Even experienced teachers can find themselves helpless in the face of the duties of their own children. After several failures, a former school teacher found how to radically change the situation.
After five years teaching in primary school, Laura Linn Knight thought they were armed to support her children in their learning. But once it became a mother, she quickly found that managing a class and educating her own children were two very different skills. Duties, in particular, have turned into a mined ground. “I already know how to do it”, “I don’t want you to tell me how to do it”, “I’m just going to have a glass of water”, “I need to cut my pencil” … The pretexts accumulated, and the atmosphere turned to confrontation.
Faced with this dead end, she decided to involve the whole family. She brought together everyone around the kitchen table and said: “I noticed that the homework had been really difficult for everyone. I want us to establish a plan together so that we can do them and that you felt supported.” A first schedule was tested: the children had to start their homework as soon as they arrived at home. Result: failure. They were tired, distracted, quickly annoyed. The family therefore started to think. This time, the organization was different: taste when you get home, then a moment to play or relax before attacking the lessons.
Laura Linn Knight observed an immediate change. The children settled in their office more easily, the resistance had clearly reduced. And above all, the relationship with them was no longer degraded around this ritual. For her, the key is clear: leaving a breathing time between the end of the school and the moment of homework. This SAS allows them to release the pressure, to refocus and to find the necessary energy.
However, she nuances: “There is no unique recipe for all families, but it is essential to ask children who, they can help them to do their homework.” The plans must be tested, adjusted, sometimes abandoned, but always thought together.
