Video: Helpful Homework Tips For Parents

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NEW HOPE, Miss. (WCBI) – School has begun for many and no matter the age or grade, a new school year also means new homework. For parents, that often can be a challenge, from keeping up with assignments to knowing how to help.

It’s a part of school that often determines a student’s success — doing homework and doing it well. Parents can make a big difference by getting involved. That’s especially true as Mississippi schools develop tougher curriculum’s to meet national standards.

“Especially with Common Core, there are new methods of teaching and I think there has been a breakdown between the way we did it when we were in school and the way children do it now,” said Hope Elliott, an RTI coordinator at New Hope High School in Lowndes County.

Despite the different teaching methods in place now from when many parents and grandparents were in school, there are several ways to make nightly homework a better learning experience.

“Have a set designated place for homework, have a designated time, if possible, communicate with that teacher, good and bad. develop a relationship with those teachers,” said Elliott.

Parents sometimes may themselves feel challenged because subjects, especially math, are taught differently. Web sites such as Khan Academy can help. But in any case, parents should be involved.

“Because I think they have more confidence because they’ve practiced it at home, they’ve had help, they’ve had a support system. So they come to school feeling better,” said Elliott.
Although social media use is often discouraged in the classroom, teachers say that new tools are available, which link parents back to their students work.

“There is a service we can use called ‘Remind’ which allows us to send one way text messages to parents and to students to encourage them to study for tests, to turn in assignments and just to let them know what’s going on in class,” said Amanda Minichino, a New Hope High School biology teacher.

Many teachers also have Twitter accounts, Facebook and Web pages where they constantly post homework assignments and updates. Parents should take advantage of those tools, especially if their student has a habit of claiming homework was finished at school or they don’t have any assignments. Teachers also encourage parents to keep track of their child’s grades by checking them online.

The Khan Academy web site is free. Their goal is to provide education to anyone located anywhere. All of the site’s resources are available to anyone including students, teachers and parents.

The website is www.khanacademy.org.