Homework Guidelines

Philosophy

At PMS, homework is viewed as a very important component in your child’s education.

Homework provides immediate academic benefits.

Homework inculcates very beneficial long-term habits/skills.

Guidelines

Below are the guidelines for total homework load per night, though obviously the time your student requires will depend upon his/her abilities, study skills, and the particular assignments.

6th Grade:     1½ per night

7th Grade:     2 hours per night

8th Grade:     2½ hours per night

Though teachers make every effort to balance assignments, there will be occasions when the estimated homework time is exceeded.  If your child sees a problem developing with any long-term project, he/she should speak to the teacher asap, i.e., several days before the due date.

Teacher Responsibility

Teachers will explain the purposes of homework and establish clear homework guidelines.  Teachers will clearly post all short and long-term assignments in the classroom.  All teachers instruct students to use the student agenda or another system for recording homework assignments.  Teachers will make an effort to coordinate with other grade-level teachers regarding major projects and tests.

Student Responsibility

Students are responsible for recording all assignments, completing them on time, and turning them into the teacher.

Parent Responsibility

Parents are responsible for providing a good work environment-a desk, good lighting, a quiet space, etc.  Parents will show an active interest in their child’s schoolwork, but in a way that fosters the child’s independence.  The child’s work should always be his/her own. Parents should contact teachers when they are concerned about too little or too much homework.

The Counselors’ Advice

We have a great book in our counseling library entitled, Solve Your Child’s School Related Problems, that has a helpful chapter on homework. The authors write:

“The function of homework is one point many educators agree upon:  well-designed assignments boost achievement levels among all abilities of students because they not only augment classroom activity, but they teach responsibility and self-discipline, too.”

While we agree wholeheartedly, we understand that parents are left with a real challenge: to use homework to teach your kids about responsibility and time management.  It’s not an easy charge, given the competing forces at hand such as music lessons, sports practices, dinner prep, not to mention friends, television, and computers.

It can be beneficial to sit down with your child early in the school year to talk about how she/he would like to spend the time after school each day. The majority of students understand that doing homework helps them improve their grades in school. Helping them to develop an after-school schedule that includes enough time to do homework each day most likely will be viewed as a worthwhile exercise.