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The Home-School Connection: Keys to Student Success

“It is the duty of parents to maintain their children decently, and according to their circumstances; to protect them according to the dictates of prudence; and to educate them according to the suggestions of a judicious and zealous regard for their usefulness, their respectability and happiness.” — James Wilson, Lectures on Law, 1791

Like most people, I’ve been reading a great many articles about our nation’s public schools. The authors of these articles are correct in stating that factors such as low student attendance, misbehavior, lack of student motivation and the near-impossibility of removing poorly performing teachers and administrators are at least partly to blame. I believe some of these are more symptomatic than causal and that there may be some more fundamental factors at play. This is a vast topic and I plan on discussing other aspects of the situation in the future.

More and more students are coming from single-parent homes. Many single parents are capable of handling the task of holding down a full-time job or multiple part-time jobs in addition to raising a family, but even the most loving and dedicated parent will find it difficult to balance the demands of career, homemaking, and parenting.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently found that 67% of two-parent families had both parents employed outside the home. Sometimes one or both parents must leave for work before the children leave for school and they may arrive home well after dinner-time. When both parents work outside the home they might be too tired or distracted to check on their children’s schoolwork, or they may prefer to ignore it altogether and spend what time they have with their children in more enjoyable pursuits.

Even parents with the best of intentions may lack the time or the skills necessary to help their children complete their homework successfully. Parents may ask the child if they had homework, or if they’ve finished their homework. Many children will say that they have finished it or didn’t have any. A better approach would be for the parent to tell the child to show them their homework. Even a cursory parental inspection will help teach the child accountability.

This assumes, of course, that school administrators have not decided to eliminate homework completely.

At one time, a rule of thumb amongst educators was that students should be assigned roughly ten minutes of homework per grade level per night. I’ve spent almost forty years teaching math and science to students in grades six through nine, including a few years as an assistant principal and principal. In my experience, most of the students who were making average to high grades were spending that recommended amount of time on homework. The best students almost always put in some time for review on Sunday nights in order to better prepare for their return to class on Monday.

Children are often involved in organized after-school programs and must be ferried about to games and activities. While these programs are valuable and can contribute to physical fitness and socialization, there are only so many hours in the day. If a student sleeps for eight hours, spends eight more hours in school and two to four more hours in free time, sports or other extracurricular activities there are still two to four hours available for homework. It has been my experience that students who are involved in an after-school sport or activity must learn to budget their time and so they are better able to schedule their homework and ensure that it gets done properly. Conversely, students who are uninvolved in extra-curricular activities have larger blocks of unscheduled time each day, and may delay doing homework until it is too late.

Distractions from video games and social media are ubiquitous and can easily consume enormous amounts of time. Scheduling activities and prioritizing responsibilities are skills that must be learned and practiced. The same can be said for other study skills. It is unreasonable to expect that children and even parents know how to do these instinctively. There is a wealth of information on study skills available on-line.

Teachers should also give consideration to the quality of homework assignments in addition to the quantity. Some teachers allow time for students to begin their homework assignments in class so the student has an opportunity to ask questions before taking the work home. There are innumerable possibilities to tailor the schedule, amount and type of individual work to facilitate learning. Just as musicians and athletes need practice time, so too do students in academic situations.

We have witnessed a precipitous decline in academic achievement in our nation’s schools, especially since COVID. We used to teach Latin and Greek in high school, and now we’re teaching remedial math and English in college. We’ve been pouring more and more money into our nation’s public school system and in return our children’s academic performance has steadily declined. In some cities such as Baltimore and Chicago, the decline has been startling. When I see the results demonstrated publicly I fear for America. Videos such as these may cause us to laugh and shake our heads, until we remember that these are the people who will soon be filling positions of responsibility in our society.

I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, (A)nd if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power. —Thomas Jefferson

A Call to Action

The challenges facing our public schools are multifaceted, and while the issues of attendance, behavior, and motivation are critical, they often stem from deeper societal dynamics. It is essential that we, as a community, take proactive steps to support our children’s education.

Parents: Make a commitment to be involved in your child’s academic journey. Your involvement can instill a sense of accountability and enthusiasm for learning.

Educators: Recognize the diverse needs of your students and tailor homework assignments accordingly. Foster an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, and consider incorporating class time for homework discussions. This approach not only enhances understanding but also bridges the gap between school and home.

Policymakers: Advocate for policies that promote parental engagement and community support in education. Invest in training programs for parents on how to effectively support their children’s learning at home. Additionally, consider initiatives that address the systemic issues affecting education funding and resource allocation, ensuring that all students receive the support they need to thrive.

Together, we can create a culture of collaboration that empowers our students to achieve their fullest potential. The responsibility for our children’s education does not rest solely on the shoulders of schools; it is a shared commitment that requires active participation from parents, educators, and the community as a whole. Let’s work together to cultivate an environment where every child can succeed.

Free image, Pixabay license.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.