Homework

by Kelly Knowlden

Family life is complex in that it requires a juggling of all the responsibilities and involvement in many different organizations. There are church nights and family events among other things. For many there are the plethora of choices in which you can enroll your child. However, near the top of the list ought to be a high priority on sitting down with your child and helping them be successful at school. After all, you are paying several thousand dollars for their education. Surely you want them to get the most out of that. Remember, education is a parental task. The school is just the agency through which you are accomplishing it.

So what should “doing homework” look like? Somehow, the child needs DIRECT intervention while doing homework. The smaller the child, the more involved the parent. However, high school students also need your involvement in encouragement and motivation. [I remember having this conversation with one of our children who was having difficulty with trigonometry: “Here, let me help you ..” She knew very well that I know very little about trigonometry, so as I studied the numbers on the page with all the various symbols of higher math, I would make observations like: “Now why is that number here.” and “What does that squiggle mean?” Of course, none of it was very helpful, other than saying to her, “I care about how you do your work and am on your side.”] The bottom line is that you NEED to have some sort of interaction with them that holds them accountable and allows them to see that you are not indifferent to what they are doing.

Telling them to “Go do your homework.” is NOT a good method of involvement - even if you check their work afterwards. It conveys that they are on their own and that they just need to “do it.” You cannot gauge their frustration nor their need of spiritual encouragement. This last point is significant if you are going to develop in your children a sense of ultimately finding their help in the Lord. Praying with them, showing them the scriptural encouragements and walking with them through their “trouble spots” will indicate that you can identify with the difficulties of understanding. That is what Jesus has done for us. He has walked through the “trouble spots!” He has encouraged us with the truth that He is with us... He will never leave nor forsake us... He is a help in the midst of trouble.

If they tell us to get lost, or are irritated by our involvement, then we have the hard work of winning them to see that it is necessary to be involved. With Christ’s help, it can be done. That is what we do in helping children with homework. We bring the incarnation of Christ to the practical level of involvement in their lives.