For the beginning of the school year a few years ago, Partners With Parents wrote an article for NY Metro Parent about when and how to be involved in your child’s homework and academic life.  In the article, and in our workshops based on the same concepts, we provide a structure for parents to help their children take ownership of their learning.  While the framework has infinite variants based on each student’s and family’s unique circumstances, it loosely breaks down into the following steps:

• Setting goals
• Taking action
• Assessing progress
• Producing results

In essence, we’re talking about the skills that fall under the umbrella of “executive functioning” — the cognitive processes that we use every day to make decisions, accomplish tasks, and plan the future.  Ultimately, we all want our kids to become independent, self-motivated adults who accomplish “whatever they put their mind to.”

Read the full article: http://nymetroparents.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=7919

Whether what’s called for is a little support or what’s needed is full-blown, “executive functioning” skills training, our academic coaches, learning specialists, and tutors can help chart the path forward, setting up your family for a successful academic year!  Call us at (212) 928-5014 or e-mail us.

Here are some questions and comments that help both the student and the tutor better understand the student’s thought process:

• “What’s our goal, here?”
• “Do you know how I figured that out?”
• “Do you know why I did it that way?”
• “Where did you get that answer?”
• “Prove it.”
• “How can you be sure?“
• “Teach me how you did it.”
• “Why?”
• “What’s not making sense to you?”
• “Can you show me another way?”
• “What grade do you think this will get?”

It’s when our students internalize the “how’s and why’s,” in addition to the “who’s, what’s, where’s, and when’s,” that we know we are getting our job done well.

Each student has a different set of conditions under which he performs his best.  Each of us needs to be a scientist, making and testing hypotheses about our ideal study conditions.  Spend a number of weeks experimenting and finding out the answers to the questions below.  Remember what works the best for you is not necessarily what feels the best or most comfortable. The ultimate goal is finding what makes you most effective.

• What room in your apartment is best for homework and studying?

Do you have a dedicated area where you can go when you need to do work?  Are there some types of assignments that you can do in a more public place, like the living room, while some require more seclusion?  If you live in a “zoo,” consider the library.

• What position is best?

Sitting at a desk?  In a comfortable chair?  Lying on the floor?  Do you have access to everything you need?  Do you benefit from getting up and moving around periodically?  Does it vary based on the type of assignment?

• What kinds of noise are distracting?

Music?  Parents talking?  Siblings playing?  All of the above?  Are there places in the apartment/house where you can get away and have comparative silence?  Again, if a Yankee-Red Sox game seems like a quiet retreat, consider finding a place outside your home.

• What time of day are you most effective?

Are you a “day” person or a “night” person?  Are there certain times of day when, no matter how hard you try, you can’t absorb information?  You don’t want to wait until you’re 30 to find out that you get more accomplished from 6:00-8:00am than during the entire rest of the day.

• How often do you need to takes breaks?

Can you realistically concentrate for 5 hours without interruption?  Would five 1 hour blocks serve you better?  Three 100 minute blocks?  How long a break does it take to refuel your battery?  What can you do to reward yourself during your break (if you’ve earned it)?

• How do amount of sleep and level of hunger affect you?

How many hours of sleep do you need to be at your best?  Would a half hour nap at some point make a difference in your ability to apply yourself?  Are you able to work effectively after having a full meal?  What about when you’ve had two candy bars and a can of soda?  Do you need a (healthy) snack for energy before starting your homework?

• Do you work well under pressure?

If you know that you don’t, you’d better not save things until the last minute.  As soon as you know the assignment or test date, schedule the tasks you are going to accomplish each day (or week) to ensure that you have plenty of time to complete your work.

• Do you learn well in a group?

Would a study partner enhance or detract from your productivity?  Perhaps certain subjects yes, some no.  Certainly, who you choose as a study partner is vital; try to find a classmate who is equally committed to academic success.

Let the answers to these questions guide where, when, and how you approach your work.  Of course, you will never be able to work under your ideal conditions 100% of the time.  Moreover, the answers to these questions will likely vary depending on the type and complexity of the assignment (memorization, research, reading, writing, problem solving, etc.) as well as your level of interest.  Discovering your brain’s likes and dislikes at least gives you the opportunity to structure your schedule and set up your physical study environment to enhance your chance of success.

2) Do Your Reps – The brain is a muscle like any other.  Make sure it remains active.  As with exercise, you can’t make up for 4 months of inactivity in one all-night cramming session.  Make “contact” with difficult material and large projects daily or weekly.

3) Build Strength Slowly – Start with the basics.  As you learn the foundation and gain more confidence, add new concepts.  If you get lost, backtrack.  Don’t get daunted by large assignments.  Break them down into manageable parts and spread them out.

4) Get To Know The Equipment – Just as we need to understand how our muscles work to establish a good exercise routine with the proper form, students need to understand how their brains work.  All learners can greatly benefit from asking the following questions: How do I process new information?  What are my strengths and weaknesses?  What unique conditions must be satisfied to bring out my optimal performance?

5) Use A Spotter – When your children are taking on new and difficult challenges make sure they get the support they need.  This could be working with their teacher during a free period, studying with friends, or seeking outside help.  Excellent tutors can help their students learn the skills necessary to operate successfully without them.  Learn more about what to look for in a tutor.

My first response was to think that we need to reduce kids’ seemingly incessant “screen time,” as opposed to their “book time,” which my colleagues explored in last week’s post, Nearsightedness and Competitive NYC Schools.  Over the last week, however, I’ve been stuck on this popular notion that we are overloading our kids with homework.  In this idea, we are dangerously close to coming out against a certain developmental rigor that is crucial for our children’s development.  We have all become familiar with the refrain that we should “let them have their childhood,” but if we’re talking about replacing books and academic challenges with a bag of chips and a 50” screen, I’m declining.

As adults with a certain amount of life experience, we know that few things come easily.  We know one has to work hard for the things worth having, and in the process one builds the skills and wisdom to manage the fruits of those efforts.  The classic example of this principle is the penniless lottery winner who, without the financial acumen to manage his new wealth, quickly burns through his winnings and finds himself stunningly penniless once again.  If he had worked to earn his wealth, he would have developed the skills to manage it and the emotional disposition to maintain it.  As moms, dads, and educators, we don’t want it all to be easy for our kids; we want them to gain strength through overcoming adversity.  To a reasonable extent, we are guided by the value, “That which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”  By working hard to meet a goal, or to pursue an interest in spite of distractions and hurdles, our kids “learn how to learn” and become effective, values-driven problem solvers.

At the same time, we also know that a person must be able to succeed at a challenge in order for it to be useful.  A task that’s beyond a person’s capacity to execute is an exercise in futility, and often results in misery (if not symptoms of illness or subtle acts of defiance).  If our kids are genuinely suffering with their homework, as opposed to battling through their own procrastination and getting the job done, then it needs to be addressed.  Adult and child learners alike must have the tools available to them so that they can succeed.  So our ophthalmologist seems to have the right intuition about children whose well-being is compromised by hours and hours of homework, but above his concern for their vision there must be concern for their holistic health and sense of success.  Beyond monitoring the impact of rigorous academic life on children’s eyesight, we need to “keep an eye” on how it is affecting every aspect of their lives so that, as they are challenged to stretch and grow, no part of them is feeling an unbearable strain.

Read the original article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/eye_doc_shocking_charge_nearsighted_UP00JQisaUlsuMg78aGJZN

Will Craig, Educational Director at Partners With Parents, can be reached at will@partnerswithparents.com.

Partners With Parents Tutoring Service was contacted by the journalist to offer our expertise about the amount of homework students receive in New York independent and highly-selective public schools.  Essentially, our quote was that over the past decade we have seen a trend towards heavier homework loads.

Reading the article, we had a strong reaction to the idea that books and homework might be implicated as the primary culprit behind myopia.  While there is no doubt that the ophthalmologist has anecdotal experiences pointing to increased myopia in his clientele, we agree with others sited in the article who indicate that more than student workload needs to be taken into account.  From a brief look at the research, we can see that myopia is on the rise in far larger populations than NYC students.  Factors, both genetic and environmental, are being considered.

Our take is this: In the ultra competitive New York private school environment, there are stresses of both the physical and mental variety, one of which is surely ocular strain.  A few years down the road, carpal tunnel may be the next teenage epidemic.  And while this is not the forum to get in the middle of the homework debate, it goes without saying that more homework is not necessarily better – the purpose of homework is to reinforce learning and build academic independence, not keep kids busy late into the night.

Ultimately, our kids are spending too much time in front of technological gadgets that absorb their gazes: computers, TVs, cell phones, video games.  Much of the exposure comes from work related to school but much of it does not.  We, as parents and educators, need to monitor the amount of “screen time” our children are getting and make sure there are substantial breaks from it during each day.  Our kids need more time outside playing and moving their bodies . . . and having a chance to experience their youth.

Read the original article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/eye_doc_shocking_charge_nearsighted_UP00JQisaUlsuMg78aGJZN