When Are You Versus Your Child Responsible?
This entry was posted on 9/13/2007 7:12 AM and is filed under Children,lessons,school.
When are we as parents going to stop taking responsibility for our children's homework? I don't know about you, but I do not remember my parents ever helping me with my homework. OK, helping, yes, doing for me or even
with me - no.
If I needed a little encouragement or I was confused about something, my mom would help me to understand or give me the boost I need, but she never gave me the answer or sat there with me while I did my schoolwork.
Why is it so different now? Teachers almost expect parents to be doing the work with their children.
Another thing about children being responsible for themselves; a note came home with my 5th grader from her band teacher that if my child forgot her instrument on her lesson day, it was the parents responsibility to get the instrument to school in time for the lesson. Huh??!! Are you kidding me? Not in my house. You forget your instrument or planner or homework or gym shoes or anything else for that matter - you do without. Bet you're much more likely to remember it next time when you have to sit through band lessons with no instrument feeling stupid and getting docked on your grade.
I actually encourage my children to get bad grades. OK, not really, but if they are not being responsible, I totally expect them to get bad grades. I am not going to do things for them to cover up or increase their grade when they don't deserve it. In my house bad grades equals consequences. And the consequences are not fun and meant to teach a lesson and if the lesson is taught, the action that happened in the first place won't happen again. So bring on the bad grades...
I was on a tutoring website the other day and the founder was quoted as saying that "...in today's day and age, children can't get by without extra help." Why not?? Studies show that shoolwork in relation to the times and technology has stayed pretty much in proportion. I think it's the attitudes toward the schoolwork that have changed and the attitudes toward parenting.
