Dear Homework Speech, Please Work This Year
My sweet precious boy has heard A LOT of speeches about why school is important, why homework and studying are important, why checking your work is important, why not rushing is important, and why being prepared is important. And yet, I’m reminded every school year (every day) that moms are from Venus and sons are from Mars. I ended sixth grade feeling quite defeated. But surprisingly, I am starting our final year of grammar school with a renewed sense of hope. It’s really nice to not feel dread.
I think (know) my son is smart and capable of making good grades, so my expectations for him are high. I know he’s being lazy. And when I see those zero or partial credit homework grades posted, I lose my mind. Not acceptable. Ever. You do your homework because you’re supposed to, and you do your homework because it’s FREE POINTS. Always take the free points! Homework points can change a letter grade. Those tenths of a point that don’t round up sneak up on you, and that’s when you wish you’d tried just a little bit harder. And that’s also when the disappointment in yourself hits because you know you didn’t give it your best. You didn’t make it the priority, and school has to be the priority. School is your job.
I struggled because I had to HOUND him to do his homework and study. I struggled because hounding him requires more of my time and attention. I struggled because I don’t understand why he seems incapable of doing what he’s supposed to do UNLESS I hound him. I struggled because I loved school, and I don’t understand why he hates it.
I was tired.
To all the mamas that have to helicopter the schoolwork a little bit more than you’d like, I feel you. To all the mamas who were not the same kind of student as your child, I feel you. Summer break gave me the space to figure out how to make things better while not being consumed with the chaos. And one of the biggest things that needs to change is my response. I’m terrible at asking for help, but my mom knew I was struggling and she helped us get some routine back in our lives. She helped me redirect my focus. I hugged her a bunch this summer!
The annual homework speech will be given this year. I’m praying it FINALLY works!
