School Homework

Who is it really for? 

Teacher?   Child?   Parent? 

Thankfully the 'anguish' of struggling with school assignments and projects is over for me and my kids.  Long gone are the days of burning the midnight oil on Sunday evenings to complete 'forgotten' essays and rushing around to replace 'lost' note books.

However that doesn't mean that the agony of homework no longer continues.  According to fellow teachers and friends with younger children, homework is alive and kicking.  So why is homework given and who is it really for? 

Teachers - many teachers have a class size comprising 60 children and an average teaching period of 45 minutes.  Based on these figures a teacher has exactly 45 seconds per child available for one-on-one teaching and/or problem solving, assuming there is no group interaction whatsoever.  So if a child is experiencing any difficulty with a task or concept (a) where is the additional 'teaching-time' to come from and (b) how is the teacher to evaluate individual levels of student understanding over a regular period i.e. is his/her teaching being effective?   

Child - As the old adage goes, 'practice makes perfect', and 'learning' is no different, whether it is solving math problems, writing-up science experiments or riding a bike.  The objective for homework is to provide children with a structured framework within which to practice/develop key skills or learning objectives (as specified by the teacher), and for the teacher to then be able to assess the child's ability (true understanding), based on the work produced. 

Parents - So, if 'teaching' needs to be done by teachers and homework needs to be completed by children (so that a teacher can then assess respective levels of understanding), then what is the role of us parents?  Time for some introspection perhaps:

• Is it to 'teach' your child?
• Is it to help him/her get a higher grade than would otherwise be achieved?  
• Is it to support our child's own learning?   
• Or is it simply to get it out of the way as quickly as possible?

As a parent, only you can decide which role is best for you and your child.  However, writing as a teacher and a former homework 'survivee', the below tips may help you cope on a practical level:-

1. CREATE A STRESS-FREE ENVIRONMENT WITH NO DISTRACTIONS
2. ASK QUESTIONS RATHER THAN GIVING ANSWERS
3. WORK IN SHORT BLOCKS OF TIME WITH AGREED BREAKS
4. THE TASK MAY NOT BE 'FUN', BUT THE 'DOING' CERTAINLY CAN BE MADE SO!

For further advice on the above or if you would like to discuss any individual concerns you may have regarding your child, please don't hesitate to contact us.

E:  made4mums@kara.in

ADD/ADHD - "to be or not to be?"

ADD/ADHD

Definition:  What is Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)?
Attention Deficit Disorder is a biologically based, neurological disorder resulting in persistent patterns of difficulties resulting in one or more of the the following behaviours:

• inattention
• hyperactivity
• impulsivity

Inattention - difficulty attending or focusing on a specific task. People with ADD may become distracted within a matter of minutes or less.  Inattentive behaviour causes difficulties across a wide range of skills that have a negative impact on learning, including staying organised (e.g. losing things), keeping track of time, completing tasks and making careless errors. 

Hyperactivity - difficulty inhibiting/controling physical actions. These people are in constant motion. They may engage in excessive fiddling, leg swinging and squirming in their chair.  For a child with ADD, being required to sit in one place for any length of time is 'torture'.

Impulsivity - difficulty controlling impulses; behaviour. These people do not stop and think before they act. They say and do whatever comes into their mind without thinking about the consequences. They might say something inappropriate and regret it later, blurt out a response to question before a person is done speaking to them, or have difficulty waiting for their turn in line.

ADD or ADHD - What's the Difference?
Clinically, the term ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A person may either be diagnosed with ADHD or ADD depending on whether they are hyperactive or not. It is possible for someone to have ADD without being hyperactive.  To accommodate this possibility, ADHD is often written with brackets around the "H" (i.e. AD(H)D). You may also see it written as AD/HD. There are generally three types of AD(H)D:

• Combined Type (hyperactive, impulsive, inattentive)
• Inattentive Type
• Hyperactive, Impulsive Type

ADD - Increased Diagnoses
With an ever increasing number of children being diagnosed as having ADHD or ADD, it begs the question, do we have an epidemic on our hands or is it that an increasing number of 'challenging' students are being incorrectly diagnosed?  Either way the consequence is the same; considerable stress on both child and parent.

If you have any concerns regarding your child in this regard, please contact us today for support and guidance. Early intervention is the key to ensuring the greatest success for EVERY child.  It is therefore never to early or too late to find the appropriate help.

E: made4mums@kara.in

Made4Mums: confidentiality with compassion

It takes a village to raise a child . . .

As the parent of a 21 year old son with ADHD, and a 19 year old daughter, I've spent a large part of the last 22 years attempting to educate myself on how to be the best parent possible.

In this quest I've lost track of the number of books I've read on child psychology, early years' development, adolescence, special needs, behaviour problems, parenting tips and more . . . an endless stream of case studies and articles from which I have drawn both inspiration (for the successes), and desperation (for my failures).

In addition to learning from my day-to-day parenting experiences, complemented by the above 'academic' approach, I have also taken time out to retrain as a teacher, study transactional analysis, work with special needs children, counsel parents/families, develop curriculum and more . . .  all in an attempt to become that elusive 'perfect parent'.

And have I succeeded?  No yet.  But am passionately working on it!

Hence the birth of Made 4 Mums.  I have benefited from a wide range of information and knowledge gained from friends, experts, family, community, professionals and most of all learning from my own mistakes; how to handle a child with croup at 3.00 am, how to motivate a hyperactive kid to listen, how to convert a fussy eater into a foodie, how to know when your teenager is telling the truth, where to look for help if your child is failing in school and more . . .

However my learning has often been painful and sometimes too late to be of full benefit.  Time then to change this for others; to use technology to unite Mums throughout India by setting up a 'digital village' designed to provide Help 4 Mums, Knowledge 4 Mums, Information 4 Mums, Empowerment 4 Mums!

So if you have a problem or need some confidential advice from a non-judgemental fellow parent and/or professiona, join 'Made 4 Mums' today and post your question.

Warm regards.

Katherine

Email:  made4mums@kara.in
Mobile:  +91 9880 414141