Homework

The other day, an eighth-grade student sat across from me, happily swinging her feet and finger-combing her hair while fielding questions about her academic experiences of this newly minted school year. The exchange went as follows: Was she glad to be back in school? Oh, yeah! (Happy to be with her friends.) Were the classes tough? Not too, so far. Did she like her teachers? Yeah, she did. Any homework? Nooo! No homework or assignments in the first weeks? Nope, my teachers are cool.

kristinw@herald-mail.com Kevin and Mark Sokol know when they get home from school they have 30 minutes to themselves. Then, it's homework time. For a half-hour, they can unwind by having a snack, watching TV or spending some time outdoors. But when that time is up, they know they better get back to work as studious seventh-grade students. It is the routine that the twin Sokol boys have practiced for many years under the guidance of their parents. The system works for the family with few questions about what is expected when it comes to schoolwork.

The back-to-school advertisements are everywhere, selling everything from crayons to clothes to dorm room refrigerators. Getting back into the school groove means more than a trip to the mall. You can prepare your kids, from kindergarten to college, by thinking ahead as the summer winds down. One way to start the school year right is to create a good place to study. Whether it's a desk in a bedroom or at the kitchen table, a study area should be a place where students can concentrate with few interruptions.

My son was working on an assignment, and I was really excited about it. I gathered all sorts of materials for him, spread them out, and proceeded to tell him possible uses for each item. He let me expound on this and that and the other thing. When I was done, he looked up at me and quietly said, "Mom, that's not what I had in mind. " Oh. I asked him about his plans. He had everything mapped out, mentally, and his ideas were good ones. So I told him to have fun and if he needed me I'd be in the next room.

I called a fellow teacher at 8:30 on a recent school night to ask her a question. "I'm not catching you at a bad time, am I? It's not too late for me to call is it?" She laughed and said it wasn't either. She was in the middle of math problems. "Sixth-grade math?" I asked, knowing that her son is a sixth-grader. I thought she might be helping him with his homework. He had finished his homework, she said, with little assistance from her. Now she was working on her first-grade students' math papers.

marlob@herald-mail.com Homework is an activity that got its name because of where it always had been done. But as 21st-century education continues to evolve and adapt, more and more homework is being done at school or in some cases, not being assigned in the quantities it used to be, some Tri-State area educators said. In Berkeley County, W.Va., schools, "We have what we call a guided practice governing homework," said Frank Aliveto, deputy superintendent of schools.

andrear@herald-mail.com CLEAR SPRING - Michele Burger and other parents pursuing advanced degrees often don't subject themselves to the same study rules that they endorse for their children. "I give myself a lot more leniency than I give them because I believe I can discipline myself more," said Burger, 38, of Clear Spring. "Heck, I'm paying for my education. It makes a difference. " Time also is a factor, she and other parent-students said. In addition to raising two children who are in middle school, Burger works part time cleaning homes and teaching as a substitute while pursuing a degree in health information technology at Hagerstown Business College.

scottb@herald-mail.com During his study hall period on Monday, April 5, Matt Pensinger, a junior at Chambersburg Area Senior High School, was trying to take a nap in the cafeteria. Interrupted by a reporter asking students their thoughts about study hall, he said that when he has homework, he uses the study hall to do work for his classes. But on days when he does not have homework to do, he uses the time to rest and nap, said Pensinger, 16. While other students attending one of the study halls at the school cafeteria that afternoon appeared more alert, Pensinger was not the only one who said they use the study hall -at least some times -to rest and relax.

BALTIMORE - For many children, the first day of school doesn't just mean new teachers and new friends; it can also be a source of anxiety with homework assignments and tests just around the corner. Parents can help ease anxiety and make a smooth transition from summer to school by starting a routine with their child early in the year. "Parents are often surprised by their child's first-day jitters because children prepare for the first day of school every year," said Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D.

tarar@herald-mail.com A Washington County organization has pulled state grant funding from the Hagerstown Area Police Athletic League, stating the youth-based program wasn't complying with after-school requirements set forth in the grant, the county group's director said Thursday. The move puts City Police Officer Brett McKoy out as the league's paid full-time coordinator and back to patrolling the streets of Hagerstown as of July 1, McKoy said. He said morning and afternoon "open sessions" for elementary and middle school students offered by the Police Athletic League will be canceled because he won't have the time to administer them.