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Modern homes are filled with distractions, making it difficult for students to focus on homework. Homework serves an important purpose in reinforcing concepts and developing time management skills. Creating a distraction-free homework environment and avoiding procrastination can improve focus and learning outcomes.
Modern classrooms are designed to encourage and support the learning process, while many modern homes have become repositories for video games, movies, personal computers, cell phones with texting capabilities, and a dozen other popular distractions. Attempting to focus on homework in an environment filled with so many temptations can often be an exercise in futility for many students, even those with exceptional discipline. To focus on homework, a student needs an environment that encourages mental focus and minimizes distractions.
Contrary to popular belief, most homework has an important purpose in the educational process and is not just “hard work” projects designed to torture students after school. A math teacher, for example, may only have enough time in a lesson period to explain a complicated formula and work out a handful of examples in front of the whole class. By assigning additional questions for students to work independently, the instructor can reinforce the concept or process through repetition. A student who completes 20 examples at home is more likely to learn the material than a student who observes only a few examples in class.
One reason it can be difficult to focus on homework is because a student’s home and school environments are rarely similar. A classroom is designed to contain very few distractions or conveniences, while a student’s home is designed for everything from sleeping to entertaining to eating. Setting up an area in the home for homework can help a student focus on homework without the distraction of siblings, parents, friends, or television. A home office or guest bedroom should be an improvement over a child’s distraction-filled bedroom or communal living room.
Another reason some children find it difficult to focus on homework is the mental transition from school to home. A school day is usually very structured, with strict adult supervision and time management. Once a child gets home from school, however, he tends to adjust to a less regimented part of his day. The idea of working on school-related projects while in a home environment often requires a different mindset. This is why many parents encourage their children to focus on homework during the transition from school to home. It can be very difficult for a student to concentrate on homework once he has been home for a few hours.
Some children find it difficult to focus on homework due to sleep deprivation. Spending a full day in a school environment and then returning home for other evening activities can leave a child mentally and physically exhausted. When a student is ready to focus on homework, it may be time for bed. Working on any assignment when excessively tired or sleep-deprived is never easy, and many homework assignments have strict deadlines. A student who procrastinates on a homework assignment may find himself working late into the night to complete it on time.
While homework may seem particularly cruel to many students, it does serve one or two useful purposes. Learning to manage time and deal with responsibilities with minimal supervision is a lifelong benefit of doing homework, as is repeating a difficult process until it becomes familiar or natural. Minimizing distractions, adopting an educational mindset, and avoiding procrastination should help a student focus on homework and learn material much faster.
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