The Sauk Centre herald., 1932-10-27
HOMEWORK

HOMEWORK
Joan came home and slammed
her schoolbooks viciously down on
the polished top of the hall table,
Then she sank wearily onto the
daveport and scowled.
Anything wrong, dear? asked
her mother.
Oh the bunch is going skating
this afternoon and I have all that
Latin to make up for when was
out this week. It has to be in to-
morrow on account of midsemester
grades and don't feel like doing
Latin. hate it anyway"
Well the sooner you begin the
sooner you begin the sooner it will
be finished. Worrying about it
won't get it done, Joan walled. But
she picked up pencil and began
turning pages istelessly. Her chin
was cupped in her hands; the
scowl was still visible. Poor tired
Joan, trying hard to concentrate
on Caesars campaigns, while
laughing skating figures are glid-
ing tantalizingly across ablatives
and datives.
This will be good discipline for
her, thought Joan's mother. But
Joan had been ill and out of school
for several days. An hour and
half of invigorating exercise in
the tingling, crispy air before din
ner would have built up new
energy and strength for Joan. Lat
in, when it was finally attacked
wouldn't seem nearly so much of a
stask.
Joan's mother made it a rule
that the hardest lesson be done
first, and she set the children at
this task as soon as they came
home. She hoped by this discipline
to build up good study habits
against the day when the children
should go to college. Her idea was
excellent, but the way she went at
it left much room for improvement
Joan was already hating Latin, one
of her earlier enthusiasms, and the
younger boy was frank in hating
all things connected with school.
Discussing the subject matter of
schoolwork often proves surpris-
ingly interesting to the adults in
the family circle and helps to
clarity it in the mind of the child.
What really is the electoral college,
Joan? What does the word blu
geon mean, Peter? How can they
print so many newspapers at one
time? Here it is mothers function
to keep discussion and argument
calm and impersonal.
Maybe if your house is serene
and quiet of an evening, or your
child is fortunate enough to have
a pleasant room of his own, he
may invite some friend, whose
home is fretful, badly planned, un-
comfortable, over for the evening.
Honor bound not to talk anything
but shop" until lessons are done,
the two friends can study together
to the benefit of both.
Mother can do so much to make
dreaded homework easier, too by
using her experience in helping
the children budget their time. Af-
ter all they haven't had much ex-
perience in dividing their time and
ther energies wisey. Sleep and rest
and exercise are important, too,
just as important as lessons and
parents often have to decide be-
tween the two. Growing children
and especially adolescents need
some invigorating exercise out Of
doors. If they are at that tired per-
iod when they seem possessed of
supreme lastiude, send them out
of doors to pay. Send the cross or
restless child out to work off his
surplus energy and see the little
book lover who forgets all else.
Budget some out Of door recreat-
ion before dinner, then perhaps
the whole family can discuss civics
while dishes are done. Math and
Latin can be gottenout of the way
intwo hours of concentrated study
after dinner, and then the poem or
passage for day-after-tomorrow's
English can be memorized plea
sanity while the child is taking a
bath and preparing for bed.
Some days there won't be much
homework, but often, when study
periods are taken up by extra cur
ricular activities, there will be a
great deal. Mother can see that it
doesn't pile up until the child is
utterly discouraged; that he stud
les with real concentration; that
he doesn't leave the hardest lesson
until he is sleepy and that there is
a wholesome balance between
work and play in his school days.