Is your child's HW losing the battle to IM?
A recent study by the HAA (Horatio Alger Association) found that high school students spend an average of just over eight hours a week on homework. This may seem inconsequential, but tack on a full class-load, extracurricular activities, social activities with friends, a part-time job, and a couple of quick meals, and there’s barely enough time to sleep. It’s no surprise then, that time management is a major concern for both parents and students trying to excel in today’s fast paced world.
As founder of AKtive Learning, Andrea Shiffman specializes in one-on-one academic tutoring for New York City students. She also coaches parents and students on cracking the time-crunch, and has offered to share some of her strategies, compiled throughout her years as both a public and private educator, with NYC parents and students in need.
Andrea emphasizes creating good habits. Starting your new time management plan at the beginning of the school year or semester rather than in the middle helps avoid those nasty “why haven’t you done your homework” confrontations both parents and students dread. By focusing on instilling good habits, rather than breaking bad habits, you avoid frustrating a high school student who is already overwhelmed with his or her jam-packed schedule.
Good Habit 1: Create a distraction-free zone.
This doesn’t always mean the bedroom. Sometimes, this is the worst place for your child to focus, given the computer, TV, stereo and gaming system at their fingertips. Maybe, the living room or dining area can give your child the peace and quiet he or she needs to get their work done. Andrea has found that many students work well at the dining room table, which is fine, unless the rest of the family is buzzing around. This can easily become a distraction. Sometimes, a reading table or cubical in the public library offers a perfect study-environment for your child. Though, Andrea warns, the key to creating a distraction-free zone is being able to control your environment. Working in a public place may not give your child the power they need to keep things quiet.
Andrea also points out that location isn’t the only concern for creating a distraction-free zone. Students also have to turn off their cell phones and disable the instant messaging or internet access on their computers. Parents might hear some groans over this, but if students set aside a couple of hours at the same time each day for homework, it will create a routine that your child will become comfortable with. Of course, positive reinforcement, after homework, in the form of praise and the occasional pizza wouldn’t hurt either.
Good Habit 2: Archive and Organize your work.
Andrea says the first step in organization is getting a planner for your son or daughter. The planner should be small enough to carry from class to class along with a host of other text and notebooks, but should also have enough room to write multiple assignments each day. Some students may have electric planners, which should give more flexibility but can also become in-class distractions. In fact, some teachers may not allow them in class at all. The key is that the student writes down his or her assignments everyday at the end of every class, not just when they feel like it.
Once you have a planner for daily assignments, Andrea suggests finding a wall-calendar to hang in the distraction-free zone to chart big projects and exams. The student will write down all assignments in their daily planner, and then transpose the big projects and exams on to the wall calendar at the beginning of each homework session. Color coding is a great visual tool. Your child can use different colored markers to signify different classes and projects. Maybe, he or she writes English in blue, Math in green and Science in orange. This will help ingrain the different assignments in the student’s memory. As soon as a project or exam is listed on the calendar, the student should mark off each day leading up to the due-date.
As the semester rolls on, students accumulate notes, handouts and graded assignments. A common problem Andrea finds is that students keep everything with them, creating an organizational nightmare she calls the “Just in Case” disease. Students lug around heavy backpacks full of work they think they might need, or decide not to carry them at all, leaving important assignments at home or at school, never to be finished. To solve this problem, Andrea suggests creating a simple filing system for old assignments and notes. Set aside a shelf in your child’s bedroom or distraction-free zone just for schoolbooks, supplies and binders. Then, designate a few binders with dividers (that never leave home) for each of your student’s classes. Students can file notes, handouts and graded assignments that they no longer need to take to school in the corresponding section. Not only will this keep their notebooks and backpacks clean, it will also make finding old assignments easy for review come exam time.
Good Habit 3: Know and use your support systems.
New York City parents work long, hard hours, and Andrea realizes how precious their time at home is. Who wants to spend what little time they have with their kids arguing over homework? Believe it or not, there are resources for today’s working parent. Many schools and teachers now have websites that offer exam and homework schedules for classes. In a couple of minutes, you can see what your son or daughter is up to and when their tests are, without trying to contact a teacher, who is just as busy as you are and often difficult to get a hold of. Public libraries in NYC also offer programs like Dial-A-Teacher, accessible through their website: homeworkhelp.org, or by calling 212-777-3380. This program offers after-school homework help for K-12 students in all subjects. Other parents hire tutors, who help students stay on track and develop and excel as scholars.
Busy schedules overwhelm and confuse students, often preventing them from achieving their potential. But Andrea assures us, by implementing good habits, students learn that organization can save time and relieve the stress of disorder, and that a couple of hours of homework a day, in a quiet place, with their planner at their side, can not only boost your child’s self confidence, but also their grades.
Tips for Dealing with School Stress
from www.healiohealth.com
Keeping It Real
When it comes to dealing with school stress, the most important thing to remember is to keep it real! Learn what stress is, what it isn't, and what it can do if you choose to let it rule your life. Here are some facts to help you keep it real!
What Stress Is
Stress is can be combination of both your schedule and schoolwork. Notice whether your schedule allows you enough time to get all your schoolwork done or whether you need to budget your time better to accomplish all your assignments. If finding time to get your schoolwork done seems almost impossible, plan to find a quiet place (like a library or study hall) to spend the first hour or two after school to do your homework.
If scheduling is not the problem and the schoolwork is too difficult for you, plan to spend the first few hours after school in your teacher's classroom or a study hall to get the tutoring you need! Avoiding budgeting your time or asking for help may be unnecessarily increasing your stress level at school.
What Stress Isn't
The schedule and the schoolwork that may be causing you stress is not something to lose sleep over or get so upset over that you can't eat. If you're disturbing your sleeping patterns or your eating patterns, or if you're impairing your ability to concentrate at home, a change is in order. Talk with your parents, counselors, and teachers to come up with a schedule that you can actually follow and homework assignments that you can realistically accomplish. You may need some help with budgeting your time better, or you might need to take a class that is less demanding.
What Stress Can Do
If you are not in control of your stress, your stress will be in control of you. If you do not learn to budget your schedule and your assignments, your stress level will continue to rise with the increased number of homework assignments and hectic pace of your life. High levels of stress can reduce your ability to concentrate, cause drowsiness or fatigue, and make it very difficult for you to function throughout the day. You can prevent these things from happening by maintaining an organized schedule that includes time for homework and by choosing to take courses that are not too demanding.
Dealing with It!
Now that you're keeping it real, you need to know how to deal with the stress that school can have on you. Check out these easy ways to deal with the pressures of school.
Maintain Perspective
Remember, the world will not end if you do not finish all your homework assignments perfectly or if you are a little late with handing in an assignment on a rare occasion. No homework assignment is so important that you should lose sleep or make yourself sick over it. If you find yourself overly stressed about simple assignments, repeat: "It is only a homework assignment." Focus on doing your homework to the best of your ability instead of doing it perfectly.
Get Organized!
You can reduce your school stress by becoming more organized. Make sure that all your books are labeled and that you have plenty of supplies such as paper, pens, notebooks, and calculators. Also organize your coursework so that you have a different folder for each class; this will help to keep your assignments clear and help you to find your information more quickly when you are doing your homework. A lack of organization can cause you needless stress and can make you take you longer to complete your assignments.
Betcha Didn't Know
A lack of organization is what stresses out many students and prevents them from beginning and accomplishing schoolwork.
Prioritize
Prioritize your schoolwork. Notice what date each of your assignments are due, and estimate how much time each assignment will take you to complete. Then prioritize your work. Make sure that the assignments that are due immediately and the larger assignments that require more work (like a term paper) are at the top of your list. Be sure to work on the assignments in the order that you have them written down. When you prioritize your work, you will be less likely to fall behind in your school work and will be more likely to hand in your assignments on time. You'll also feel much more relaxed!
Maintain Your Focus
Stay focused on your assignments, and do not allow yourself to get distracted by the radio, TV, the Internet, or friends. Be sure that the place you have chosen to do your homework has very few, if any, distractions so that you will not be interrupted and can devote your time and attention to your work. Maintain your focus so that you can complete your assignments and avoid feeling stressed about not finishing your work later.
Learn to Say "No"
Learn to say "no" when you already have a very full academic schedule. If your friends or family ask you to do something that will conflict with getting your assignments finished, explain to them that you unfortunately have to say "no" even though you would like to say "yes" because it would interfere with completing your school work. You might be surprised at how understanding and sympathetic your friends and family will be.
Get Extensions
If at all possible, ask your teacher for an extension. Ask if you can have a little extra time to complete your homework. Your teacher may allow you to turn in your homework late for either a grade lower than you would have received on your assignment or without lowering your grade at all if you do not make it a habit of turning in late work.
Betcha Didn't Know
Asking for an occasional extension is permissible to some teachers as long as it does not become a habit and the reason for an extension is not due to poor planning or laziness. If you absolutely need an extension because of an emergency situation, speak up! Ask for help and get an extension.
Remember, even if your teacher insists on lowering your grade on your assignment for turning in late work, any credit is better than no credit at all!
Stress-Busters
Sometimes, dealing with the stress of school just isn't enough. Sometimes you need some slammin' ways to wrap up your school work so you can get your groove on and start kickin' it with your friends. Here's how to bust your stress so you can get out the door and bust a move with your homies. Check out the 411 ...
Take Breaks
Take breaks! You'll find that you will be able to think more clearly and have more energy if you take breaks every 45 minutes to an hour when you are doing your homework. Get up and stretch, take a short walk, or get a drink of water. A 5- to 10-minute break will help you feel refreshed and ready to complete your assignments.
Use Teamwork
Put together a study group of your classmates so that you do not have to study alone. You will find that when you work together as a team, everyone will accomplish more in a shorter amount of time. Ask your teacher if it would be okay for you and your classmates to work together on some of your homework assignments.
Delegate, If You Can
If you have your teacher's permission to work together as a group, choose one particular part of the assignment to focus on and then delegate the rest. For instance, if you are giving an oral presentation about the most interesting people in the last century, choose one person to learn about and then delegate the rest of the assignment to those in your group. This way you will learn about something you are interested in, complete your assignment, and have time left over for your other assignments and social activities.
Healio Health
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DOE's official website
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Is your child's HW losing the battle to IM?
