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Parents Want Homework Help
October 3, 2007
Hope is the thing with feathers,
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.
-Emily Dickinson
-Emily Dickinson
When we interviewed school-age professionals about current expectations of their parents, two topics topped the list �" parents want their kids to be safe and they want them to do their homework in the school-age programs. Here are some of the responses...
Lisa Cain-Chang, Child Educational Center, La Canada, California: “Many parents are focused on wanting their children to complete their homework after school. We maintain that children need opportunities to rest and play after a full day of school. Academic expectations in this district are extremely high. Parents (and some children) grow anxious over quantities of homework. This has only increased over the years. Beyond homework support, parents expect a safe environment, friendly teachers, interesting things for children to do, and hours that match work and school closure schedules.”
Jan Stange, Great After-School Place, Brookings, South Dakota: “Parents expect us to do everything. Parents seem to be over-extended and their children are not getting what they need at home, so parents want us to provide it. Homework help, discipline, and values �" these were all things that were taught or happened at home that are now being expected from OST programs. Parents are losing touch with their kids.”
Allison Gorman-Young, Harrisburg Area YMCA, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: “I have been in this business for 25 years. Parents still want quality care at an affordable rate. However, today's parents seem to have more personal and/or work related issues. As a result, more parents today rely on their child care provider to solve many child-related concerns on our own rather than on a partnership basis.”
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Comments (1)
Displaying 1 CommentThe Children\'s Gardem
Topsham, ME, United States
This trend begins young, parents can begin to feel not well equipped, incompetent in some areas of their child's development- the frequency and duration of a child's time in childcare, combined with the apparent expertise of childcare providers to deal with, manage and promote positive outcomes begins to give (even if sublime) messages that a parent is not as capable and can 'hand over' with complete justification and support, parts of their role as parent. I would submit that many child care teachers & providers take satisfaction in 'being appreciated' and take on the roles with authority and pleasure- at least at first.
It is our job, from the very beginning, to support, encourage, and partner with parents, even reluctant parents. Reinforcing their role and important with them and their kids. We go home at night, no matter how many hours in the day we spend with kids, we are responsible for recognizing our place, and we should not enable 'learned helplessness' in any form- in kids OR their parents.
Of course by the time they are school age parents, they have come to rely on child care and schools to do so much. We have disabled them- and there is nothing easy about making hard decisions, being perceived as the 'bad guy' for the two hours between 6 and 8 that you are with your kids or doing homework. We are not only child educators, but parent educators as well and we can help reinforce the role of parent while we do what we can to keep the cogs turning.......
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