Posts Tagged ‘homework’

Hector Gets the Homework Talk

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

HectorHector was enjoying and afternoon of skateboarding when his dad called him into the house.

Not good thought Hector. It is only 4 o’clock, too soon for supper.

When Hector  went inside he saw his mom and dad sitting at the dining room table. They asked him to sit down at the table with them.

Uh, oh thought Hector, did I forget to do a chore? Did my sister, Maria, snitch on me for eating her snack last night? He couldn’t think what else he might have done wrong.

His dad said, “You’re not in trouble, Hector. We just want to talk with you about homework  now that the school year has started. We want you to get off to a good start. We want you to have good homework practices.

Last year, you had a hard time doing homework, not because it was hard, but because you kept putting off and then you would rush through it and not do your best work.

This year, Hector, you will have more homework than last year. It will take time to do. I know there will be times when you would rather be doing other things, like skateboarding or watching TV. But, when you put homework off to the last minute, you make it hard on yourself.

So, make up your mind to do your homework first thing , when you get home. Then you will be able to have fun. You won’t have to be worrying about getting your homework done.

So, Hector, do you promise to do your homework as soon as you get home?”

Hector was glad he wasn’t in trouble, but he wasn’t happy to have to promise to do his homework as soon as he got home from school.  He could see by the look on his dad’s face that his dad meant business. He looked at his mom. She was nodding yes to everything dad said.

His dad said, “Well Hector, we are waiting for your answer. Hector answered, “I promise.”

“Good,” said dad. “Now you can go back out and skateboard until dinner.”

As Hector picked up his skateboard and walked outside he couldn’t help but think that making promises and keeping them is tough!

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Do the Work…Be a Winner!

Tuesday, November 15th, 2016

workCoach is getting ready for the afternoon session at the Recreation Center.

A very sullen Hector drags himself in, head down. “Hey Hector, what’s up, asked Coach Campbell. Are you ready for this afternoon? It’s going to be fun.”

“No Coach, I can’t come today.or any other day for a while,” answered Hector. What? How come, what happened, asked Coach?

“I got my report card yesterday, and my Mom is mad at me, said Hector. She says I have to come home every day right after school until my grades get better.”

Coach looked a Hector, saying “Wow, how bad was the report card?”  Hector answered, “Not that bad; I only failed two classes.”

“Hold on a minute,”said Coach. “You failed two classes. Are you are trying to tell me that failing only two classes isn’t that bad? Really? Hector, you are supposed to pass ALL of your classes. If you don’t, you end up falling behind, and that is no fun at all. I mean, right now you have to skip our afternoon sessions for a while, and you can’t be happy about that, are you?”

Hector looked miserable, as he shook his head no.

Coach asked, “Would your mom be mad at you, if you had passed all your classes? Probably not. Now, why did you fail these classes? What is the problem?”

“Well,” answered Hector, “I failed math because I just don’t get it.”

Coach answered,  “Oh, so I guess that it’s not really your fault then; I mean it is math, and you just can’t do math.  Do you get homework?”

Hector nodded yes.

Coach asked, “Do you do it?”

Hector shook his head no.

Then Coach shook his head, saying, “Do you think that not doing your homework hurt you?”

Yeah, I guess,” answered Hector.

“Hmm, said Coach, “do you remember when we first met?”

Hector nodded yes.

“Do you remember how you couldn’t do any of the exercises? You couldn’t keep up with the other kids. I remember your telling me you just couldn’t do it,” said Coach.

“Oh yeah, and I remember how you got mad at me for saying that, said Hector.

“Of course,” answered Coach, “because you were giving up on yourself. Without even trying to get better, you were looking to give up.  Now, a few years later, can you do all the exercises?”

“You bet I can,” answered Hector. “I didn’t give up, I did the work, everyday, and after a while I started to get better.”

“That’s right, you did the work,” answered Coach. “Now you are one of the best in the room. See how hard work pays off? It takes time, but it does make a difference.

Now, if you did the math work, every night, do you think you would have failed?”

“No way,” said Hector.

“The second class you failed,” asked Coach, “was it history?”

Hector turned red in the face and answered, “I didn’t do my  history homework every night. I tried to catch up, but it was just too much reading and vocabulary.”

Hector, if I asked you to do 10 push-ups a day, could you do it?”

“Easy,” said Hector

Coach asked,”If you skipped a few weeks, would the pushups be harder to do? If you got behind in practicing would you be setting yourself up to fail?”

“Yeah,” said Hector.

Coach asked, “What do I always say about what it takes to be a winner?”

Hector broke into a big grin, saying, “You gotta’ do the hard work now, in order to be ready to win later.”

Coach smiled and said, “That’s right. If you do your homework, then come test time, you are ready to win. Do the work, everyday, and be a winner!”

 

Story By: Ned Campbell (Coach Campbell), wrestling coach and teacher in Brooklyn, NY

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Willie and the Grade Book

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016

grade bookWillie got back from recess early. There was no one else back yet. Just as Willie started to sit down in his chair, he noticed the grade book on Miss Pat’s desk.

Report cards were due out this week. Willie really wanted to know what he got in math, which was not his best subject.

Grandpa Dooley promised him a new bike if he got all A’s. Willie really wanted a new bike. He had already picked out the bike he wanted. It was in the window of the bike store on Can Do Street. It was a beauty!

Every night, since his last report card, Willie did extra math problems, hoping to get his grade up. He had worked so hard and his test scores were better, but were they good enough for an A?

Willie couldn’t help staring at the grade book. He just had to know if he had gotten an A in math. He thought to himself, “What would a little peak hurt? He wouldn’t look at anyone grades but his.

Willie got up, checked the hallway to see if anyone was coming, and went to Miss Pat’s desk. He took a deep breath and opened the grade book.

He was so busy finding his name and then searching for his math grade that he never heard Miss Pat come up behind him. “Can I help you find something, Willie?” Miss Pat sounded angry when she asked him that question. Willie dropped the book and turned to face Miss Pat who looked as angry as she sounded.

“I was just checking my grade in math. My grandpa promised me a new bike if I got all A’s. I just had to see if I got an A in math,” said Willie.

Miss Pat answered, “Does that give you the right to go through my private book?” What if I were to go through your school bag with out asking your permission? Would that be okay with you?”

Willie had to admit that he would not like that one bit.

Miss Pat and Willie sat down and had a talk about looking in her grade book, which was not respecting the property of others, the privacy of others, and most of all…the rights of others.

For his punishment, Willie had to write a composition about why what he did was wrong.

 

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Do I Have To?

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

You have finished your homework and got your things ready for school for the next day. Dinner is over and there is a really fun show on TV that you want to see. Then mom says, “Time to take your bath and get ready for bed.”  Then you say, “Why do I have to take a bath? I’m not dirty.”

Circle what you can you say to make mom change her mind about bath time.

1.I’ll take my bath as soon as the show is over.

2. Please mom, can I  just see my show and then I will take my bath?

3. Mom, I promise to take a quick bath and go right to bed  if I can just see my show.

Why did you choose the answer you did?

Ask your mom the answer she would most like to hear.

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