Gloversville, NY takes a positive step toward improving its homework policy

I came across this policy that was recently approved by the school board in Gloversville, NY. It is a good policy and goes well with my recommendations for homework-trapped children:

• Clock based homework times
• Reduced penalties
• Respect for parental authority in the home.

To implement these steps, I have advised parents to set time caps on homework and have the child stop doing homework when the time is up. The question I always get is how one can do that if the penalties keep coming in, to which I respond that even with continued penalties, the homework-trapped child will get more done in a time container than by being engaged in conflict all night long. Still, it is difficult for parents to give up the unproductive, nagging role when they foresee and fear failure for their children. This policy gives parents the freedom to take the rational step of putting caps through time limits on the work that must get done.

Dr. Kenneth Goldberg is a clinical psychologist with 35 years of professional experience in dealing with many different psychological issues. He is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Students and Teachers and currently works in his own private practice.

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