酷兔英语


Homework can be as monumental a task for parents as it is for children. So what's the best strategy to get a kid to finish it all? Where's the line between helping with an assignment and doing the assignment? And should a parent nag a procrastinating preteen to focus -- or let the child fall behind and learn a hard lesson?


子们会对家庭作业存在抵触情绪,而对父母来说,如何让孩子完成作业,可能也是一个同样艰巨的任务。那么,让孩子完成作业的最好策略是什么?大人辅导孩子做作业和大人自己做作业之间的界限何在?小孩子做作业拖拖拉拉,父母应该不停唠叨吗?还是索性听之任之,让孩子完不成作业,在学校得到一个深刻教训?



As schools pile on more homework as early as preschool, many parents are confused about how to assist, says a 2012 researchreview at Johns Hopkins University. Some 87% of parents have a positive view of helping with homework, and see it as a beneficial way to spend time with their kids, says the study, co-authored by Joyce Epstein, a research professor of sociology and education.


现在,小孩子的作业负担越来越重,甚至在幼儿园就开始加压。约翰•霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)今年的一份调查报告称,很多家长感到困惑,不知道怎么该帮助子女做作业。调查显示,有87%的父母赞成辅导孩子做作业,并认为这是与孩子共度时光的一种有益方式。约翰•霍普金斯大学社会学及教育学研究教授乔伊斯•爱普斯坦恩(Joyce Epstein)是该报告的合着者之一。



Yet sometimes parental intervention may actually hurt student performance. During the middle-school years, such help was linked to lower academicachievement in a 2009 review of 50 studies by researchers at Duke University. Parents who apply too much pressure, explain material in different ways than teachers or intervene without being asked may undermine these students' growing desire for independence, according to the study, published in Developmental Psychology.


不过,家长的干预有时会起反作用。2009年,杜克大学(Duke University)总结了该校学者的50份研究成果,并在《发展心理学》(Developmental Psychology)期刊上发表。该报告指出,中学期间父母对于作业的干预反而会让学生成绩下降。父母施加过多压力、解释教材方式与老师不同,或未经同意主动干预的行为都会对学生逐渐增强的独立自主欲望产生不利影响。



A parent who implies that a child isn't capable of working on his or her own 'causes the kid to lose confidence, to get mad and just want the whole experience to be over,' says Lisa Jacobson, founder and chief executive of Inspirica, a New York tutoring and test-prep company. When parents help too much, 'kids say that they feel like a fraud,' undeserving of the grades they receive.


纽约学习辅导及备考公司Inspirica的首席执行长丽莎•雅各布森(Lisa Jacobson)说,如果父母流露出孩子不能自己独立完成作业的心理暗示,"就可能导致孩子失去自信、变得狂躁,或者消极懈怠"。如果父母给予过多帮助,"孩子们会觉得自己在作弊",不配得到老师给作业打出的分数。



Kids also need different kinds of help at different stages. In elementary school, parental rule-making about where and when homework is to be done, along with encouragement, is linked to higher achievement. But parents should give advice or help only when asked, says Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and a leading author and researcher on homework. If a child fails or becomes frustrated, parents should suggest a break.


不同阶段的孩子需要不同的辅导方式。在小学阶段,父母对家庭作业的完成地点和时间做出明确规定,并在孩子做作业时给予鼓励,这种做法能提高孩子的学习成绩。然而,杜克大学报告的主笔人、对家庭作业课题有专门研究的杜克大学心理学和神经学教授哈里斯•库珀(Harris Cooper)说,父母只应该在孩子主动要求时给予建议或帮助。如果孩子不愿做作业或变得焦躁不安,父母应该让孩子休息一下。



Some of the best ways for parents to help, Dr. Cooper says, include providing a quiet study place, proper supplies and resources for doing homework, and instilling positive attitudes about learning in general. A good motivator is to show kids how the skills they are practicing might be used throughout life.


库珀博士表示,父母给予帮助的最佳方式包括:确保一个安静的学习场所,提供合适的文具用品和其他资源,徐徐灌输积极正面的学习理念等。还有一种能增强孩子学习动力的方法,就是向孩子说明和演示,他们正在练习的技巧会在今后的生活当中起到什么作用。



Shawna Mazeitis tries to keep learning fun for her own children, aged 15, 14, 12 and 6. When her 6-year-old daughter Paige struggled with a computerassignment on fractions, she burst into tears 'and didn't want to do it anymore,' says Ms. Mazeitis, of Parkville, Mo. She encouraged Paige, saying, 'I can see you're upset. Sometimes when we're upset we can't think clearly. I know you can do this. We'll come back to it a little later.'


肖娜•马塞迪斯(Shawna Mazeitis)家住密苏里州帕克维尔市(Parkville),有四个孩子,分别是15岁、14岁、12岁和六岁。她尝试多种方法,让孩子们觉得学习很有趣。马塞迪斯说,有一次她六岁的女儿佩奇(Paige)不懂怎么在电脑上做分数概念题,大哭起来说:"我不想做作业了。"马塞迪斯安慰佩奇:"我知道你不高兴,有时我们生气的时候,脑子就不管用了,我知道你能行,我们晚点再来做这个作业吧。"



Later, Ms. Mazeitis took out a wooden pizza puzzle to refresh Paige's memory on fractions without having to type on a keyboard. Paige soon returned to the computer and finished the assignment. To keep things fun, Ms. Mazeitis also switches roles with Paige, sitting in a small chair and playing the student, while Paige stands by a chalkboard, pretending to be her teacher. By middle school, when studies show students crave more autonomy, parents can coach students on problem-solving strategies. When Lorraine Landon's 13-year-old twins Cienna and Keenan became frustrated with middle-school math homework, she told them, 'I'm not going to rescue you,' says Ms. Landon, of Pasco, Wash. Instead, she urged them to review what the teacher had said in class, consult their textbook, or make an appointment to get help from their teacher


随后,马塞迪斯拿出一个木制的比萨拼图游戏,帮佩奇回忆分数的概念,而不用在键盘上输入答案。很快,佩奇就回到电脑前,完成了作业。为了让学习变得更有趣,马塞迪斯还与佩奇互换角色,坐在一张小凳子上扮演学生,让佩奇站在黑板前面假装是老师。



Once high school rolls around, parental involvement is linked again to better academic performance, according to the 2008 Duke research review. That may be because parents at this stage tend to get involved only in subject areas they enjoy -- passing on their enthusiasm. A 2011 study of 12 high-school classes published in the School Community Journal found students paid more attention in science class and spent more time on homework when their parents were engaged.


研究显示,中学生需要更多的自主权,父母可以向孩子传授解决问题的策略。罗琳•兰登(Lorraine Landon)家住华盛顿州的帕斯科市(Pasco),有一对13岁的双胞胎西安娜(Cienna)和基南(Keenan)。双胞胎觉得中学的数学作业很难,兰登说:"我不会教你们怎么做。"她督促她们温习老师课上讲的内容,查看教科书,或跟老师约个时间补课。



If parents dislike a subject, they can easily pass on that attitude too, says Bon Crowder, a Houston teacher, tutor and publisher of MathFour.com, a website on math-teaching strategies. A student may think, 'Omigosh, my mom who is 40 is freaking out about this, and I'm 14 and supposed to be doing OK with it? How can that be right? Maybe I should freak out too,' Ms. Crowder says.


据2008年发表的杜克大学研究报告,到高中阶段,家长的积极参与再次有助于学生提高学习成绩。这可能是因为这个阶段的父母往往只介入他们喜欢的领域──将其兴趣爱好传递给孩子。2011年发表在《校园期刊》(School Community Journal)上的一份研究报告对12个高中班级进行了调查,发现如果父母主动参与其中,学生会对科学课更感兴趣,并在家庭作业上投入更多的精力。



A better approach, researchers say, is to guide a student toward finding help elsewhere, such as video tutorial websites such as KhanAcademy.org, or to ask a tutor for help.


休斯顿市(Houston)的邦•克劳德(Bon Crowder)是一名教师、辅导老师和数学教学网站MathFour.com的发行人。她说,如果父母不喜欢某门课程,他们也很容易把自己的态度传染给孩子。克劳德说,学生可能会想:"天呐,我妈妈今年40岁了,对这个都很发怵,我才14岁,怎么可能做得好?也许我也应该发怵才对。"



Some homework problems spring from the assignments themselves, which can be confusing. In three studies in 2009 and 2011 by Frances Van Voorhis, a research consultant at Johns Hopkins' Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships, students who did homework structured to involve parents in a positive way said the assignments eased stress. The students posted higher test scores compared with control groups.


研究人士表示,对于这种情况,一个更好的处理方法是引导学生通过其他渠道求助,如KhanAcademy.org等网站上的教学视频,或请人辅导。



Susan and Daniel Buckles, of Parkville, Mo., use homework to instill long-term study habits. When Ms. Buckles realized recently that her 11-year-old daughter Annie had been procrastinating for weeks on a project, she stepped in -- but only to help Annie set up a plan, breaking the remaining work into manageable pieces.


有些家庭作业上出现的问题是作业自身产生的,而这会给人带来不少困挠。约翰•霍普金斯大学"学校、家庭及社区合作研究中心"(School, Family and Community Partnership)的研究顾问范恩•弗尔里斯(Van Voorhis)在2009年和2011年做过三项研究,发现如果给学生布置需要家长积极互动的家庭作业,学生会感觉作业能够缓解压力。接受此类作业的学生与对照组学生相比,考试的成绩更好。



Annie is grateful for the 'wake-up call.'


密苏里州帕克维尔市的苏珊•巴克莱斯(Susan Buckles)和丹尼尔•巴克莱斯(Daniel Buckles)夫妇通过家庭作业来培养孩子的学习习惯。苏珊最近发现,她11岁的女儿安妮(Annie)有一个课外自修项目,但她已经拖延了好几个星期。苏珊开始干预,但只是帮助安妮设定计划,把没有完成的任务按照可行的方式来进行了分段。



Her parents, she says, have taught her that 'if you don't nurture and grow your study habits to be the best that you can be, you're going to fail college, you're not going to get a good job and you're going to be sad, thinking, 'Why didn't I study more when I was younger?'


安妮很感激妈妈的"及时唤醒"。



Sue Shellenbarger


文章标签:辅导