Help with homework

[Bluegodinez]

I am a high school freshman. I am currently struggling with the chore of doing my ho,eWorld. I cannot seem to start it and continue it through. I understand it is a sacrifice to do it, but sometimes tell myself that I will not be able to accomplish it, it is too difficult, or I won’t succeed in doing it. I also seem to have a problem with committing myself to my work, especially if I am uncertain of the outcome of the work. It seems that a lot of things around me distract me a take me away from doing what is most important: my school work. The distractions make me feel better (meaning more entertained) than doing the school work. The distractions automatically go to the top of my priority list. I have spoken to immediately family for help, but they tell me there is not “magic trick” for making me do my homework. What should I do to help myself sacrifice? Help me understand the value of sacrifice and the value of work better, and give me any other tips that may help me with this situation. Thank you, and God Bless.

I belive this is the best forum I could put this in.

 

[OurLadysServant]

Your education decides the job you will have for the next 40 years, where you will work, where you will live, your income,…
Its worth every written or learned word.

St Father John Bosco told the kids he taught to do their homework well. He was educating them and delivering them from a life of poverty. he wrote it was a sin for them to be lazy about homework, especially when their parents were working hard to keep them in school

I am a high school freshman. I am currently struggling with the chore of doing my ho,eWorld. I cannot seem to start it and continue it through. I understand it is a sacrifice to do it, but sometimes tell myself that I will not be able to accomplish it, it is too difficult, or I won’t succeed in doing it. I also seem to have a problem with committing myself to my work, especially if I am uncertain of the outcome of the work. It seems that a lot of things around me distract me a take me away from doing what is most important: my school work. The distractions make me feel better (meaning more entertained) than doing the school work. The distractions automatically go to the top of my priority list. I have spoken to immediately family for help, but they tell me there is not “magic trick” for making me do my homework. What should I do to help myself sacrifice? Help me understand the value of sacrifice and the value of work better, and give me any other tips that may help me with this situation. Thank you, and God Bless.

I belive this is the best forum I could put this in.

 

[pensmama87]

I used to teach high school. I think it is very good that you are aware that this is a problem and that you want to fix it. When I would have students who had troubles focusing on homework, these were some of the suggestions I gave them:

• As much as possible, do your homework at school. If you arrive at school early, you can work ahead on reading assignments or projects that will take a while to do (this is a really good idea if your library is open before homeroom). If you have an “activity period” or extra help available after school, there are many teachers who will let you work on homework in their rooms (I used to do this for my students, even if they wanted to work on things besides those for my class). Use study halls for studying. If you ride the bus and don’t get motion sickness from reading, you can even do homework on the bus.
• Have a set time that you work on homework (or multiple times). If you know it’s hard for you to focus in the evening, try to work on homework as soon as you get home. You can work for 15-20 minutes at a time then take a 5 minute break, then get back on task. (This also works for chores. ) Having a routine makes it easier to sit down and get to it, especially if you can look forward to something fun afterwards.
• Have set times to work on homework even on Friday and Saturday.
• If there’s a particular assignment, book, or subject that is challenging for you, ask for help! Asking sooner is better than later. I used to get really frustrated when I would have to give a student a bad grade on a test when I realized they had no idea what was going on, but they had had weeks to come for me for help and never did.
• You can also ask a guidance counselor about ways to improve your focus and attention.

Just a few thoughts! Good luck - high school is a much different thing than middle school and teachers often make the mistake of assuming that these are habits that students have already developed. A lot don’t bother until after high school, and then they’re really in trouble! So it’s good that you’re working on this now!

 

[pianistclare]

I used to teach high school. I think it is very good that you are aware that this is a problem and that you want to fix it. When I would have students who had troubles focusing on homework, these were some of the suggestions I gave them:

• As much as possible, do your homework at school. If you arrive at school early, you can work ahead on reading assignments or projects that will take a while to do (this is a really good idea if your library is open before homeroom). If you have an “activity period” or extra help available after school, there are many teachers who will let you work on homework in their rooms (I used to do this for my students, even if they wanted to work on things besides those for my class). Use study halls for studying. If you ride the bus and don’t get motion sickness from reading, you can even do homework on the bus.
• Have a set time that you work on homework (or multiple times). If you know it’s hard for you to focus in the evening, try to work on homework as soon as you get home. You can work for 15-20 minutes at a time then take a 5 minute break, then get back on task. (This also works for chores. ) Having a routine makes it easier to sit down and get to it, especially if you can look forward to something fun afterwards.
• Have set times to work on homework even on Friday and Saturday.
• If there’s a particular assignment, book, or subject that is challenging for you, ask for help! Asking sooner is better than later. I used to get really frustrated when I would have to give a student a bad grade on a test when I realized they had no idea what was going on, but they had had weeks to come for me for help and never did.
• You can also ask a guidance counselor about ways to improve your focus and attention.

Just a few thoughts! Good luck - high school is a much different thing than middle school and teachers often make the mistake of assuming that these are habits that students have already developed. A lot don’t bother until after high school, and then they’re really in trouble! So it’s good that you’re working on this now!

Take heed to this wise woman’s word. don’t be afraid to ask for help!

 

[tawny]

I used to teach high school. I think it is very good that you are aware that this is a problem and that you want to fix it. When I would have students who had troubles focusing on homework, these were some of the suggestions I gave them:

• As much as possible, do your homework at school. If you arrive at school early, you can work ahead on reading assignments or projects that will take a while to do (this is a really good idea if your library is open before homeroom). If you have an “activity period” or extra help available after school, there are many teachers who will let you work on homework in their rooms (I used to do this for my students, even if they wanted to work on things besides those for my class). Use study halls for studying. If you ride the bus and don’t get motion sickness from reading, you can even do homework on the bus.
• Have a set time that you work on homework (or multiple times). If you know it’s hard for you to focus in the evening, try to work on homework as soon as you get home. You can work for 15-20 minutes at a time then take a 5 minute break, then get back on task. (This also works for chores. ) Having a routine makes it easier to sit down and get to it, especially if you can look forward to something fun afterwards.
• Have set times to work on homework even on Friday and Saturday.
• If there’s a particular assignment, book, or subject that is challenging for you, ask for help! Asking sooner is better than later. I used to get really frustrated when I would have to give a student a bad grade on a test when I realized they had no idea what was going on, but they had had weeks to come for me for help and never did.
• You can also ask a guidance counselor about ways to improve your focus and attention.

Just a few thoughts! Good luck - high school is a much different thing than middle school and teachers often make the mistake of assuming that these are habits that students have already developed. A lot don’t bother until after high school, and then they’re really in trouble! So it’s good that you’re working on this now!

Well stated.

 

[St_Francis]

I am or was like you (still am but less than 8 once was), so I can totally relate! Pensmama has great advice for yoh and if you follow it, you will have excellent habits which will help you all your life and you won’t end up like me, still struggling

I wanted to add two points: 1. include a prayer routine! The prayers will help. Start small (morning and evening prayers, for example), then evaluate each month or 6 weeks, and add more in; the prayers you want to add in are the Rosary and mental prayer, but you may want to start small with them too. Work your way up just as you would if you were getting into lifting weights: you wouldn’t start pressing 300 pounds 20 times–you would start with 10 pounds…

The second point is one that has helped me: it doesn’t matter how I feel–I have to do it anyway. And for a while, until I get used to it, it does feel awful. I have obviously been in the really bad habit of letting my feelings run my life, and they kick and scream when I change! So, don’t expect this to be an easy path–it will feel bad, it will feel uncomfortable, weird, icky, boring, frustrating… and you will also be saying no to all the distractions of life!

Another thing (miscounted above): evaluate every so often (you decide when, like after evert exam week, or on the first of the month, whenever, but do it )

1. your resolution is to *learn to do something, *not simply to do it. The whole thing is a learning process. (This is how I fulfilled my first New Year’s Resolution!)
2. put it in calculatable and controllable terms–do not say you will get an A–say you will study the subject for 30 minutes/day. You can tell if you are studying 30 minutes/day; otger things might affect your grade.

OK, can you tell I was bad at math HTH!!! Your question sure helped me as I actually have to evaluate tonight and sort out what I will do for the Easter time. Now I have great hints and motivation!!!

 

[Bluegodinez]

I thank all of you who have responded and helped me improve. Thanks.