By Gail O'Mara, E/MS Principal

It is rare to have a meeting to discuss any variety of concerns for a student without the topic of homework being raised in one context or another. Homework; it’s just always there, in among all the other persistent challenges of a school day.

The ever quickening pace of family life, growing commitments of family, work, healthcare, social involvement all vie for our too little time each day.

Homework has goals: to support and reinforce skills and information the students have worked on at school, to give practice in skills in a different context.

What makes homework such an issue is often what the student, and family of the each student has lived through in the previous “homework history.” Before coming to LPS, students and families may have had one of these scenarios happening in the homework arena:

• “My son was never assigned home work.”

• “His aide did his homework for/with him in school. He was never expected to write, in school or at home. There was always a scribe.”

• “Her homework was so difficult, I did it for her; there was no way she could do any of the assignments. If the homework was not passed in, she would get a failing grade”

• “His written work is so limited, He might be able to write in school but this does not transfer to home.”

• “She is so anxious. She just can’t even start the homework unless I sit with her every minute. Even though she’s in middle school, she has not confidence to do homework. It’s just overwhelming.”

Sound familiar?
It’s not easy to unravel the complex reasons why homework is such a challenge for our students. What is easier is to understand the goals we have at LPS: to transfer more responsibility to our students, from students in the elementary grades to the high schoolers. Our philosophy and school mission has at the core the goal of making students more independent, responsible learners, workers and social beings. Past educational experiences have often involved students developing poor work habits and ineffective coping skills. “Learned helplessness” is a term that we often discuss to describe the phenomenon of students who can be taught to be more independent but have lots of difficulty giving up the teacher’s, aide’s mom’s and dad’s help,  and recognizing it is time, once and for all, to do homework (and more) with more independence and confidence.

We have developed many strategies and supports at LPS to make homework reasonable and viable for our students:

• Staff present work at the students’ level

• The daily assignment sheet provides information about daily assignments

• Students complete work in class that is similar to the types of homework assignments that are sent home (Yes, staff teach students in school how to complete homework; they model, they give feedback and support.)

• Students have repetitive formats (current events, spelling packet, study guides, flashcards etc.) that are used routinely for homework tasks and test preparation.

• Students are provided with study “tools” (math charts, spelling rules, class notes etc.)

• Students have a month at a glance calendar in the note book that notes special events and dates of upcoming tests.

• Special projects have a set and explicit timeline to guide the process and very difficult task of time management.

So, homework is homework, is homework. Each student and family is different in managing the requirements of homework. The teaching staff and counselors have long been helpful, supportive in discussing/clarifying homework, setting forth individualized, concrete steps to success, making accommodations, designing homework plans and contracts with Thinking Map models and guides. But these efforts are successful only over time; the students go to more independence with reluctance.
We see the value of homework, the reinforcement, the learning “mileage” of reviewing information at home. But the biggest reward and growth is in the students’ movement toward confidence and independence.

If you have questions about homework, please contact your student’s counselor or teacher to discuss your concern.