High school homework

[aibuhellno]

Hi, my kids start high school in september and over summer we have been given a taster of the homework. Its got me wondering how much help i should be giving with homework on a daily basis?

My son is the type to say he cant do it until i practically do it for him but i want him to learn that it is his responsibility now.

Obviously i will help but at what level?

I've had homework handed in in mum's handwriting

In maths there are always kids who hand in perfect homework then flunk the tests. I'd rather know that they were struggling than have someone give them the answers.

noble Just so as you know, I am always very clear on DDs homework where I have helped. We leave the wrong stuff and redo as opposed to pretending it never happened. If she really doesn't understand it, it gets left. DDs do relatively well in tests as I work with them to ensure understanding beforehand. DD1 moved up 4 sets in secondary via this approach, so I am hoping it works for DD2 too.

At our school I believe we had a 'homework club' where kids could go after school a couple of times a week to have an educational environment to get their work done with TA's floating around. Maybe you could see if there's one at this school?

You could start helping him to think for himself by asking the questions he puts to you back at him, and getting him to develop thinking skills or looking things up before depending on you to give the answer.

I'm sure you will both settle into it, and they won't start the kids off with anything impossible at the start of term :)

If it's an essay style question I help by asking questions beforehand so THEY can develop their answers. So what, why, how style questions.

If it's a practical question I make sure they understand the theory, and if they don't I work through an example of my own with them, following the rules in their book.

Sometimes it's about showing them how to find the information in their books, but not finding them the information.

Sometimes, particularly honours maths and physics, we find a website with a different way of approaching the topic and we work through that.

Always, when I've had to help them work through something they haven't understood they talk to their teacher and clarify it with them. If they use an external source they talk to the teacher and explain why they found it helpful. DSs physics teacher recommended one website we found to the other students as a useful revision tool

I've never done their homework for them or asked them to redo it. I will remind them to check over their answers and to watch their writing.

I also felt if was my job to gently guide them in the right direction, but they had to choose which path to follow to get there.

And the rule in our house was that homework was, where possible, completed on the day it was set.

Including Friday night.

(I particularly like these guides the then DCSF produced, while some refs to the amount of homework are no longer relevant, I find the tips on how to support your child particularly helpful)

8-13 _ Getting into Homework

14-19 Coaching your teenager

<a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121003085012/www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/HelpingYourChildToLearn/DG_185973" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121003085012/www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/HelpingYourChildToLearn/DG_185973

I've got a friend who does her son's maths (and other) homework for him. It's bonkers as he isn't going to learn anything from it. I think she does it to stop him getting detentions.

Ah Teen I wasn't thinking you were an unhelpful 'helpful' parent You know what you're talking about, which is a good start!

There's a skill to helping kids with maths without telling them the answer. I think there are some parents who say 'what's 8 divided by 2? Good! Write that down. Now add 7. Write that down. Divide by 10. Hey, you got the right answer, well done!' And then think that the kid did most of it themselves.

DS needs confidence rather than understanding - he knows the answers, just can't explain it very well.

I'm building confidence!!

With maths the answers are irrelevant to understanding the process