've worked on the night before, and do this without undue prompting. But is it really necessary?
Labels: Family, Health, Human Relations, Particularities
posted by Pieface @ 6:02 PM
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