Peer Pressure: Why is homework so hard? It gets on my nerves.

— Fed Up

SR: Unlike most educators, I am not a fan of homework! I believe the majority of a child’s day is spent in school, and an effective teacher should be able to instruct students during class time without robbing them of evening hours, which should be spent as quality time with parents, siblings or friends.

I do know that certain objectives and enrichment activities must be extended to after school hours due to lack of completion or further review of curriculum.

Many parents have shared with teachers and counselors that they either don’t understand the content or do not feel they have the extra time needed to help their child finish homework. I feel sad for those students who stay up until midnight, especially after ball games, to complete assignments.

If homework seems difficult to you, I would suggest partnering with a buddy at school who normally finishes assignments during the day, and using your time wisely to complete each task assigned before ball games or before free time is spent with friends.

If a tutor is needed, seek school programs that are offered during or directly after school.

JPC: According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, homework is defined as “lessons done outside the classroom.” According to many of today’s students, homework is defined as “annoying,” “frustrating,” “a waste of time,” “boring,” “ridiculous,” and “just plain hard.”

A lot of students have issues with homework. Who can blame them? As if seven hours a day of schooling isn’t enough, teachers send kids home, loaded up with books and papers. Though it does seem like a useless, yet difficult, way to spend an often large part of every afternoon, homework does have a reason for existance. It is technically supposed to reinforce the lessons learned in school that day so you can better remember them — and it works.

What this means for you is less time studying when the test comes around.

It forces you to learn a bit each night, so when you do have a test, all you’ll have to do is review a couple things. So while there are many downsides to having nightly assignments, this can actually benefit you by saving time in the long run.

Hopefully, now that you understand why teachers give out so much homework, and that it does have a purpose, it won’t get under you skin quite so much.

Peer Pressure: What about the No Child Left Behind Act for special ed kids? We don’t have special ed kids in our class, just kids who go to intervention. My friend goes to intervention for math during P.E. since she can’t keep up.  But how does it work for special ed kids?

— Curious

SR: Since the inception of the 1974 Education for all Handicapped Children Legislation, the number of students being referred to the special education population has increased tremendously. Recent educational initiatives, such as the No Child Left Behind and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, have presented a greater focus on how schools are identifying and educating students with academic and behavioral issues.

Inclusion relates to the physical placement of students who require special accommodations or modifications for learning in the regular classroom setting. If you know of a student who receives special services, for any reason, it would be a courteous act if you could serve as a peer helper to assist him or her in any academic area.