WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1980, PAGE 17 Parents and Homework Helping Students Make the Grade Did you know: • The great musical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven was deaf when he composed some of his greatest work, which in- cludes six concertos, six- teen quartets for chamber group, and the famous "Ode to Joy." • The following sen- tence is good for your child's handwriting prac- tice or for learning the names of letters of the al- phabet. This quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. It contains every let- ter of the alphabet. Learning the above is among the fascinating facets of an education. But, as with all good things, there is a price, and a good education is no ex- ception. The taxing side to education is that learning at times requires consider- able and repetitious hard work in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for which there is no easy substitute. For youngsters, "School days, school days, dear old golden rule days," means homework, and that spelîs concern on the part of parents. Guiding a child through homework is a valuable part of good, loving par- enthood. If your child is interested in learning, half the burden involved in helping your child com- plete his or her homework is removed. Enthusiasm, good rapport, and the par- ent's own attitude toward learning, often carries over to form the child's attitude toward learning. Here are suggestions from educa- tors for making home- work time a more pleasant experience for you and your child. 1. A lways keep in mind the goal of education-for your child to want to learn, and to learn how to learn (i.e. how to acquire needed information and fôrm wholesome atti- tudes). 2. Learning should be made fun whenever pos- sible. For example, to practice addition or multi- plication facts, one can make a set of cards with problems and another set with answers. By drawing and discarding a card with each turn from a handful of seven cards, a child can set a pair of cards down whenever he has the an- swer card to a matching problem card, and wins when all his cards are matched into pairs. 3. Make sure your child has a quiet regular lime and place to study. Train him to get everything he needs beforehand, such as pencils,erasers, papers, books, and crayons. Afterwards have him put everything together with school notes that need signing and returning, so he will find them the next morning. . 4. Limil daily television hours to pre-selected favo- rite programs or specials, and other educational pro- grams. 5. Exnand his interests and intellectual curiosity by encouraging, and pa- tiently answering ques- tions as best you can or by telling him where and how to find the answers. 6. Don'(gel angry when your child nakes nis- takes. Correct errors in a positive, non-scolding manner. Otherwise, he may give up and become discouraged with school and learning. It can also affect your relationship with your youngsters. 7. Take your child Io a public library as often as every two weeks if possi- ble. Allow your child to se- lect one book of his own free choosing, even if you feel it is an inappropriate choice. In this situation, he will learn best from mis- takes made, and will learn to make wise choices by trial and error. Love for learning is contagious. Let your child see you read. While at the library, find books for yourself on topics of in- terest to you. 8. Encourage your child to practice and excel in an area of interest and talent. The importance of music, art, and sports should not be underestimated. Where would we be without mu- sicians or artists? Or gar- deners and farmers? What matters is that your child has interest and develops successfully in at least one field or role in life. 9. Encourage your child to compete with himself, not others. After all effo-ts and methods have been explored and your child continues to make poor grades, let him know you still have confidence in him. When his grades are not so high (and often children are just as upset about this às their parents) let him know that what matters is that he does his best. Expect more and you'll get less! 10. Reward your child. A good report card is often only a reward for a few A students. Your words of praise for a good hour of study, or a good paper brought home can raise your child's motivation. After a diligent and parti- cularly difficult study ses- sion, reward your child with an unexpected treat such as an extra half hour of television. Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is pefilous. -Confucius Notebooks, Paper, Pencils, Books... Whatever You Need For Back To School, You'Il Find It Here! 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