Ahead of the approaching academic session, educationists are advocating for parents to know where to draw the line when supervising their children’s homework. Parents are accused by educationists of being impatient and as a result, hijack their children’s homework which adversely affect their learning process.
Before now, homework was largely the duty of the pupil but the trend today seem to have co-opted parents’ involvement with the hope that it would foster bonding between them and their children, as well as enable them to learn more about their children’s academic abilities through what they learn at school.
A Principal of one of the public secondary schools in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, who spoke under the condition of anonymity urged parents to resist the temptation to do their children’s homework by themselves.
“There was a time when the problem was to get parents who patronised public schools to be involved in their child’s or ward’s work at school. It was because most parents were too busy or the pupils were house-helps and their guardians were simply not interested.
Now that the times have changed, public schools admit pupils from parents of all income levels, who are even more aware.
The latest challenge is that parents tend to do the homework themselves to make the process faster, instead of spending time with the children supervising their homework,” he said.
A teacher in Ekiadolor area of Edo State, Mrs OsaweseNathan pointed out that parents shifted their responsibilities to the home lesson teachers and compelled them to do their children’s homework for them so that they would not have to handle the supervision themselves.
“Some parents feel that since their wards have lesson teachers, they should do their children’s assignments. What they do not realise is that it is the parent’s responsibility to supervise the child and give pointers so as to ensure that the child has learnt something.
Then you can now understand why the child has difficulty absorbing what he has been taught. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the teacher didn’t teach the topic. Maybe it was due to circumstances, such as stress. On the other hand, the teacher may not have taught the topic well.”
Also cautioning parents to desist from doing the homework themselves, she added:
“Parents have taken advantage of the fact that they can supervise the child. In the process, they end up doing it for them. When I notice it, because I know the handwriting of my pupils, I simply cancel it and caution the parent. Sometimes the parents are even more stubborn than the child.”
On how parents who were not educated would cope with this new trend, a retired teacher, Mr AustinAgbarakwe said:
“Some parents complain that the teacher gives the children books they can’t read, but when teachers give students books to read, it is for the parent to engage them and identify their challenges. Some are designed for the parent to read to the child, while he or she studies the pictures in the book.
This thing that parents are complaining about would shock you. I have come to realise that it is parents who are not literate that make sure their children do their assignments at all cost.
One woman in my neighbourhood used to march her child to me to assist him. She would sit with us and listen as if she understood what was going on. It is all about interest.”
A parent, Mrs Oluwatoyin Ajayi does not feel that demanding parents’ involvement in school homework is asking too much of them. For her, she admits that it enables her to learn her children’s areas of strengths and weaknesses in their academics.
“I feel that homework should involve us because parents are meant to bring in new ideas into the child’s work. So, parents should not complain about teachers giving their children homework because it is for their own good,” she said.
Mrs Ajayi added that she noticed that doing her children’s homework with them help to build their confidence, as well as the friendship between them.
