There is nothing like the holidays to take a break and evaluate your life. Any time we step away from our routines, we begin to see things more objectively. With this perspective, it is natural to desire change. No wonder we make resolutions!
But, Do Resolutions Actually Work?
I was recently asked a million-dollar question, “How can I make homework more interesting for my child?”
The premise of this question is a bit faulty. It is like asking, “How do I make ‘paying bills’ more interesting?” You can play loud music and eat a lot of ice cream while paying bills, but at the end of the day, you are still dishing out your money to others. No matter how you “dress it up,” paying bills is a chore.
Recently, a Homework Rx® subscriber asked for tips to help her daughter stay on-task with her homework. Just last night, a student in my Homework Action Group complained of the same problem. “I have a hard time staying focused on homework. It takes me forever to do it!”
I also remember, as a young student, sitting at my desk, wriggling and squirming until I decided that I needed a drink, or snack, or pencil… After getting lost in the kitchen and sucked into a TV show, it was at least an hour before I returned to my homework. I usually had several of these distractions before it became so late that I finally had no choice but to get my homework done. By that time, I was very irritable, annoyed, and impatient (don’t laugh, Mom!), which made homework even worse. (more…)
As students begin a new semester, this is the perfect time to establish some new routines to improve the process of doing homework.
The first question to ask yourself is, “If there is one thing I could improve about homework, what would it be?” The first answer that probably came to mind was, “Get rid of it!” Honestly, that would be my first response, too. However, homework is a fact-of-life and serves a very good purpose (whether we like it or not), so let’s try that again… (more…)
As a classroom teacher, I used to hear excuses from a few students every morning about why they did not have their homework. Most of them had to do with extra-curricular commitments: “I couldn’t do my homework last night because I had a baseball game.” Or, “I had to go to my brother’s basketball game.” Some of the excuses were due to family obligations: “We had to take my grandma out for her birthday last night.” The best excuse I ever heard… (more…)
The winter break is before us and, speaking for myself, procrastination is setting in. Case in point…I REALLY did not want to sit down and write this article for December. I came up with all kinds of excuses by thinking things like, “I have too many other things to do that are much more pressing.” Or, “Who really cares about homework tips and study skills in December, anyway?” Truth be told, I would prefer to finish my Christmas shopping, wrap a few gifts, sit under the beautiful lights on my Christmas tree sipping hot cocoa, and daydreaming about my upcoming family vacation. (more…)
Tobi Flair
Public Middle School
New Orleans, LA
Tobi Flair is the principal at Harry Hurst Middle School in Destrehan, Louisiana. Her building has built a 20-minute session of “SOAR time” into their daily schedule.
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