Classroom, Not Bedroom:
Doing homework in bed: parents ‘instinctively’ know it’s not the best, but teens often insist on it. There’s lots of good documentation and explanation of the cons to homework in bed, but these arguments don’t sway the teens, because they don’t take into account the importance of bedrooms for teenagers. In this instance, parents can benefit from first understanding why their teen wants to work in their bedrooms.
In ethnographer Herb Childress‘s brilliant Landscapes of Betrayal, Landscapes of Joy: Curtisville in the Lives of its Teenagers, Childress explores the relationships between teenagers and their environment. As he notes, “Every place they use is owned by someone else. They cannot build places. They cannot purchase places. They typically cannot modify places. They can only inhabit places, which means being subject to someone else’s rules” (pg. 270).
It’s a worthwhile notion for parents to consider. Your teen isn’t insisting on doing homework in their room because they want to be difficult. Rather, for many, their bedrooms are the only place where they have autonomy and feel truly comfortable expressing themselves.
Childress’s insight into the importance of teen’s bedrooms is astute and insightful – and that’s exactly why these rooms should be ‘school free zones’. Not because studies show that teens don’t do well with homework in bed, but because teens should be allowed to have their rooms be sanctuaries, free from the stressors and triggers of school. Here are some best practices for getting teens to do homework outside of their rooms:
⊕ As your teen transitions to online school make their bedroom a ‘school free zone’.
→ Your teen will balk at this at first, no doubt. BUT if you can explain that you want their room to be a place for them to relax, not a place for them to go to school, they will thank you…eventually.
⊕ Set up a workspace for your teen at a desk (or even the kitchen table).
→ The key here is to create someplace functional – where they’re not balancing computers on pillows – AND someplace comfortable (but not so comfortable that they will fall asleep).
⊕ Make sure your teen has:
1) Room to spread out all the materials they need
2) Easy access to a plug for computer chargers (those Chromebooks run out of juice fast)
3) A dedicated paper notebook for each class and pens to take notes
→ Many students are used to typing their notes during class. But as we try to get them to ‘uni-task’ on the computer – i.e. turning off notifications during dedicated ‘class time’ – taking analog notes (pen and paper) will result in having less windows open, and help with focus.
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Be well,
Kaila
Note: Educational researchers know that virtual education can further compound the already existing social disparities that mark marginalized student’s educational worlds. While that is beyond the scope of these posts I encourage you to read about those – and the important work educators and activists are working to combat them. And I encourage those of you who can to donate their time, money, computers, etc. (links forthcoming).