Providing a good study environment for your child at home involves eliminating distractions while making studying a team project.
Problem: Aside from “Get your homework done”, you really don’t know how to provide the best opportunity for educational success at home. Your child might be struggling in their work due to bad study habits at home.
Solution: Things have changed a lot since you were in school. Your only distractions when trying to get your homework done were the TV (less than 100 channels), the phone (probably attached to the wall), and the radio. Providing a good study environment for your child at home involves eliminating distractions while making studying a team project. Here are some ideas:
- The goal is understanding
- If they have to turn it off, you have to turn it off
- Praise or reward the effort, not the results
- Make good use of the agenda
The goal is understanding
The first goal is more of a mindset than an actionable step. Most of the time, homework seems like a meaningless trudge through the curriculum. Much of it doesn’t amount to much more than busy work to the busy, social student.
When discussing work that’s coming home, adopt the mindset that the purpose of the work is greater understanding of the topic, then make sure to refer to it as such when talking to your child. Even if you look at it and wonder why this work was assigned, don’t mention that to the student. You give them justification not to try their best.
Make good use of the agenda
No one expects you to email your child’s teachers every day asking for specifics about their homework. But a simple way to keep up with what’s coming home is to use an agenda. Many schools provide them for free. Make an agreement with the teacher that they will check to make sure the student has copied their work down correctly and that you will sign off after they finish what they were supposed to. Then, everyone stays on the same page.
If they have to turn it off, you have to turn it off
In the mind of your child, it’s not fair for you to be able to use your phone or watch TV while they are banned from using electronics during study time. Make studying and homework a group activity. If you’ve brought some work home yourself or studying for classes you might be taking, work on your respective tasks together under the same conditions. It’s an excellent way to model effective study skills.
Praise (or reward) the effort, not the results
Your child might have studied really hard for a test and still didn’t do as well as they would have liked. Things happen. If the effort was there, not much should be said about the results. Always focus on the work put in. And, if you’re working together like the tip above suggested, reward yourselves afterwards with a treat or a favorite show.