Homework Tips for Learners and Parents

Homework can be the source of stress, for learner and parent. Psychologist DR GLORIA MARSAY offers tips for learner and parents on how to handle homework effectively.

Heard it before? “I’ve got so much homework and I also have to study for exams!”

It is a cry from young people for help. The harsh reality of the workload which our young people face can leave them feeling hopeless and helpless.

Precious family time is often rushed, and conversations about homework can be unpleasant.

Parents have their own duties to attend to, and also have to become increasingly involved with helping their youngsters to get homework done, so that peace and harmony can return to the household.

Here are eight homework tips for learners:

1. Make a plan

Use a homework planner. It helps to break down tasks into bite-size pieces. Make a list of what needs to be done each day.  Estimate how long it will take you. Prioritise what you need to do most urgently.

2. Right time and place

Organise your workplace so that you are comfortable and have everything you need: your books, stationery and water to drink. Maybe use a timer or alarm so that you can keep track of time.

3. Right fuel

Make sure you have had something nutritious to eat before you start. Avoid junk food and too much sugar — it does not sustain you properly during a work period. Drink water!

When you begin to feel tired, fill your lungs with air; get up move around; stretch your body. Take deep breaths. Inhale energy and exhale tiredness.

4. Lose the distractions

Avoid anything that may distract you. Leave your phone in another room. In fact, anything with a screen can be homework’s most vicious enemy.

5. Focus, focus, focus

Be mindful of the task at hand. The more you focus on the task and concentrate, the sooner it will get done — and you won’t have to sit there for hours trying to make it finish.

6. Work smartly

Allow yourself some short breaks. Switch between high-and low-attention tasks. Switching tasks gives your brain a little rest.

After doing high-concentration tasks, do something that requires less concentration. Often it feels good to get the more difficult stuff done first.

For an A+ do a little revision of what you find difficult every day.

7. Make it pleasant

Music may help to make the load lighter.  But music with lyrics is distracting, so try instrumental music. Music can sometimes drown out other distractions.

And the eighth and final tip: Reward yourself when the job is done.

 

And here’s the parents’ “Guide to Happy Homework Routines”:

1. From nagging

to good planning

Provide a quiet place in the home for homework. Avoid clutter and distractions in the homework area. Youngsters have a limited concept of time management. Help them make effective use of time-keeping and other organisational strategies.

2. Offer solution

Assist your youngster to prioritise what tasks are the most important, and together create a workable plan to reduce anxiety.

Break each task into bite-sized pieces.

It is your task as parent to assist with useful strategies, not to do the homework. Remember, it is your child’s homework, not yours.

3. Stand back

Homework becomes a monster when it ends in a power-struggle or fight. If discipline becomes necessary, use prearranged withdrawal of privileges rather than shouting and scolding. Help youngsters to understand the consequences of not doing what is required, rather than putting your relationship at risk by shouting and nagging.

4. Be the model

Approach homework as a task that needs to be done, not as a punishment. We all need to do things we don’t enjoy doing.

Discuss some useful strategies that you use when you need to get a task done. Then allow your youngsters to choose their own strategies.

Homework is the foundation for a disciplined and organised adult in the future world of work.  Help your youngster learn the discipline of working independently.

5. Encourage, encourage, and encourage more

Encourage your youngster rather than punish. Be supportive and encourage them to work smartly.

Use behaviour techniques to keep your child focused on the task by reinforcing target behaviours that build positive self-confidence and self-efficacy rather than using negative comments that may compromise self-esteem.

If your youngster needs to be monitored, develop unobtrusive, pre-arranged signals to remind them about staying focused.

When all else fails—get professional help. Good relationships go a long way to making difficult tasks more pleasant, and success more attainable.

6. Offer a reward

Decide beforehand what the reward will be. Each child will be different. Some prefer company to a physical object, others prefer an activity to chatting. Try to avoid items that cost money and TV time as a reward—but if you succumb, put a time limit to it, for example, one episode of a favourite show.

Dr Gloria Marsay is an educational psychologist and pastoral therapist in Johannesburg.