Helping Your Child with Homework

Homework

I have long passed the age where my children were in school and living at home but I have been observing conversations with parents (mostly mothers) about how long they spend with their children helping them with their nightly homework.  In reading a recent article by Dr. John Rosemond, family physiologist, he agreed with a recent study observed by two prominent colleges.  

This situation started  in the 1970s as part of the "boat people" migration but there is no indication that parent involvement outside of some very discrete populations (learning disabled, etc.) that this has worked.  What it does do is enables the parent and the child's grades become very personal.  Now you've got a parent complaining about a child's grade.  Now a child's weakness becomes more pronounced because the parent has become the enabler.  Those weaknesses may never be totally developed because they have "a helper".

A recent study by University of Texas and Duke University analyzed 30 years worth of data regarding parents helping in children's academic homework.  What they discovered is parents who help with homework may actually be hurting their children's chances for success.  Regardless of race, income or education level, parental help did not translate to higher scores on standardized tests.

What did result was the parent taking responsibility for the child's achievement level.  Very simply put: the more responsible the parent, the less responsible the child.  The children developed a psychologists term "learned helplessness syndrome".

I know we don't want to see children struggle, but it many cases, it's not a bad thing.  Struggle can cause growth.  What the children need is encouragement and empathy for their struggles.

The entire study is in the book,  "The Broken Compass: Parent Involvement with Children's Education," by Keith Robinson and Angel Harris.  Available at Amazon.