How Much Homework is Too Much?
During a recent Coffee Klatch Twitter session, a discussion arose about a parent’s role when kids with special needs do their homework. We talked about how much homework is enough, when to ask for modifications, the value of perseverance and a whole lot of other things.
How Much Is Enough?
During my years as a classroom teacher, I told parents they could expect their children to bring home an average of 1/2 of homework a night, sometimes more and sometimes less. They shouldn’t have more than that because kids need down time in the evenings, just like adults do. I always explained that if their child consistently spent more than that on assignments, they should let me know so we could figure out why and make necessary adjustments.
A Poem about Math Facts
A day or two later, I listened to an NPR radio story about a new book of poems for tweens and teens. One of the poems read by Elise Paschen, who compiled the collection, caught my attention because it so beautifully expressed what happens to kids when they’re pressured by too much homework. Here it is:
Flashcards
by Rita Dove
In math I was the whiz kid, keeper of oranges and apples.
What you don’t understand, master, my father said,
the faster I answered, the faster they came.
I could see one bud on a teacher’s geranium,
one clear bee sputtering at the wet pane.
The tulip trees always dragged after heavy rain,
so I tucked my head as my boots slapped home.
My father put up his feet after work and relaxed with a highball and “The Life of Lincoln.”
After supper, we drilled and I climbed the dark before sleep, before a thin voice hissed numbers as I spun on a wheel.
I had to guess.
Ten, I kept saying.
I’m only 10.
Poetry Speaks Who I Am
Can’t you sense Rita’s frustration with her dad who’s imposing his adult standards on her young life? Each time I read the poem, I see the faces of former special needs students concentrating hard, trying to ignore their desire to go outside and play, their need to be ten. It’s so important for us, as adults, to remember our children are just that – children. And it’s important for us to remember what it’s like to be ten.
This collection, Poetry Speaks Who I Am, can help you remember. To learn more about the book and how it came about, go to this link where you can listen to the audio version of the NPR story, read a related article or read the entire transcript.
Let me know what you think of it,
Jolene
