Problems as Homework
Some parents (and some children) view homework as a problem. I checked with the Uns and they wanted me to try a reversal. Here is the reversal I found.
Teachers assign problems as homework. They expect the children to come back with the problems solved. Let’s assume, for the moment, that one of the main functions of homework is to give practice in solving problems. The practice is not just for solving those particular problems in the assignment. Those have already been solved many times and there is not much market for old solutions to old problems. Maybe that’s one reason why children don’t see much need for homework.
Homework must be practice for solving new problems. The kind the children will need to solve when the grow up. The kind they will solve as parents. For example, homework. Now that is a problem that some parents want solved. And some children want it solved, too. And it doesn’t have an old, used solution that everybody knows about.
So let’s take an imaginary parent. P. A. Rant. P.A has decided to treat homework as a problem rather than an annoyance.
(Annoyances, you put up with. Problems, you solve.)
P. A. starts with the problem: “I have to keep prodding my child to get homework done.” But P. A. knows that the place to look for solutions is not in the problem, but in where you want to be when it is solved. “I want my child to do the homework with little or no prodding.”
(If other people are involved in the problem, maybe you want them involved in the solution.)
Semi-Structured Brainstorming: P. A. hangs a large sheet of paper on the wall of the child’s room. It has one box labeled: “PROBLEM: What’s wrong with homework?” P. A. gives the child a pad of sticky notes.
The child’s first job, P. A. explains, is to think of five things that are wrong with homework, to write them on the sticky notes, and to stick them where they belong. P. A. further explains that when that job is finished, they will start solving the problem together. P. A. indicates that a good job on this may take several days.
Saying what is wrong it just a convenient way to get started. Anybody can say what is wrong. So P. A. starts with what the child can easily do. The next step in problem-solving is to shift the focus to the solution.
(Talk about the problem if all you want to do is complain. If you want to fix, talk about where you want to be with the solution.)
P. A. marks out another box on the paper. The label: “GOAL: How I could tell if the problem is fixed.” The child’s new job is to match at least one note in the PROBLEM box with a note that belongs in the GOAL box. Again, P. A. indicates that a good job on this may take several days. That big piece of paper on the wall serves as a reminder of the job.
To further clarify the job, P. A. marks a third box, labeled: “ROUTE: How I could get what I want.” P. A. explains that they are not working on the route yet, but that the box is there in case they think of ideas while working on goals. (The ROUTE box also teaches the child to distinguish between goals and methods.)
P. A. expects that the initial goal notes will need further work. But P. A. understands the power of yet. As in: “I have not solved this problem yet.”
(To be continued)
Teachers assign problems as homework. They expect the children to come back with the problems solved. Let’s assume, for the moment, that one of the main functions of homework is to give practice in solving problems. The practice is not just for solving those particular problems in the assignment. Those have already been solved many times and there is not much market for old solutions to old problems. Maybe that’s one reason why children don’t see much need for homework.
Homework must be practice for solving new problems. The kind the children will need to solve when the grow up. The kind they will solve as parents. For example, homework. Now that is a problem that some parents want solved. And some children want it solved, too. And it doesn’t have an old, used solution that everybody knows about.
So let’s take an imaginary parent. P. A. Rant. P.A has decided to treat homework as a problem rather than an annoyance.
(Annoyances, you put up with. Problems, you solve.)
P. A. starts with the problem: “I have to keep prodding my child to get homework done.” But P. A. knows that the place to look for solutions is not in the problem, but in where you want to be when it is solved. “I want my child to do the homework with little or no prodding.”
(If other people are involved in the problem, maybe you want them involved in the solution.)
Semi-Structured Brainstorming: P. A. hangs a large sheet of paper on the wall of the child’s room. It has one box labeled: “PROBLEM: What’s wrong with homework?” P. A. gives the child a pad of sticky notes.
The child’s first job, P. A. explains, is to think of five things that are wrong with homework, to write them on the sticky notes, and to stick them where they belong. P. A. further explains that when that job is finished, they will start solving the problem together. P. A. indicates that a good job on this may take several days.
Saying what is wrong it just a convenient way to get started. Anybody can say what is wrong. So P. A. starts with what the child can easily do. The next step in problem-solving is to shift the focus to the solution.
(Talk about the problem if all you want to do is complain. If you want to fix, talk about where you want to be with the solution.)
P. A. marks out another box on the paper. The label: “GOAL: How I could tell if the problem is fixed.” The child’s new job is to match at least one note in the PROBLEM box with a note that belongs in the GOAL box. Again, P. A. indicates that a good job on this may take several days. That big piece of paper on the wall serves as a reminder of the job.
To further clarify the job, P. A. marks a third box, labeled: “ROUTE: How I could get what I want.” P. A. explains that they are not working on the route yet, but that the box is there in case they think of ideas while working on goals. (The ROUTE box also teaches the child to distinguish between goals and methods.)
P. A. expects that the initial goal notes will need further work. But P. A. understands the power of yet. As in: “I have not solved this problem yet.”
(To be continued)
posted by Selby Evans at 11:59 AM
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