Is homework good for kids? Does it lead to better learning? Do today’s students have too much, or not enough? The Challenge Success folks just published a white paper that tries to answer these questions. And even more importantly, they finish with recommendations for teachers, and some for parents, on sensible, healthy homework approaches. I particularly appreciated this portion of the parent recommendations, which works just as well when you swap “teens” for “children.”
“Let children make mistakes and experience ‘successful failures.’ Recognize that a missed or poorly done homework assignment every now and then is not going to hurt your child in the long run. Parents can help students organize their time or prioritize assignments, but when parents regularly deliver forgotten assignments to school or step in to rescue a child at the last minute, they may be denying the child the opportunity to develop resilience and fortitude.”