Homework is a major part of student education.
Homework is assigned to students so they could revise what they studied at school while there are at home.
But when a student is overwhelmed or frustrated by homework it could have a negative impact on their performance. Too much homework can cause higher levels of stress for students.
This can lead to negative effects on their grades and health (both physical and mental). The basic objective of assigning homework is to increase the knowledge and improve the ability and skills of the students.
But an enormous amount of work could create pressure and reduce the time which students could spend with their families.
Due to the overwhelming workload, they do not have time to sleep or any extracurricular activities.
In other words, they are bound to do nothing but study. This could cause immense damage to their behaviors and performance.
So it’s the job of teachers to keep the homework less stressful for the students. Here are some tips teachers could follow.
1. GIVE EXAMPLES
Try to give examples of the work so they could refer to it while finishing their homework.
When students are in distress because of the homework, they seek help from their parents.
At this time these examples will help the parents to understand what type of answers are expected by the teacher.
Students could also check whether the answers are correct based on the examples they have for reference.
2. HAVE A RATIONALE
Never give out homework just for busy work.
Make sure you are able to give a valid reason for why they are doing this work.
Some teachers use home works as a way to complete the topics because the exams are near.
Sometimes overwhelming works is assigned as a consequence of bad behavior shown by the students.
Either you give out homework to improve their knowledge on the subject or help the struggling students to enhance their grasp of the topic.
But never use it as an excuse to complete your work or as punishment for what they did in class.
3. ASSESS IT
Make sure you assess the homework.
You could give out grades based on their work or just look through them. Assure that you will assess it if you don’t.
Students will see that you don’t value their work and do not care about it.
If they don’t think there is importance in completing the homework, then there would be no reason for them to do so.
But if you assess it, the students will see its importance and try to complete the homework to score good grades.
4. PRAISE THEIR WORK
While evaluating the work try to praise them for making an attempt.
Attention should be paid to students who didn’t complete the work.
If this is not done, it could make the students who finished it feel useless.
If we show appreciation to the work they did then the mindset of others changes.
The students who did not complete the work will have the tendency to finish it the next time and show that they could also improve.
Parents could also help in making homework less stressful for their children.
By helping doesn’t mean doing the work for them. It means aiding them when needed.
There are two ways in which parents could help reduce homework struggle.
One is to establish clear routines around their studies and the second is to reward them for completing their work.
Parents can take some measures to assist their children from overwhelming assignments.
5. STICK TO A SCHEDULE
You could help out by planning a time schedule for your child. This way he/she knows what to do and when.
By optimizing the time your child can finish their studies and still have time for other activities.
A time schedule could help maintain your child’s composure. Keeping stress away your child could work on every project at the time assigned.
Thus able to finish the monstrous assignments without any complication.
6. KEEP AWAY FROM DISTURBANCES
When it’s time for homework to make sure that your child is completely focused.
Try to keep your child away from distractions. It’s a hindrance to the task which is needed to be completed.
The disturbance like smartphones, television, computers all is needed to be excluded while completing their assignments.
Try to keep the environment calm. Make sure the younger siblings don’t interfere while the task is at hand.
Make sure that all sorts of diversions are turned off.
7. STAY ORGANISED
An unorganized workstation could be distracting. Make sure the study space is kept neat and tidy.
The organized study area will automatically give your child a positive mentality and the urge to study.
Try to keep your child’s studies away from the bedroom or any other space which is unenthusiastic.
Provide every study material which is required like textbooks, extra notes, pencils, papers etc in the table.
8. IF IT IS OVERWHELMING WALK AWAY
When you see your child frustrated with an assignment, encourage them to take a break.
If he/she is in a dead end and you can’t help them, suggest a recess. This way you could take your child’s mind off the topic.
At the break, they could relax and regroup so they could come back with a clear mind. If needed call it a day, sometimes a good night sleep is the right answer for every problem.
While helping in your child’s assignments. Try not to complete the work for them.
Homework is given with the intention to improve your child’s knowledge, not yours.
Try to aid them with tips and shortcuts for complex processes. This way your child will find it easy to complete the homework.
Students also could take measures to keep stress away. If they are able to utilize the resources which are available for them, then they could find homework less stressful. Here are a few tips which they could follow.
- START RIGHT AWAY
Just because it’s called homework doesn’t mean you only have to do it once you reach home.
You can utilize the free period, study hour or any other free time you get during school hours to do your homework.
By exploiting the free time to finish your work at a school you will have more time in your hands which could be used for other activities once you reach back home.
- ASK HELP FROM YOUR TEACHER
There are some teachers who are willing to work with their students before or after school hours to explain the topics more clearly.
If you find it difficult to understand the given homework you could simply ask your teacher for tips to grasp it comprehensible.
This way the teacher could understand your weak point and help vanquish your problem.
- ORGANISE A HOMEWORK GROUP
A group could help make homework less overwhelming by giving you the chance to go over the material with your classmates.
This gives you the opportunity to clear doubts based on the assignment.
Some students find it hard to confront their teachers with doubts about the topic.
These groups could help you to share your ideas and receive information from your classmates without any hesitation.
While assembling such groups you should make sure to avoid troublemakers and the chatty ones. Otherwise, the group will become a casual hangout.
- TRY TO GET SOME SLEEP
If you are in a hassle because you couldn’t find answers to the homework, then try to take your mind off it.
Get some sleep.
Obtaining the recommended amount of sleep will help you tackle another day of school and assignments.
A good night’s sleep could even help you to find answers for any troubling assignments.
Teachers should take it easy on students while assigning homework. Try to give students two hours of work a day, this way they still have time to mingle with their family and other activities.
Parents should also keep an eye towards their children. If you find them in distress enlighten them to not take it too seriously.
Brief them about things which are more important in life than homework and grades. Students must take homework as a chance to improve their knowledge on the topic.
If you find difficulty in understanding the topic, seek help from teachers, classmates or parents because homework is assigned for you to develop motivation and study skills.