The delivery of education requires a great deal of collaboration amongst various stakeholders: policymakers, educators, parents, and children.
While a lot of the core academic work goes on within the classroom, it is imperative that what happens at school is reinforced at home.
There are many areas to consider as far as this is concerned, but one critical one is homework.
Homework time may be viewed as a daunting part of the day, usually in the evening when all that children may want to do is play, sleep, watch television or engage on their digital devices.
At this time, some parents have only just returned from work and just want to have their dinner and relax, especially after a long stressful day and many hours in traffic. Some other parents who work longer hours may even miss this activity altogether.
The importance of homework cannot be overemphasised. In addition to academic development, children stand to gain many benefits from this practice of taking a bit of school back home, and these benefits help develop life skills that can be applied in the real world.
They learn some level of independence from carrying out tasks on their own; they build retentive memory by repeating activities from the day and applying the knowledge gained to additional exercises; they build organisational skills and learn to manage time effectively; they develop a sense of ownership and responsibility, and gain that feeling of accomplishment when they return to school after having completed their tasks; and so many more.
From the schools’ and teachers’ perspectives, apart from it being an integral part of the curriculum, giving homework provides some form of feedback on the quality of the style of teaching and the effectiveness of delivery. It also forms an additional means of identifying children who may have learning challenges or those who may not be getting enough support.
As great as the benefits that children stand to gain from homework are, they will only be achieved if this activity is carried out and monitored properly.
From schools, setting appropriate assignments is key to the children’s development. Appropriateness may be a broad concept, but it is up to the schools and teachers to determine what this is in line with the curriculum they apply, the level of their students’ development, and educational standards.
Homework should be stimulating enough to ensure that the children are exposed to a healthy challenge, which would task them, further aiding their learning abilities and knowledge growth. After children return their homework to school, follow-up is also important.
Corrections need to be made and delivered effectively. Wrong answers should not be punishable offences. Rather, children should be taught how to receive and accept constructive feedback.
Support from the home is also extremely important when it comes to homework.
Our current times are rather challenging, as parents spend more hours at work and may not be able to make enough time to help their children with their homework.
While parents should strive to find this time, the reality is that they may not always be available. If they are not, it is imperative that a responsible adult or educated superior who is sufficiently knowledgeable supervises the homework sessions at home (grandparents, older siblings, afterschool services et cetera.).
These support people should be able to assist with homework sessions, but also have to be mindful that they allow the children to do work themselves (they should only facilitate the process).
They should be patient with them and ensure that they do not give excessive leeway to the children such that they end up answering the questions without getting the children to think for themselves and get the work done largely as a result of their own abilities.
Another support tool that has recently become common and is of growing concern is the Internet.
Google has literally become everyone’s best friend, for the reason that it has the answers to most questions. So people have gradually delegated their thinking process to computers.
This same practice applies directly to homework. We need to be very careful that we ensure that our children do not abuse the availability of information online, and make more use of their own cognitive power to do their homework
Additionally, giving children access to computers, in general, can be tricky because we may not be fully aware of what they get up to. Distractions from games and other leisure activities on the Internet may impair the children’s concentration on their homework. Additionally, cybersecurity needs to be checked as we spend so much time online these days and are subject to exposure to online predators.
In order to minimise this, parents may contact Internet Service Providers to discuss restriction options on various websites and platforms that may render their children vulnerable. They could also ensure that computers at home are well placed in central areas so that children’s activities can be monitored whilst they use computers.
In order to reap the full benefits, homework should be a collaborative effort involving children, teachers, and parents; with the support of resources and other tools which add value to the process. Close attention and supervision are paramount in order for this to work the right way.
