Your Child's Homework is Important: Be Sure to Help Every Day

As a parent and teacher-in-training, I feel it is my duty to express to parents just how important homework is. Each year as I associated with different teachers, I was appalled to find out just how common it is for children in the elementary years to not turn in homework. It all started in kindergarten when I had a normal teacher conference with one of my childrens' teachers. The teacher actually told me how proud she was of my daughter for always turning her homework in. I obviously thanked her. Then, she made the comment that she was lucky to even get homework from a student. I was completely shocked by that statement. I then asked her if it counted toward their grade. Indeed it did, and why wouldn't it? Not only that, but homework is a part of the curriculum. It helps the children keep the lessons fresh in their minds.

Being the curious person that I am, each year I began to ask the teachers what percentage of children turned their work in. It varied for each grade level and each school, but I found Kindergarten to be the grade level in which homework was treated with the most disregard. As the grades progressed, homework importance rose a little, but never all the way.

I was, and still am, appalled by the blatant disregard of homework to the parents of the kindergarten students the most. This is the year when a child is being introduced to many new and important skills that they will need throughout school and life. If a parent does not care about their homework, neither will the child and that is not a good idea to have about school. School is the foundation for everything a child needs throughout life. If it is not given a high pedestal, the child may become discouraged. Children model after their parents. It is up to the parents to teach the children what is right.