KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

I have a child studying secondary 4 at Compassvale Secondary. The amount of homework given to the secondary 4 is overwhelming. I couldn't help but feel anxious as she broke down in tears not doing which to focus on as the time she has is just not enough to handle all the assignments given. Among the subjects, she is spending much time on english and math. My concern is if she has enough time to revise for the other subjects and how to help her manage and prioritise. Any tips or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks.

C_Tan wrote:I have a child studying secondary 4 at Compassvale Secondary. The amount of homework given to the secondary 4 is overwhelming. I couldn't help but feel anxious as she broke down in tears not doing which to focus on as the time she has is just not enough to handle all the assignments given. Among the subjects, she is spending much time on english and math. My concern is if she has enough time to revise for the other subjects and how to help her manage and prioritise. Any tips or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Different homework will have different deadline. Do those that are most urgent first. If all are equally urgent, do the easy ones first, then she will feel less stressed as she can do them without difficulty, then she can go on to the more difficult ones. For difficult and demanding homework that may need research, trs will normally give at least 2 or 3 days for students to complete. Plan what to do first, complete and continue with the rest.

Thanks Sall. Actually her classmates asked for an extension of deadline but was flatly turned down by the english teacher with a stern warning. I feel that the amount of work is just too much and the time too little. Do teachers in school coordinate among themselves when they assign the homework? It should be for the overall good of the child and not compete to give the most amount.

Not feasible for trs to coordinate as there are so many subjects, some topics may be more difficult or may need more practice. important thing is not to push hw until they became one big pile nearer the deadline. eg, if hw is given on Mon and deadline on Thurs, then do it on Mon night. Don't wait until Wed night. Hw is necessary for students, it's for them to revise what is taught, esp for graduating classes. Maybe she can sacrifice her weekends to complete the hw if she's slower in certain subjects.

First lets understand why is she spending so much time on english and maths. Due to really a lot of work on these two subjects or she find them difficult and hence spend more time to figure out. If it is the later, maybe she can get help from classmates, friends and teachers to understand better.

Sacrifice one weekend, sat or sun is unavoidable.

Thanks. My concern is the amount of work. My elder child was also from the same school but it wasn't an issue back then. I work with her on the scheduling. Just spending time on the english homework alone would take almost all her available time outside school and she also needs time for subjects like Maths and Science whom she is not strong at. I am thinking of calling up her teacher but my daughter doesn't want me to do so. I will see how things progress and hope she doesn't break down again as this is a crucial year for her.