How To Avoid “Homework Blues” & Ignite Your Child’s Curiosity

I saw a quote in Time magazine this week that grabbed my attention:

"Homework…may be the single most reliable extinguisher of the flame of curiosity." Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth

I found this observation striking because an important way to flex your Perspective Power is to cultivate an attitude of wild curiosity. And so, if you have children, any suggestion that homework might be training them out of the ability to flex their Perspective Power is an issue that demands your attention. How can you avoid stifling your child’s naturally curious spirit while, at the same time, nurturing their time management skills and self-discipline through regular homework? Here are three suggestions…

Don’t Assume Longer Is Better
Monitor the amount of time your children spend doing homework and don’t assume that longer is better. After reviewing the homework studies, Harris Cooper - professor of psychology at Duke University - noted that more than 90min/night (middle school) and 2hr/night (high school) is correlated with reduced performance on standardized testing. How much homework should your kids be doing? Dr. Cooper suggests 10min/night/grade level. This is a useful benchmark for increasing your awareness to the fact your child might be driving him/herself way beyond the point of useful engagement with their home studies. In addition, it will give you a better sense of the right time to step in and discuss the homework load with your child’s teachers, should that become necessary

Set A Better Example
Set a better example for your children. How often do you use phrases like: "That’s interesting, I’ve never noticed that before." or "I wonder how that works?" or "I wonder what would happen if…?" In addition to igniting your child’s inquisitiveness, training yourself to be more curious will also be of direct benefit to you. For example, wild curiosity is one of the three core characteristics of creative people => Creativity

Reframe Information In Vivid Terms
Reframe abstract (a.k.a. boring) information in more vivid, relevant terms. In his wonderful book ‘Classic-Feynman-All the Adventures of a Curious Character’, Nobel prize winning physicist Richard P. Feynman, describes how his father actively encouraged his curiosity. If the subject under discussion was the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Feynman senior would say…

"Twenty five feet high, with a head six feet across. That would mean if he stood in our front yard, he would be tall enough to put his head through our window up here (they lived on the second floor). But his head would be too wide to fit in the window."

The focus of these three strategies is to turn homework from a chore into an experience. Richard Feynman had this to say about his Dad…

"I learned from my father to translate everything I read. To try to figure out what it really means, what it’s really saying."

And, given that Feynman went on to redefine the framework of theoretical physics, wouldn’t you just love to have your child say that about you?