Yesterday, I discussed how many different levels of involvement teachers see when it comes to parents helping children with their assignments. I have seen many assignments that were mainly completed by parents. In yesterday’s article, I gave some possible causes of why parents may complete a child’s work for him. One of those causes was because the work is too hard for the child.
Some parents become frustrated when it takes a child a long time to complete what seems to be a simple task (for adults that is). Instead of encouraging the child, the parents complete the work. I have spent much time in the waiting for a young child to sound out each word in the book he is reading. I can understand how tiresome it can become and how tempting it is to just give the child the word or complete the work for him. However, that would be very unfair to the child. Children must be given every opportunity to grow and learn on their own. They should not learn to be dependent on others for information.
If the assignment is too hard for the child to complete, the teacher should be made aware of that by the failure of the child to correctly complete the assignment. If the parent completes the assignment, the teacher will be misled by thinking that the child is capable of the work. The child may not receive the extra help that he/she needs and deserves. Instead of helping the child, parents are actually hindering the learning.
If your child comes home with work that he/she cannot complete independently, try reviewing the work by giving your child sample problems. If after coaching and encouraging your child he/she still cannot complete the assignment, talk with the teacher and express your concerns. However, never do the work for your child.