Deputy Principal
The Importance of Regular Study
Does your son/daughter constantly tell you that they have no homework? I know it happens regularly at my house. Don’t worry, they tell me, 'I did it all in class.' This is where we need to distinguish between the definitions of homework and study. Homework is finishing the work that was set in class by the teacher and study is going over the work that was done in class and making notes to ensure that you understand the concepts that have been taught. Making study notes as they go will help your child when it comes to exam/assessment time as they will not have to start their study from scratch, they will already have notes that they have written along the way.
It is normal for our children to feel some stress coming into exam/assessment time. That is a part of life. We can help them build resilience by ensuring that they have a weekly planner in place that captures all of their activities that includes not only their co-curricular activities, but also their homework/study. There is no doubt that most of our children are busier than we were when we were their age, however, routines are so important if we want to set them up to achieve.
Steps to help your child succeed academically include:
Set up a weekly planner – it is important that this is in place so that your son knows the expectations at the start of each week. This should include time for study/homework, co-curricular activities, and important family events like birthdays which may take a night out of that week's routine.
Getting the balance right – planning ensures that your son knows the expectation of when it is time to do schoolwork. It is important that they can see that there is still time to socialise and do other activities but when it is time to study, it is important.
Create a space for homework/study – this is important, each house will be different. However, if possible, it needs to be done in a public space, especially for our younger students. Locking themselves in their room left to their own devices, often leads to unproductive and disrupted learning as they will often use their devices for non-academic pursuits.
Allow them to have break times in their study – it is unrealistic to assume that they will sit there for long periods of time. Try half an hour with a five minute break, before they do the next half hour.
Be supportive and try to help – I know this is a hard thing to do sometimes as in the busyness of all of our lives, we can get frustrated that they have left things to the last minute. I know I do. Take a breath and be supportive and if you can, help them with their work (I know my limit with Mathematics is Year 9!).
Encourage them to ask for help – if they cannot do something encourage them to ask their teacher the next day. Sometimes they can just give up and just leave it. While that may work on that occasion when the next unit of work builds upon previous content, they will ultimately have to catch up on the work.
No phones while studying – I am not saying to take their phone for the night, but ultimately if they have it when they are studying, chances are they will be using it for reasons other than study.
Ultimately all we want is for our children to do their best. They are all different and they will all achieve at different levels. The main thing is that they are happy. Putting some boundaries in place around their homework/study will ultimately lead to happiness even though they may not see that in the short-term.
Adrian Byrne
Deputy Principal