One of the American lifestyles is that hard work will lead to success. Americans apply this philosophy to their sports teams, to their careers, and to their children’s generations as well.
In many American schools, elementary school children are assigned to do homework every night for an hour or more. While many Americans believe the notion that practice creates perfection, there is also an argument that children need time to play freely to develop their language skills, control their own behaviors, and learn to take risks. So what does the scientific evidence, real facts say about homework? Why do I have to do my homework? How to do my homework effectively
Messages of homework
In the US there are many systematic assessments of the importance and effectiveness of homework for children, and all nuances of homework. Both the Center for Public Education and the Curriculum Monitoring and Development Association offer comprehensive essays summarizing facts and evidence on homework.
A 2007 analysis, published by Duke University researchers, included 50 separate studies focusing on the specific question: “Do my homework improve my academic achievement or not ”
This study follows an earlier analysis of about 100 studies published by the same researchers in 1989. Both assessments concluded that homework helps improve performance, mostly in junior high and high schools.
For children in elementary schools, the study concludes although homework may help children develop good study habits, it will not improve their grades or standardized test scores.
Based on the evidence, these facts, here are some other interesting “do my homework” messages:
– Students are more likely to complete homework assignments and learn a lot from that when there is a certain purpose. For example, it is considering the essential concepts, improving independence, or giving students the opportunity to explore interesting topics that interest them.
– Homework assignments are considered to be the most successful when they are easy enough for students to complete independently, without the need for help from others. But they still have to be challenging so that students feel interesting to do, not too boring to create pressure.
– Find out appropriate ways parents can participate in their child’s homework, which will lead to improved children’s learning.
– Homework provides many academic benefits for students at middle school age. For younger elementary school students, a small amount of homework can help them establish good regular study habits. But too much homework will reduce their time for family activities after school.
– There is clear evidence that homework improves learning for students with learning-related disabilities. The reason is these students benefit from extra time to learn new skills. Then instead of shouting out “do my homework is so boring” they will feel interested in doing it.
What can parents do to support children’s learning?
Especially for students with disabilities, it is important for parents to support their homework. But for younger children (primary school age), this study shows that there are more effective ways parents can support their children’s learning and academic achievement.
A Canadian research organization has published an overview of the best ways parents can support their children academically. Helping your child with homework is not the same as making a list. Here is what parents can do:
– Set reasonable expectations about how your child will perform in school. The best way to do this is to let children understand the beliefs of parents with their potential.
– Talk to your children about their school days. A large-scale study of American students has found that parents talking to their children about school activities and programs will have a greater impact on children’s academic achievement than parents volunteering for homework or supervising, controlling children to do their homework, or limiting their time to watch television.
– Help your child develop positive attitudes and strong work habits and actions.
Above are some tips for students and parents to understand the importance of “do my homework”. In the end, they will not have to scare “how to do my homework” anymore.
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