Achieving good study in the home – notes from talk given on 24 February 2015
When I use the term study in this talk I am including the term homework as well.
Seen from the overall context of the school, success normally comes when school and home work
together.
The JC and LC are important, but one really important thing about education, which is intimately tied
in with the objectives of this school, is that young people learn good work habits which they apply to
their study, but also to their future home and work environments.
It is important to realise that these are developed over time.
What character needs do you as parents have?
optimism and serenity: a lifelong challenge, so the last thing you need is that it becomes a source of
tiredness and frustration to you. The serene parent is the one who sees the problem, addresses it,
realises that it is never solved immediately and will take a lot more time, and is calm and composed
every time they address the problem. You come in at 8 pm after a hard day at work, maybe parents
are doing shift work, and he is playing computer games rather than doing his study. That is a real
test for serenity! Respond – but not in anger, because he learns very little from that, except maybe
to switch of the game at 7.55! That is why I am advocate that you as parents talk about these things
at home when deciding your long term strategy
positive outlook leading to giving him encouragement – your son will grow more with hearing
praise, encouragement, and interest from you than he will from any negatives, be these a result of
anger, frustration, annoyance. Giving out should be in a controlled, calculated fashion (emanating
from your deep rooted serenity). The stick is not a motivating tool, but the carrot of encouragement,
of praise, of expressed satisfaction certainly is.
How about him? Foundational character traits that help good study
Order: being able to plan, understanding punctuality (e.g. colour coding on books; drawing up a
simple timetable for the day or week; working out the ramifications of changing his sports training
time on the rest of the household; doing things when he should; being punctual so that others are
not kept waiting). Order is easier for some than for others, and it is not a natural teenage virtue – so
not easy to introduce it to a fourteen-year old. Maybe you feel yours is a chaotic household – well,
how about anchoring a few things in the daily timetable – e.g. meal time, rise time, study time.
Maybe he is the source of the chaos, then, with serenity start finding ways to anchor his daily plan.
Maybe you need to give him some room or distance – not doing everything for him, especially if he
is showing initiative. If he has developed a habit of punctuality and there is a clear plan for study
starting at 6 pm, then the job is half-done as they say (a good start is half the work).
Diligence – comes from ‘to love’, doing things with love – which means doing something well and
finishing it off well. If he has developed this virtue before the teenage years strike then again all the
better. Apply to chores, sport: putting himself into it, whether he is good or not-so-good; finishing
the job well – putting away the tools afterwards. This good habit helps us overcome our carelessness
and laziness. One of the jobs of a parent is to help instil an appreciation of having a study time and
sticking to it. Encouragement is a great way to develop diligence: well done, really good, tell me
what you learned today, really impressed with your effort marks, or the questions in the car – what
did you study last night etc?
What should a good student be able to do?
St Thomas Aquinas prayer asks God to ‘grant me penetration to understand, capacity to retain,
method and facility in study, subtlety in interpretation and abundant grace in expression.’ This
prayer highlights aspect of study/ work that are important aspects in order to achieve:
penetration to understand: needs silence, reflection, readiness to look up other sources, ask others,
taking notes – developing one’s own notes for future reference e.g. exams.
capacity to retain: study is about ways of learning and then ways of holding on to what has been
learnt – understanding an idea makes it easier to retain it; mind maps, learning by heart, word
games/tricks, studying same material regularly until firmly held in memory; taking good notes – all
help retention.
method and facility in study: practicalities of study – being a self-starter, getting down to work on
time; having a suitable study environment e.g. silence (debate of silence v music – more reflective,
the less music); balancing homework and study; ability to work away quietly on one’s own (without
hopping up and down; stamina – long periods, with only short breaks); able to have a timetable and
follow it (clear simple plan, always do two hours even if no homework); gaining a sense of
enjoyment out of achievement.
subtlety in interpretation: analysing what is learnt; understanding its depth; going beyond the
material by looking at other sources; taking enjoyment in one’s own originality. Also understanding
what is asked in questions – part of our literacy strategy across all the years.
abundant grace in expression: writing longer homework answers; writing essays; taking part in
school debates (another focus of the literacy plan); explaining to mother/ father what he learned;
revision in car on way to school.
Obstacles to a good study period
School Journal has a recommended time for each student: 2 to 4 hours per night, depending on year
group and proximity of exams. Get him to show you. Get him to make his plan. Get him to advertise
it on the fridge door. Help him to bring the right books home; write his homework in his journal &
tick it off each night; you may need to be on his case for this to happen.
1. Laziness is a problem – tiredness, not an attractive idea to have to study (explain how this
happens in work life as well) & so easy to put off. Punctuality in getting down to work is often the
key to overcoming initial laziness. If the alternative is cleaning the house, then maybe will settle in
quicker. If there is a reward – 30 minutes on FIFA15. If the environment is right it makes it easier.
2. Learning issues: (a) inability to retain info – need memorisation techniques; needs to be writing
much more
(b) tension around exam time – praise, concentrate on effort marks in report cards, play down
importance of exams
(c) concentration levels poor due to personal distractibility – always have a pen in the hand; learn
how to write down things / summaries; give sufficient time to each piece of homework; don’t allow
shortcuts nor reduce study time; allow more breaks; remove all distractions; supervise work where
possible. See if you can get him to read more for enjoyment, as will feed back into his learning and
his concentration abilities.
(d) poorly motivated: may lack internal or external motivation – do it for others, responding to
praise, or good results, or exhortations about his future, but don’t overdo it and always do in a
positive way (you will never be any use if…). There can be lack of ambition in life, fear of failure
3. Different age & different abilities: challenge maybe is to get him to sit down; maybe do study in
the kitchen rather than his room; be firm around spending the full-time as this avoids shortcuts in
homework. What do we want to achieve: capacity to be a self-starter; commit to work; achieve best
he can in it
4. A student’s ability to cope with the material may be limited – so homework now very important;
good quality answers; e.g. doing lots of questions in Maths; learning poems, learning definitions by
heart; having an equipped pencil case; keeping last year’s books for reference.
5. Distractibility (- the disease of our age)
(a) Strike the right balance between study and other priorities in his life (includes limiting
sporting activity – soccer twice, swimming, tennis!)
(b) Have a quiet time in the home from 7 to 9 pm – no tv, distractions, younger children reading
– establish a working time
(c) Older – maybe supervised studying in school surrounded by others who are studying
(d) Bed on time & getting enough sleep
(e) Gadget control: especially if working in bedroom (TV, phone, Internet)
(f) Content on gadgets: addictions of Fb, Snapchat, texting, internet porn (pervasive – in study
context a distraction; in moral context can be extremely damaging – one of the biggest
challenges facing your son). Making phones public property. Strictly reducing access during
study period – music or formulae or dictionary on phone, but so also is the girlfriend or the
Whasup group, or the latest game stats he has subscribed to. You have to call it and should
err on the side of depriving him of access to the gadget
(g) Screens before bedtime – light confuses brain
(h) Gadget control when gone to bed – phones in a public place
(i) Public declaration re study plan; keeping an eye on work rates, especially if in his room
(j) More generic distraction – teenage peer pressure (which comes back to motivation) needs
to be overcome by family peer pressure of realistic expectation
(k) More generic distraction – lifestyle (nights out scheduled) plus alcohol (zero tolerance
approach is the best – it can knocks days out of the school week)
How to approach the study period
Try to get a clear routine going around amount of time per night and the timetable. Routine,
consistency, predictability, order of importance re when to do homework and what to study. Aim is
to get him working productively on his own for a fixed time.
Can you get him into a daily or weekly plan including goal setting? E.g. two specific subjects for 30
min each on Monday etc. e.g. specific plan for the weekend so that work is done early.
A specific timetable should operate in the two weeks or four-week countdown to exams
Encourage the taking of notes and using these as the basis of one’s study.
Have a simple system of remembering what you have to study and when you studied it last. E.g.
follow the order of chapters in the book; or follow the order of your notes.
One key purpose in study is the learning of ideas, reinforcement of memory of those ideas,
reviewing the material for each exam so that it is reinforced in memory. Each say 30-minute study
period can have a standard approach: word dump, then study, question, read/take notes, recall /
test recall, quick review to finish. There is a section in Journal explaining this approach.
Aim for quality work: pen in hand; testing oneself on what has been learned; taking efficient notes;
aim to do a fixed amount of work in a fixed time.
Best way to study Maths is to do questions; step by step process, so don’t miss out the steps. Best
way to study English: learn how to write essays by doing (section in the Journal) & reviewing teacher
comments; listen to other students answers in class; giving time to homework and in answering
questions – move beyond the yes/no (getting him to move beyond the yes/no in answering you
orally). Best way to study History/Geography – take good notes. Read around the topics. Have a
good revision plan for the year. Look at past exam papers and sample answers.
Some things need to be learned off by heart: especially poetry, definitions. Definitions are invaluable
as a launch pad for answers.
Get him to appreciate the value of his own notes, of revision planning, of revision work
What to bring away with you tonight – highlight some key points
Have a family time for study, a quiet two-hour period. Have a family conferences around this.
Has he a clear publicised plan and is it realistic and working?
Is he doing the best that he can? What does he think? (see effort mark on report card)
Show an ongoing interest in what he is studying (car journey, breakfast, how did you get on…)
Strict control of gadgets (agreed, clear, inflexible).
Ensure he is getting enough sleep– raises questions around sufficient exercise, gadget control,
anxiety, sensible social life.
Look at his copies: speak to teachers/mentor. Sign his Journal – homework recorded; study time
recorded. Use the parent-teacher meeting to establish trends.
Exam technique needs to be explored if his results are not in keeping with abilities and work rate
(e.g. poor planning, incorrect reading of questions, excessive slowness, lack of confidence in own
ability)
Perhaps you are dealing with a reluctance to work; with teenage rebellion; with low self-confidence
due to ability; with laziness; with an inability to control distractions internal or external. Whatever
the challenge approach it with serenity and optimism in all that you try, realising that progress is
made one step at a time. This is my most important message tonight, ask that both parents work
together in a serene way in achieving good study in the home.