Homework Driving Parents Nuts

Parents filed in like troubled souls in group therapy to the Encino branch of the Huntington Learning Center to talk about the issue that is wreaking havoc in their households: Homework.

With increased pressure on schools to improve scores on standardized tests, teachers are pouring on the homework, which is creating a nightly battleground at the kitchen tables of some families.

“Last night I got so frustrated my husband had to take over,” said parent Ellie Long. “I just walked out onto the porch.”

Eight parents--seemingly at wits end--gathered at the free workshop this past Monday night with high hopes. Each was looking for a breakthrough, to end nights destroyed by a simple book report or upcoming algebra test.

“You’re not in the battle alone,” said Norbert Weinberg, the regional director of the center who led the discussion. “This workshop is to keep you from pulling out your hair.”

Parents were referred to the two-hour workshop by either the PTA or friends who had seen their homework hassles end with the help of Huntington Learning Center, a privately-run firm that offers tutoring services for children for a fee. The parents workshop was free.

With more than 200 centers nationwide, the organization has helped 10,000 students with reading, math, study skills, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, writing and college entrance preparation. Children from kindergarten through high school attend its after-school and Saturday morning programs, which cost about $38 an hour.

But Monday night was for parents.

“We want you to be able to survive your child’s homework,” Weinberg said. “Our goal is to make the home a pleasant environment again.”

The Longs said their son, 8-year-old Derek, who tested gifted last year at Serrania Avenue School in Woodland Hills, would rather play video games than do homework.

“If he’d just put his nose to the grindstone, he’d have it done in 30 minutes,” said Derek’s father, Don Long.

Instead, homework can take up to 1 1/2 hours as Derek starts and stops.

Another parent in the group, Alicia Estrada, said she is so upset by her daughter’s dawdling that she has resorted to threats.

“I was such a good mother before junior high,” she said.

The homework hassle is at such a boiling point in their North Hollywood home that Estrada preferred to keep her daughter’s identity anonymous. The sixth-grader at Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood has begged her mother not to tell her teachers she is struggling, Estrada said. She added that she fears the problem is starting to affect her adolescent daughter’s self-esteem and their relationship.

‘She gets so mad, she starts crying,” Estrada said. “And I’m getting frustrated even more than her. I don’t know how to help her.”

Here are some tips from the Huntington Learning Center to ease homework battles:

* Set aside a consistent “learning time” in a quiet area of the home well-stocked with supplies. Even if your child has no homework, encourage him to use the time to read the newspaper, get ahead in their schoolwork or read a book.

* Have your child break down homework in increments using a weekly planner. This makes it feel less overwhelming.

* Do not do your child’s homework. That sends the message that they are incapable. Be a coach, but do not spoon-feed.

* Be available for questions or to look over your child’s work, but do not hover over them.

* Offer praise and encouragement even for the smallest effort.

* Do not engage in power struggles. Be an authority figure, not a dictator.

* Follow through on consequences when homework is not completed on time, such as eliminating television, the computer or going out with friends. Have your child’s teacher follow through with consequences, also, such as making your child skip recess.

* Use a timer to set goals for getting homework done. Consider “Beat the Clock” games to help your child move through assignments.

* Monitor your child’s homework progress by telephone if you are not home.

For more information, call Huntington Learning Center in Encino at (818) 907-5555.

Class Notes appears every Wednesday. Send news about schools to the Valley Edition, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax it to (818) 772-3338.

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HOMEWORK WEBSITES

* https://www.iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides. Excellent advice and tips on study strategies.

* https://school.discovery.com. Get homework help by clicking on “Student Channel” for social studies, science, English and all levels of math, including practical math problems such as figuring personal finance and unit conversions.

* https://bigchalk.com. Study subjects, including the arts, biography, geography, current events, law, literature, math, philosophy, religion, government and civics.

* https://forum.swarthmore.edu/. The Math Forum Home Page has resources for all grade levels, including algebra, geometry, calculus, game theory and programming.

* https://www.tutor2000.com/. An online referral service sponsored by the National Tutoring Assn. of America, pairing students with tutors. There are also links, related organizations and a chat room.

* https://www.stanford.edu/~glassman/chem/index.htm. For computation help, such as particles into moles, pounds into grams, grams into particles, moles into grams and more.

* https://www.schoolwork.org/. Homework help with all the major subjects, including quotations, maps, music and grammar.