On homework: How to make sure kids do them

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Homework -- many adults must have hated them as children, but it is actually good for kids. Homework is given for many reasons, primarily as a means of extending a child’s learning space beyond the walls of the classroom. It also enhances a child’s time management and study skills. The US Department of Education’s official blog shares some tips on how to encourage your kids to do their homework:

Set up a good study place
Ideally, this place must be quiet and void of any distraction. You must keep television, toys, or the computer away, unless they are needed for the assignment. Ensure that the place is well lit.

Set a good example
Your child tends to imitate what you do. As your child is focusing on the homework, do something similar like reading a novel while your child completes her reading assignment.


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Teach time management
Be sure to schedule a “homework time” and teach your child to become more responsible about deadlines.

Teach independence
Do not spoon-feed your child with answers. Let your child work alone, but provide help when it is needed.

Teach your child how to tackle a challenge
Teach your child to recognize which questions are hard and which are easy. Have him or her do the hard ones first and save the easy ones for later.

Homework is not given to children for nothing. It helps develop certain skills, and presents an opportunity for you to be involved and to determine how much progress your child is making in school. It gives you time to bond, too.


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Frank Biden is an advocate for alternative methods of education that focus on learning. This Facebook page offers more updates on the education sector.

Realizing the true purpose of schools

For many professionals who are involved in the education sector, there exists a glaring error that needs to be remedied as soon as possible. The American education system, some education experts argue, has deviated from the path that it should be taking. It now exists as something that prepares students to be workers instead of encouraging them to be lifelong learners and productive members of a democratic community.


Nikhil Goyal, a student and the author of One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student's Assessment of School, argues that in spite of all the discussions on educational reform, the people involved often overlook one of the most obvious questions that need to be answered: What is the purpose of schools? And only after arriving at an answer to this question should education experts then try to define what good education is.

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The problem with the current attitudes toward education is that far too many people place an emphasis on the importance of good grades and of performance in class. It seems that many educators of today have chosen to place less importance on qualities such as creativity, curiosity, and the inclination for exploration and innovation. Many just aim to teach students to be better at remembering information, following instructions, and conforming to the rules and to traditions.

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It seems now, that there is much that needs to be changed both within the learning institutions and the nation that supports and is supported by the development of the education sector. When the nation learns to encourage young students to be lifelong learners, then it takes one step toward the realization of the true purpose of education and schooling.

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Frank Biden is involved in Mavericks High, an educational institution that provides alternative learning programs for at-risk and dropout students.